Notes on the tribes, provinces, emirates and states of the northern provinces of Nigeria;

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NOTES ON THE

Tribes, Provinces, Emirates

and States

OF THE

Northern Provinces of Nigeria

Compiled from Official Reports

BY

0 . TEMPLE

EDITED BY

C. L TEMPLE

Printed by
THE ARGUS PRINTING cK: PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED.

CAPE TOWN

1919

PREFACE.

The compilation contained in the following pages has been
made with the object of rendering available to those interested,
in a small compass, at all events some of the immense stores
of facts concerning the natives of the Northern Provinces of
Nigeria assiduously collected by the political staff. This
information is contained scattered through innumerable reports,
assessment reports, annual and monthly reports, and official
letters, etc., which are kept at the Secretariat and the Provincial
Headquarters, and is not readily accessible, even to those who are
stationed at Headquarters and are able to command the Secretariat
tiles. To the political officer they are quite inaccessible as
a whole. Though a political officer may have the completest
knowledge of the Province in which he is working, I know by
experience that it has been in the past extremely difficult for
him to obtain knowledge of other Provinces. Thus a man may
work for many years — an official life-time even — in Sokoto and
yet know very little of Bassa, Yola, or Bornu, for instance.
Indeed, his knowledge may very well be restricte4 for many
years to the affairs connected with the district in which he is
stationed, and may not extend to those of the Province even.
To remedy this state of affairs a gazetteer is urgently required,
and, though it would be presumptuous to use such a term in
connection with the present work, it is the hope of the compiler
that the following pages may be useful in the preparation of
a complete work in the future, while at the same time affording
a book of reference in which the more salient facts at all events
may be found.

Though the work of the political department has been continual,
painstaking, and up to a point very fruitful in securing a vast

mass of reliable data, yet, as is inevitable when large and hetero-
geneous populations have to be studied, and facts gleaned viva
voce from natives sometimes unwilling to impart information,
much has been recorded as fact which is incorrect, and many
omissions of important facts occur. These pages necessarily
reflect such errors and omissions. Yet, even so, it is hoped that
the publication of such erroneous information may serve a useful
purpose by bringing to the notice of some individual who may
be in possession of the correct knowledge in any particular instance,
that this or that mistaken impression is accepted as true, and
lead him to put matters straight.

It will be seen that much space is devoted to matters connected
with anthropology rather than administration. Yet it is to
be borne in mind a close and detailed and completest possible
knowledge of the habits and customs of the native is of the
first importance to the European administration. The longer
we are in the country, the more the rather elementary duties
of the Government in eliminating disturbances and of securing
a peaceful state of affairs are completed, the larger loom the
more important problems of establishing and continuing an
administration which works with and for, and not against,
the natural and national evolution of the natives. These can
be solved only by the help of a complete knowledge of the
daily life of the individual native.

It is to be noted that the compilation was stopped in October,
1916, and that some adjustments of boundaries are likely to
have taken place since that date.

So far as it has been possible to do so, the names of
authorities for the information (where it has not been collected
personally) have been quoted. At the same time I would
add that all such authorities are not included, nor would it be
fair to connect any particular error with one or other of the

officers named.

C, L. T.

ERRATA.

Page 7 — For '' Major Ley-Graves," read " Mr. J. A. Ley-
Greaves."

7 — For " Captain," read " Major A. E. Churcher."
32, 8th line from the bottom — For " Margi," read

" Marghi."

36, 10th line- For " Kibo," read " Kibbo."
40, llth ,, - For " Bauchi," read " Baushi."

40, 15th ,, For " Bororo," read " Borroro."

41, 3rd ,, from the bottom— For " Umaishi," read

" Umaisha."

45, 5th line — For " Kamberi," read " Kamberri."
45, 17th ,, —For " Kontogora," read " Kontagora."
47, 1st ,, -

,, 54, 16th ,, —Delete quotation marks before " These
tribes . . ."

55, 7th line — For " Kontogora," read " Kontagora."

56, 7th ,, from the bottom — For " Kontogora,"

read " Kontagora."
59, 9th line from the bottom — For " Andurrer," read

" Andurrur."
,, 59, 4th line of footnote — For " Kontogora," read

" Kontagora."
,, 64, 21st line from the bottom — For " a heavy damage,"

read " heavy damages."

65, llth line — For " Kaferetti," read " Kafaretti."
72, footnote — For " Gaandap.," read " Gaanda p. 255"

79, 2nd line — For " Mumye," read " Mumuye."

80, 17th „ — For " Muslimi," read " Musulmi."
82, 20th ,, — For " titled,"- read " entitled."

88, footnotef — For " north of the Jega," read " north
of Jega," and for " time of Jihad," read " time
of the Jihad."

90, 4th line — After " Masu-golmo " delete comma.
93, 22nd ,, from the bottom — For " and or a girl,"

read " and a girl."

108, 10th line — For " artisan," read " artisans."
110, 5th ,, — For " Kerre-Kerre," read " Keri-Keri."
122, 12th ,, —For " seems," read " seem."
127, 18th ,, —For " proportions," read " proportion."
133, 1st ,, — For " Waike," read " Waiki."
136, llth ,, — For " were," read " was."

139, 5th ,, — For " an average of," read " an average

density of."

,, 140, 24th line from the bottom — For " case," read
" cases."

140, 13th line from the bottom — For " to the depth,"

read " at a depth."

149, 5th line — For " Munchi," read " Munshi."
171, llth ,, —For " Maigenu," read " Maigemu."

173, 6th ,, from the bottom— For " Muslumi," read

" Musulmi."

174, 15th line — For " estimation," read " estimate."
179, 7th ,, — Fuka is no longer in Kuta District, but

in Wushishi Fmirate.
198, 13th line — For "possessed by," read "possessed

of."
200, 12th line from the bottom — For " done with,"

read " done in the case of."

205, 2nd line from the bottom— For " from four to

six," read " to four or six."

206, 18th line from the bottom — Delete ' The " before

'" Kamuku."

210, 20th liiv from the bottom For " his emblems,"
read " the emblems."

>age 219, 16th line from the bottom — For " th'oughout,"

read " throughout."
266, 8th line from the bottom — For " they are given,"

read " they are each given."
271, 19th line from the bottom — Add a comma after

' Yola Province."
273, 8th line from the bottom — For " ogwn," read

" gown."
,, 274, last line — For " Diginti," read " Diginte."

296, 5th ,, — For " pefix," read "prefix."
,, 298, 5th ,., from the bottom — For ' Katsena Ala!

read " Katsena Allah."

320, 5th line — For " Edigi," read " Edegi."
,, 328, 15th „ -—For " male uncles and aunts," read

" uncles and aunts on the male side."
355 — For " Mr. F. Daniels," read " Mr. F. Daniel."
359, 3rd line from the bottom — Delete comma after

" Chief."

365, 2nd line — For " Wurio," read " Wurrio."
,, 368, 3rd ,, -—For " Pateji," read " Pategi."
,, 368 — For "Mr. J. C. D. Clarke," read "Mr. J. C. O.

Clarke."

377, footnote — Delete " in asterisks."
,, 379, 20th line — For " Shongo," read " Shango."
386, 20th ,, from the bottom — Delete comma aft

" court."

390, 15th line — For " Lafiaji," read " Lafiagi."
396, 10th ,, from the bottom — For "assume. Next,'

read " assume that next."
398, 19th line — For " made up, to the," read " made,

up to the."
,, 399, 6th line from the bottom — For "as to who," rea

"as to say who."
,, 401, 2nd half of page — Insert asterisk to which note

applies.

404, 4th line — For " Kitiyen," read " Kitijen."
,, 404, 7th ,, — For " Hyskos," read " Hyksos."

417, 5th ,, from the bottom — Delete quotation marks.
,, 418, 17th ,, from the bottom — For " forty," read

" thirty " years.
„ 418, 21st line from the bottom — For " Wurkun," read

" Wurkum."

,, 419, Genealogical table — For ' 1793," read " 1803."
420, 5th line — For " Kerre-Kerre," read " Keri-Keri."
431, No. 98 — Insert " of " after population.
435, 2nd line from the bottom — For " Margi," rez

" Marghi."

438, I0th line — After " Abubakr Gerbai " insert comma.
„ 448, 2nd ,, — After "they," insert "(the Filane)."
,, 482, Genealogy — Delete " Emir of."

495, 22nd line — For " Kishera," read " Kishira."
498, 12th ,, — For " have," read " has."
500, 18th ,, from the bottom — Delete " Province."
502, 3rd ,, — For " Kassan Chikki," read " Kasan

Chikki."

,, ' 508 — For " Vice-Captain," read " vide Captain."
,, ' 529, 6th line from the bottom — For " cochlospernum,"

" cochlospermum."
,, 544, 21st line — For " rama (Fibrean)," read " ramma

(Fibre, an)."
„ 564, 18th line from the bottom — For " Verre," read

" Vere."

Tribal Index, Badawa — For page " 177," read " 171."
Baduku — For page 291, read 297.
Domawa — For page 89, read 88.
Yakoko — For " Mamuve," read " Mumuye."

ADE.

The Ade tribe inhabit Ikinri and its neighbourhood in the
Kabba Division of Kabba Province.

AFAO or AFU.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. H. Cadman Mr. D. Cat or

Mr. C. Migeod Mr. W. Morgan

Captain H. L. Norton-Traill Commander B. M. Waters

The Afao or Afu pagans are to be found in the Nassarawa,
Kem and Abuja Emirates in Nassarawa Province. Their total
population reaches a figure of 9,575, the large majority of
whom reside in Nassarawa Emirate.

It has been suggested that they came originally from south
of the Benue, where they inhabited a district between the Munshi
and Igara, but at all events they were in occupation of the
country between the Afao hills north-east of Loko and Kurudu,
south of Nassarawa, by the middle of the eighteenth century,
when some left Kurudu to escape war with Sarkin Kwotto,
and it is probable that they had been there for very many genera-
tions. At a distant date they founded the town of Udeni at
the foot of the Afao hills, and at the end of the nineteenth or
beginning of the twentieth century founded a second Udeni
on the banks of the Benue just above Loko, whither they had
repaired in consequence of a dispute as to succession. This
new Udeni was under the suzerainty of the Jukon (Wukari)
and it is probable that the whole Afao tribe acknowledged the
Jukon sway and had come thither for settlement of their dispute.
Since the advent of the British they have mostly returned to
the aforementioned neighbourhood, but it is possible that a
portion of the tribe migrated down the river to Budon, where
they are now known as Kakanda. Their tribal marks are identical.
These consist of two deep cuts on each side of the face from the
temples to the corners of the mouth ; which has latterly been

2 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

modified to two deep cuts from the bridge of the nose to the
cheeks, the side marks having been abandoned.

They are a good-looking race, but of poor physique, dirty
and drunken. They are fishermen and farmers ; weaving being
their only industry.

The Chief is assisted by a Council of Elders, who sit on judicial
cases, and recourse may be had to sasswood ordeal. Murder
is punished by death, but not necessarily that of the criminal
himself : it is more frequently arranged on a principle of exchange .
In a case of manslaughter the bereaved family are apportioned
a share of the blood-money, the remainder going to the Court.
Theft is punished by flogging and a fine. Rape is punished by
flogging and a fine. An adulterer is fined, but if the woman
runs away with him the couple are pursued and the woman
recovered ; if the occurrence is frequent the co-respondent
is obliged to supply the aggrieved husband with a woman of
his own family in exchange.

Not only each man, but each woman, has a right to take up
such unoccupied lands within the village boundaries as she
can farm ; but sons must work on their father's farms.

Marriage is arranged by exchange, a groom giving his sister
or some other blood-relation in exchange for his bride. Should
a woman leave her husband the woman for whom she was origin-
ally exchanged must do likewise, but if the one has children
and the other has not desertion is not permitted. Should a
man be without suitable female relations he may be allowed
to marry, but in that case his offspring belong to his wife's
family. There is no limit to the number of wives, five or six
being quite common.

On the birth of an infant it is taken to the temple, where a
ceremony is held, which includes much beer drinking.

Circumcision is practised.

No burial ceremony is held for an ordinary individual, only
for old men, on which occasions guns are freely fired. The
body is buried twenty-four hours after death and is laid at full
length in a tunnel approached through a round hole. A wake is
held for a Chief, and is one of the few occasions when gia is
consumed.

Inheritance is to the eldest brother and, failing him, to the
eldest son. The heir must pay off the debts of the deceased.
The eldest son inherits everything, but property may only be
parted with for an important family purpose, such as ransoming
one of its members, and only with the permission of the Juju.

The deity " Boka " has the power of curing disease, and
to him many sacrifices are made. The Sarki has a special shrine.

TRIBES. 3

AFAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. S. Grier.

The Afawa, sometimes called Faawa or Paawa, are located
in the north of Bauchi province ; numbering 1,010 in Bauchi,
goo in Ningi and 8,100 in the neighbouring state of Ari, where
they form four-fifths of the population, and where an Afawa Chief
rules. The tribe has therefore a total population of 10,010.

They always lived in that neighbourhood, that is to say,
in the plains on the banks of the river Bunga ; Zidda (Ganjua
district) being their principal town. They were, however,
driven into the Ningi hills by pressure from Bauchi, where they
made their headquarters in the fertile lands of Ari. The average
annual yield of corn is said to be 2,400 pounds of grain per
cultivator.

The towns are compact, encircled by walls, and situated
at the base of the hills. Their tribal marks consist of six short
lines above the eye, and eight horizontal lines from a level with
the eye to the chin.

The customs of the Afawa bear similarity to those of their
neighbours the Ningi ; indeed they show considerable affinity
to the neighbouring Kudawa, Butawa, Ningawa, and particularly
Warjawa tribes.

They speak the same language, which is rapidly being replaced
by Haussa, and their religion* is identical, though Muham-
madanism is rapidly increasing. The worship of ancestors
is at its base and the founder of the tribe, " Wulo-Wula," who
lived at Zidda " from the beginning," is the tribal god, who
protects and avenges all his people. He appears in visible form
every fourth year when boys of seven and upwards are circumcised.
These youths may not return to their homes for two months,
during which time the men carry them food to the sacred grove.
A great festival is celebrated in conclusion.

Other gods represent important members of the Afawa or
other tribes, and each family worships its own founder.

Not even ' Wulo-Wula " has power to cause rain, but it
can be induced to fall if the elders pour the blood of chickens
into the sacred grove, while the women make a circuit of the
bush outside the town beating drums. Before the procession
returns home rain falls.

Certain animals are tabu to certain families, as it is believed
that the latter can assume the shape of the former ; a power
given generally to certain individuals who commonly take the
form of an elephant.

* Compare Ningawa.

4 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The duties of priest and chief were probably combine(

The heads of families or clans settled all disputes, oath being
taken on the family god. Recourse might be had to a form
of ordeal, when the accused lay down and cactus juice was
squeezed into his eye. If it watered freely little harm was done,
but if the poison took effect he lost both his case and his eye.
The accuser and accused staked one or more women on the
result.

vSuitors obtained wives in exchange for a' very small dower,
and the women kept little faith with them ; but all the children
belonged to the first husband whoever might be their father.

A man was buried on his right, a woman on her left, side,
the knees being drawn up and the head resting on the hand.
In the case of an influential man a wake was held a short interval
after his death.

AGALAWA.

The Agalawa are situated in the Katsina Emirate,
they live in densely crowded villages.

They are great traders and do a large business in carrying
grain, keeping large herds of donkeys for the purpose.

By race they are a mixture of Asbenawa and pagan Haussa.

AGATU.

AUTHORITY : Capt. F. Byng-Hall.

Agatu is the name of a District in Bassa province on the
southern bank of the Benue, some thirty square miles in size,
and this name has been applied to its inhabitants, who were
originally Idoma and are now a medley of peoples, numbering
some 13,991, the women exceeding the men in a proportion
of three to two. They extend eastwards into Muri Province,
where a population of 441 are included in the Abinsi-Kwoto
group, and to the northern bank of the Benue in Nassarawa
Emirate, where they number 1,500.

In Bassa Province the principal groups are :—

I. Igara, part of a migration from Ibi, who were driven
by the Jiku to Idah, Okpoto country, and to the western part
of the Agatu District, where they intermarried with the Idoma.
Both languages are now spoken. They occupy territory

TRIBES. 5

east of Bagana, with headquarters at Amageddi, where they
suffered heavily by slave-raids from Nassarawa, also an outpost
at Peli to the south-east. They were under the Ata of Ida.

2. Adagoji were a powerful race who were invited by the
Ata of Ida to leave their habitat in the south of Kabba Province
to settle in his country and repel the Haussa raiders. Their
Chief was given the title of Onu Adagoji, together with lands
for his people. They intermarried with the Idoma and gradually
adopted the Idoma language — the Igara language being also
generally understood. Their descendants now occupy territory
to the south of Amageddi.

3. Epe were driven from Nassarawa by the Haussa and
were given land by the Adagoji in the northern part of the
territory. The women are hard workers and are sought in
marriage by the Adagoji as well as by their own tribesmen.

4. Adiku occupied Egeide near Othukpo in Southern Nigeria
and intermarried with the Okpoto and Idoma. The Ata of
Ida granted them a title and land to the south of Adagoji. They
were routed by the Haussa and took refuge near Ankpa, returning
to the Adagoji District on the advent of the British at Akwacha.
When the title was granted by the Ata of Ida a dispute arose
between two brothers as to which of them should hold it, and
the disappointed man led his followers to the river Opoku, where
he settled, assuming the title of Onu Opoku.

Both sections speak Idoma, but those in Adagoji understand
Igara also, and bear little resemblance to the Opoku branch.

5. Egba were driven from their country by the Munshis
and settled in the Adiku country, where they were raided both
by the Adiku and Haussa. They maintained their independence,
but are a small unit occupying a wedge of land round Jemtelli
between the Adagoji and Adiku. They intermarried with the
Idoma and speak the Idoma language.

6. Oji were driven from their country near Ibi by the Jiku
to Munshi territory and thence to Oji on the river Opoku, which
originally belonged to the Adiku Opoku. They intermarried
with the Idoma, but have several Munshi characteristics. They
claim the title of Onoji, but their right to it is doubtful, as they
do not appear to have recognised any external authority.

7. Obah took refuge from Haussa slave-raids in Nassarawa
in territory to the west of Oji, where they intermarried with
the Adoka — Southern Idoma. They are related to the Epe.
The title is Onu Obah.

8. Bassa-Komo are the latest refugees from Nassarawa and
occupy the banks of the Benue opposite Loko. They intermarried
with the Adagoji, Peli and Idoma tribes and speak Idoma. The
Chief of the Adagoji states that it was his father who gave them
permission to settle,

9. Ogbadoma.

6 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

10. Ikobi.

11. Abogwe.

They practise riverain and agricultural pursuits. The men
fight with bows and poisoned arrows.

Each adult has his or her own house, but boys live together
(showing Bantu origin ?) whilst girls remain with their mothers.
A suitor works for eight years on the farm of the father of his
bride-elect, and makes certain small presents when the time
for consummation of the marriage has come.

Women wear one cloth, hanging from the breast, the men
one cloth, an end of which is thrown over the shoulder.

They are pagans, the deities being sometimes represented
by images. They have a profound belief in witchcraft.

AIERE, OGIDI, and OWE.

The tribes Aiere, Ogidi and Owe have been grouped toget]
with the Bunu and Aworo as ' Kabba tribes," as it is said
they all spring from one family and all speak a dialect of Yoruba.

The Aiere are almost extinct, they inhabit the town of Aiere,
near Kabba, and nothing specific has been recorded concerning
them.

The Owe live in and around Kabba.

The Ogidi inhabit the town and immediate neighbourhood
of Ogidi to the south-west of Kabba.

The Aworo and Bunu have been treated separately, but
it appears that the Bunu owned suzerainty over all these tribes,
that is to say over all those who bore vertical face-markings from
Ogidi in the south as far as Ike in the north.

Under the heading ' Kabba tribes " it has been recorded
that they are a peace-loving folk, whose principal occupation
is agriculture.

Immediately prior to the sowing of guinea-corn no one may
leave his hut from sunset on one day to sunrise on the third
day. The headmen meanwhile gather on the hill and to the
accompaniment of howling and drumming sacrifice a black goat.

The women weave particularly good cloth.
The arms are flintlocks and poisoned arrows.

AIKE.

The Aike, numbering some 275 persons, have been notified
from Lafia Emirate, Nassarawa Province.

TRIBES. 7

AJAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. E. G. M. Dupigny.

There are about five hundred Ajawa in the Bauchi Emirate
and others over the Kano boundary near Fagam.

They are akin to their neighbours the Warjawa,* if not
identical in origin with them. Formerly they lived on the hill-
tops, but are now descending to the plains. They live on the
products of their farms, i.e., corn and beans, and until recently
knew no currency but goats.

They eat the flesh, of dogs, and wear but scanty clothing.

They are pagans and their beliefs comprise the worship of
certain trees, particularly the Wakiri and Masoyi.

AKOKO.

AUTHORITY : Major Ley-Graves.

The Akoko inhabit a large area in the south-west of Ka'bba
Province, where they have a population of some 30,134. There
are also between 6,000 and 7,000 (or possibly even 16,000) in the
Kukuruku District, where they belong to the Bungari family,
the origin of the extra 10,000 Kukuruku being uncertain.

The name Akoko was given to them by the Filane, and it
is doubtful whether they are Yoruba, speaking a dialect of
Yoruba, or whether they are of Beni extraction.

Flint-locks, poisoned arrows, hatchets, spears and clubs
are their habitual weapons.

They are good farmers and produce a great deal of palm-oil ;
the women make excellent cloth.

They are a pagan people.

They are ruled by an hereditary tribal chief.

Marriage between women is practised-)- with a view to raising
children for the profit of the richer woman or " husband." She
pays a fee to male visitors that they may have connection with
her young wives.

A widow wears a loin-cloth woven from the bark of a tree
during the period of her mourning.

* Themselves allied to the Afawa, Butawa, Kudawa and Ningawa.
t Vide Nupe, Ekiti and Yagba.

8 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

ANAGUTA.

AUTHORITY: Mr. S. E. M. Stobart.

The Anaguta are a group of pagans occupying an area of
forty-eight square miles, with a population of 2,710 in the town
of Naraguta in Bauchi Province, in addition to which they occupy
a small town called Gwosh in the Bauchi Emirate.

Their origin is not definitely known, but it is believed that
they came from beyond the Jarawa hills ; they have intermarried
with their hill Jarawa (Foburawa sept) neighbours at Jos, who
came thither in the early part of the nineteenth century, and
with the Burrum.

Their language is distinct, but they all speak Jarawa and
wear the Jarawa tribal and tattoo markings.

Until recently the men were clothed in skins, but now the
Haussa gown is being adopted. The women wear bunches of
leaves, one in front and one behind.

Boys are circumcised at the age of seven.

The recognised dower given for a Burrum woman is a horse.
Their marital relationships are promiscuous.

The dead are buried in the bush in a recumbent position,
the face having first been covered with cloth. In token of
mourning the family of the deceased shave their heads.

Religious rites are performed amongst the rocks in the open.

The district in which they live is fertile and is watered by
the Delimi river.

Agriculture is the principal occupation, together with smelting
and smithying.

ANGAS.

AUTHORITIES :

Major F. Edgar. Mr. H. M. Frewen.

Mr. H. S. W. Edwardes. Lieut. -Col. H. D. Foulkes.

The Angas live in the extreme south of Bauchi Province
in the Pankshin District of the Hill Division, and at the foot
of the Bauchi plateau in the watershed of the Wase River, where
the plain Angas have a population of some 13,473, distributed
over an area of 290 square miles.

The population may be roughly assessed at some 51,000,
distributed as follows : Plain and Hill, 47,000 ; Goshendutsi,
170 ; Northern Hill, 2,530 ; Dugup, Kanam, 910 ; the inhabitants
of the plains numbering somewhat more than those of the hills.
This is exclusive of the Tal, who are a tribe of Angas with a
population of 12,200, but are now called Tal after the district

TRIBES. 9

they inhabit and amongst whom are some Ankwe — they include
a clan named Miri, which has a population of 3,955, and the
Dollong or Pe, a district inhabited by some 1,600 persons, some
860 of Angas, the rest of Yergum descent. Though now divided
into two distinct groups (the Hill and Plain Angas), they were
originally one, and were probably themselves a portion of a
wider distribution.

They say that they came from Koropan (Kordofan ?)
to Bornu, thence to Yam, where they probably remained
tor centuries. The ruins of Angas houses are still to be seen
in that place, for the stone used in their construction is of course
imperishable.

To this day the Angas pagan invariably invokes the name
of 'Yam" when sowing his crops, i.e., " Dawa, I sow thee
Yam." Also all Angas pagans are buried in a sitting position
with the face towards Yam. On leaving Yam they journeyed
to Jaka, to Baksala, and so to Suwa. There they divided into
three parties. One, led by a priest, went to Gyangyan, choosing
lor settlement a spot close to where the fast-flowing Wase river
plunges down a superb fall into a deep gorge some eight hundred
feet below. They took with them the Wari, a religious emblem.

The second party went to Kabwir, taking with them ' the
spear " ; whilst the third party took ' the seed of dawa " and
settled at Per (Haussaised as Ampier).

All the chiefs were religious as well as secular heads.

The Sura and the tribes to their south, i.e., the Dollong
(an off-shoot of the Yergum), who are called after the District
they inhabit ' Dollong " or ' Pe," together with some Angas,
Montol, Yergum and Ankwe have many points of resemblance.
It is possible that the Dimmuk and Mirriam, Mikiet, Larr and
Larrdang are also of the same stock.

With the exception of the Ankwe the language of these
peoples is the same, though the dialectal differences are great.
Though the Ankwe cannot understand the Angas, the latter
state that they can catch the meaning of several Ankwe words.

Their tribal mark, one long stripe down each side of the
face from the extremity of the eye, or even above the temple,
to the chin, is similar to that worn by some of the Dollong,
Tal, and Montol — though the latter has been recently modified,
the Tal generally having no marks.

The Northern Hill Angas also have no marks, those at Goshen-
dutsi have a double line as above, and those at Dugup in Kanam
(population 910) have the same as the Burumawa A group,
and no ear-holes, whilst a few Kabwir people have some dozen
lines on each side of the face from temple to chin, which are
the Kanuri markings.

io NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Though invariably known under the name of Angas the
people say that this appellation was given to them by the Filane
on account of their truculency. Another interpretation is An-gas
=single mark. They call themselves Kerang, which, in their
own language, signifies " man." Untravelled and very sus-
picious, the Angas have come into little contact with other peoples,
nor will the Plain Angas adventure himself even among his
brethren of the hills. About three hundred years ago, however,
there was an infusion of fresh blood amongst them : a settle-
ment of pagan Gobirawa, presently followed by Beri-beri
immigrants, established themselves in the midst of the Angas.
The new comers adopted Angas customs, and, intermarrying,
were speedily absorbed. The first Filane to invade them was
the Madaiki Hassan of Wase, whose onslaught they repelled.
He, however, obtained the support of Yakubu, first Emir of
Bauchi, and, on hearing that their neighbours, the Burumawa,
had been routed by Yakubu, the Angas sent to proffer their
allegiance and thenceforward paid tribute to Bauchi. On Yakubu's
death his son, Ibrahimu, demanded more tribute than the
Angas were willing to give and came in force to collect it. The
Angas entrenched themselves on the banks of the river, but
the Filane broke down their defences with pick-axes and burnt
Per. Some of the Angas fled to Ampam, others to Pangan,
others to Dollong, but the greater number remained in their
own country and submitted to the Filane.

In 1907, therefore, when they first came under effective
British control, little had occurred to modify their traditional
customs.

The men were clothed only in tanned goat's or sheep's
skins, half the skin being suspended from the waist in front, half
behind, often marked with geometric figures in dark blue. Their
breasts, backs and necks were decorated by lines burnt into
the skin, or by scars picked out from the flesh by a hook ; their
heads were shaved, but for fantastic tufts of hair or elaborate
plaits, affected by the younger men — -iheir persons festooned
by beads and rings and bracelets of iron — and their front teeth
were in some cases filed so as to form a notch between them.
This costume has varied little, and the women also wear the
traditional garb, stalks of a bean-like creeper, which depend
back and front from a girdle of grass. The married women
shave their heads. Both sexes are strongly made, with large
features.

All Were warriors, finding their principal recreation in fights
with neighbouring townships. Their arms consisted of knives,
spears, bows and arrows, the effective range of which latter
was some 120 yards. The tips were invariably poisoned, stro-
phanthus being grown for this purpose. Shields of cowhide

TRIBES. n

were used for defensive armour, and it is stated that clubs used
to be thrown.

The Angas are intelligent by nature, but with advancing
years the men's brains become fogged with drink. They are
inveterate smokers, and once the harvest is gathered in the
Plain Angas do little else but tell long stories over their pipes
and beer (gia) . The Hill Angas, however, display a certain industry
in making earthenware bowls for pipes, and in smelting iron
from the red sandstone.

The Plain Angas weave strong cloth, about nine inches
wide, and the men make good haversacks from the bark of
the baobab. They also make pipes of fine black clay, and of
wood ; whilst the women fashion ovoid-shaped waterpots with
narrow necks and cup-shaped mouths.

Both sections are essentially agriculturists. On the mountain
sides they will build up terraces of rpck three feet in height to
gain room in which to plant even one row of guinea-corn. Where
the ground is hilly the soil is formed into ridges and the furrows
are banked across at distances varying between two to twenty
feet to form troughs to hold the rain. The crops are grown on
the ridges. When the crop is ripe the whole family set to work,
and, reaching up as high as they can, break each stalk so that
the ear hangs down. A few days later these are cut and placed
in granaries, some three feet in diameter, the floor having first
been covered with dorowa leaves. Sometimes one granary is
enclosed within another, like a Chinese box, when gero is placed
in the outer one and corn in the inner one. The stalks
are left to stand through the dry season, with the exception
of a small percentage which -is used as fuel. They are then
cut down and burnt on the ground. Among the natural
products, and one peculiar to the mountain heights of this land,
is the Itiri tree, from which oil is obtained for culinary purposes.

The Angas cultivate tobacco, every man growing a plot in
the ground which surrounds his compound ; each householder
has enough land in the immediate neighbourhood of his dwelling
for a small farm.

The compound consists of a series of huts, sometimes as
many as four hundred in number, placed a foot or so apart and
generally in a circle, the spaces between being filled in with mud
and stones. Thus a wall is formed, through which there is but
one entrance. The huts are built of mud and the domed-shaped
roofs (unsupported) are also of mud covered with thatch. Most
of the walls, and especially the inside ones, are covered with
a good surface glaze. The entrances, eighteen inches above
the ground, are circular openings some two and a half feet in
diameter — the huts themselves being only nine feet in width.
It is usual for each woman to have three huts for her own use,
and sometimes a fourth where she works — making pots, mats,

12 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

etc. They are used as store-room, cook-house and sleeping-room.
In the latter, raised mud-beds with spaces beneath them, are
often to be found. Sometimes a room has a mud-screen stretching
half way across, which is frequently ornamented with lines and
curves. Built against the walls are pockets of mud which serve as
shelves, and spiral horns of mud that act as pegs project from
the walls. In the more important compounds there is an outer
yard, where the dependents gather, and in that of the Sarki
is a large low hut where he keeps such trophies as buffalo horns
and the skulls of men he has eaten.

Though both sections of the tribe were cannibals, it was found
at the time of the British occupation that the Plain Angas had
practically abandoned the practice. It was their habit to eat
enemies slain in war, and criminals of their own tribe who suffered
the punishment of death. Women, however, were never eaten,
nor were they allowed to partake of these repasts. In fact the
flesh was cooked and eaten in some private place, and almost
invariably in a sacred grove dedicated to the god Gwon.

Though his attributes are now being transferred to the god
Kum Tau, Gwon is essentially the god -of Justice, to whom
questions of right and wrong are referred, and who punishes
misdeeds. When misfortune troubles the community, such
as an unusually bad harvest, Gwon is called upon to discover who
is the cause and to avenge the wrong. The Sarki summons his
people to the forest jungle where the temple is situated, over
which he, as Chief, has sole charge, no man being permitted
to enter it except by his permission and in his company. The
temple itself is no more than a low mud hut, enclosed by a cir-
cular stone wall some two feet high. Within this space the
Sarki sits while every man, one by one, files past him to the
temple, to partake there of food prepared by the Sarki from
flour contributed by each householder. The guilty man, through
whom evil has fallen on the community, is said to be overtaken
in the night by a terrible malady — his belly swelling until it
bursts — and by his death good fortune is restored. The pro-
cedure is sometimes varied. The Sarki cuts the throat of a
fowl and each man dips his finger in the blood, which he then
sucks off. The result is always the same. It is said that should
the Sarki put poison in the preparation he dies himself.

Each man erects a small temple to Gwon near his own house,
and in the case of private quarrels goes there with the disputant
to make oath, in the presence of some worthy man who acts as
priest and kills and prepares the body of a fowl, which is eaten
when the oath is made. No man dare tell a lie in the temple
of Gwon lest death overtake him. An oath is, however, always
considered a sacred thing, and if a man eats some earth at the
time he makes a vow he believes that the earth will eat him
should he break it.

TRIBES. 13

In the case of a dispute the principals will often agree to some
such method of arbitrament as the following : Each party goes
into the bush with a net and sets it for game — the first who
catches anything, a hare excepted, is acknowledged to be in
the right.

Besides Gwon the Angas believe in two other gods — Nen and
Kum.* Nen is the great god who lives in the sky, but is altogether
apart from men. They consider it therefore of no use to make
sacrifice to him, for he has no concern with this life, nor do they
believe in an after existence. They are perfectly willing to
accept the Muhammadan name of Allah and use it alternatively
with the original one of Nen.

Kum is the household god, to whom an .upright slab of stone
is erected in the entrance to each compound. The first-fruits
of each crop are given to Kum, and on special occasions offerings
of food, or a fowl, are placed before him. In each case the man
of the house performs these offices, but a sacrifice is prepared
by the suppliant member of his household. Oaths are made to
Kum, but always on the pain of death. When a man changes
his abode he takes his Kum with him, but as it is often impossible
to remove the slab of stone. Kum is taken in the form of an
open pot in which a mixture of flour is placed. The custom is
creeping in of giving each Kum an additional name. The Sarki
has a special Kum which bears the additional name of Tau, and
which passes ex-officio to his successor.

Besides these three gods the Angas believe that there are
occult influences inherent to everything, whether it be tangible
like a stone, tree, or hill, or whether it be a farm or locality.
These spirits are known as Jigwel and may be beneficent or
inimical. In the former case they are known as Jigwel-het =
white, in the latter Jig wel-tip= black, but a Jigwel who is " het "
to one man may be ' tip " to another, and vice versa. There
is one Jigwel who is Chief over many others and who presides
over a whole tract of country. The Angas endeavour to pro-
pitiate the Jigwel ; for instance when a man starts a farm he
will cut a stick and tie its own leaves to the top — usually from
a Kadainya. He believes that hordes of Jigwel support the
sky on bamboo poles, for he thinks that a wall-like structure
is built round the edges of the world and that at its extreme
boundary the vault of the sky — like a vast inverted cup — would
otherwise meet the confines of the earth.

The principal festival of the year takes place when the corn
is ready for harvesting. The women of each compound build
up their ash-heap to a cone some six feet high and fifteen feet
in diameter, at the apex of which a grass broom is stuck. Every
hut and bin is sprinkled with beer, and at night the women

*Vide Ankwc, Mirriam, Montol, Sur? , Ycrgum. The Jukon have a
god called Gion.

14 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

T

dance round singing, whilst the men beat drums and blow horns
till far into the morning.

The following evening a special religious dance is held, pre-
sided over by a symbolical figure who stands apart entirely
concealed in guinea-corn. A sheep is carried round a tree dedicated
to the god ' Kum," being laid backwards on the ground about
every two yards, after which it is killed. Both men and women
dance in inner and outer circles to the sound of drums and horns.
For the following week some dozen young men from Ampier
visit one village after another. Some wear coronets of crowned-
crane feathers, others of grass, whilst all wear small collars
of bright cloth and scarves that stretch across. the body from
one shoulder. They also wear elaborate loin-skins which trail
on the ground behind them ; as well as leg and arm ornaments
that clash as their wearers dance. The god " Kum " is consulted
before corn may be sown, the Sarki being the first person to
sow grain in each village.

There are no religious medicine men, but there are some who
declare themselves gifted with the power of divination. These
men are called Gope. They do not seem to be much consulted,
and in some towns the ordinary methods of determining on
what course to adopt is by placing food near an ants' nest. If
it is eaten the question is answered in the affirmative, if left,
in the negative.

The Gope is, however, called in to pronounce on certain
diseases, and to decide whether an unsound child two years of
age is fit to live. If the verdict is against it, it is knocked on
the head and buried in an ordinary manner, i.e., in a circular
pit some four feet deep.

The dead are put in feet foremost, and the knees and elbows
are broken with a club to facilitate the body being thrust into
a sitting position. A large stone is rolled over the mouth of
the pit, which is piled up with rocks and earth.

The Angas believe that their lives are dependent on that of
some beast or reptile in which resides a counterpart of their own
' Kurua." They do not, however, spare the life of any animal
on that account.

A Plain Angas applies to the mother of his chosen bride
for her consent to his marriage with her daughter, and having
obtained it makes a present of beads to the girl and gives " Ken-
tis " and tobacco to her father. If the latter smokes the tobacco
his consent is given and the suitor sends him a goat. The groom
is then free to catch his bride and take her to his home, but
he returns her immediately to her parents with whom she remains
for a year. At the end of that time the groom asks her father
to give her to him and receives permission to catch her, which
he does in the evening, but before the marriage is consummated
he sends a gift of gari and a goat to her mother. On the wedding

TRIBES. 15

day, when the bride goes into her hut, an old woman lights the
lire for her and puts a pot full of water thereon. She then takes
the girl's hands and lays them on the pot. On the morning
after consummation the bride sweeps out the house unaided,
alter which the women give her household utensils. Her husband
then provides five goats, four she-goats, and a castrated goat,
which she takes to her father, leading the latter animal by a
rope. Her placing the rope in his hands terminates the rites.

When a boy reaches the age of fourteen or fifteen and a
girl that of thirteen they are considered marriageable, but before
that time a girl, who has numerous suitors, chooses her husband
According to another authority he gives her parents some twenty
to thirty sheep in instalments, the last being given on the day
she goes to his house. She then, for the first time, wears a dress,
consisting of a belt of fibre strings, the strands of which
hang before and behind. These are intertwined with leaves
and twigs, the bigger bunches of which are to the back. She
ornaments herself with strings of beads, and. a few women
tattoo themselves, but only on the breasts.

The men despise a woman's intelligence and laugh at the
idea that she should give her version of facts. She, however,
does most of the work of the place, both indoor and outdoor.
She seldom eats with her husband, and never if there is meat
at the meal. She has, however, complete freedom to leave
him and to return to her people, the only condition being the
refunding by her parents of her dower, together with whatever
increase there would have been in th-° flock by births had the
husband never parted with them. She usually re-marries within
a few days, when the bridegroom pays the price, but she is
not allowed to re-marry in the same town. Infidelity is punishable
by the husband, b'ut to have had a number of husbands is not
considered a crime. A man has from four to twenty wives,
but marriage is not permitted between blood-relations.

A woman names her child within a few days of its birth,
and' suckles , it for two years. Boys are circumcised at the age
of four.

The women take a prominent part in the tribal dances, which
are held after the garnering of each crop in the court-yards of
the Sarakuna, but that of the greatest importance after the
last harvest takes place in a specially built ring of stones, some
fifteen inches high and thirty yards across. The women dance
within while the men beat drums and sing outside.

They appear to be fond of music, the sound of the small
Sarbanga (drum) is perpetually to be heard, and the children
jig about in time with it. Most of the tribes have a band of
instruments made of Sombi (horns) of different sizes, which
they play all together, and they have more than an elementary
notion of correct combination. The largest horns are those

16 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

of the bush-cow (A. Kun), which "in the days of their fathers"
used to be in the countiy, but which have since been driven
north into the bush south of Bununu and Bogoro.

There is also another instrument of the nature of a lyre.
A platform and sounding board is made of twenty-one reeds
of a species of cane cut into lengths of about eighteen inches
and tied closely together at each end. The outer coverings of
the reeds are then split so as to allow the introduction beneath
them of two transverse sticks which serve the purpose of bridges.
The split portions resemble the cane of cane-bottomed chairs,
and act as the strings of the instrument, and to prevent them
splitting off the stems altogether, the latter are bound at an
inch from their ends. The length of the strings between the
bridges is about nine inches. The strings are arranged in groups
of three, of which the middle one is muffled by being bound round
with grass, so that the fingers slip off it easily on to the sounding
strings on either side of it. These are attuned to each other
so as to give 't-he same note or its octave, the result being in-
geniously obtained by winding fine grass or thin strips of the
same cane (A. Gamba), round it, as wire is on the G string of
a violin. A string, for instance, playing a note an octave lower
than another, has quite half its length bound, whereas the other
one may have perhaps a quarter of an inch so treated to get
the correct note, which is exactly true. At the back, two sticks
are fixed across, six inches apart, and the space between them is
covered over by a piece of matting consisting of broad strips
of the palm leaf, thus forming a hollow space which contains
a number of the small hard seeds of the Angas tree " Che-che/'
so that all the time the instrument is being played a not unpleasing
rattle is heard. The performer holds the harg vertically in front
of him with the stringed surface away from his person ; the
two thumbs are behind, while all four fingers of both hands are
at work on the strings, jerking the instrument at times in order
to obtain the effect of the rattle. The actual music produced
is monotonous, the same refrain doing duty over and over again,
till the iteration becomes tiresome. The Angas name for this
instrument is " Deandean."

The use of this musical instrument is not confined to the
Angas, but is common to many of the tribes of the Bauchi Hills,
such ias the Kibyen, Hill Jarawa, Sura. Outside this district,
however, it has not been recorded as found elsewhere in Nigeria,
though an exactly similar instrument has been found in use
amongst the tribes of Uganda. The fact that it is tuned in
octaves is most remaikable, and exceptional among African
instruments, especially when we consider that it is found ex-
clusively in the hands of pagans of the most primitive description.
Did these people discover the interval common to European
but strange to African music, or did, at some remote period of

TRIBES. 17

time, some stranger find his way thus far and construct this
simple harp to remind him of the music of his home ?

The Government is in the hands of a Chief who is selected
from the adult members of the royal family by four Sarakuna,
who form a Council of Elders and who take a prominent part
in the government. The Sarki must be a man of experience and
responsible years. The native word " Gwollong " signifies
both " owner " and "• King," for there is no communal property
and all land is vested in him. His principal functions are :
(i) to take charge and responsibility for the tribal property,
a sort of Beit-el-Mal, (2) to preside over and, if occasion
arises, give the casting vote in the Council of Elders, (3) to act
as Court of Appeal, where his award is final and (4) to take the
lead in all national religious ceremonies. A Chief's influence
with his people depends on the general prosperity, as it is the
sign of his being acceptable to the god Kum Tau. Should mis-
fortune come to them he is liable to be deposed.

The Chief is respected for the importance of his function
but there is no court formality, and he is treated in private
life with neither more nor less ceremony than any other man
of authority. He received no fixed tribute, but small presents
were brought to him annually from the various townships.
The principal court festivity seems to be on the death of the
Chief, when a great wake is held. It was formerly the habit
to bring an enemy's head, representing every neighbouring
tribe, to the feast. The skulls were also brought out from the
chief's store-house, and when the revels came to a height these
were all taken up and thrown from one man to another. The
same system of Government still endures, i.e., that of a Chief
assisted by four Sarakuna, but he is now directly responsible
to the British Resident. The chief of the Hill Angas has been
made a fourth-grade Chief, under the title of Sarkin Pankshin and
has jurisdiction over four Yergum Districts.

ANIAKAWA.

A group of 220 Aniakawa have been notified from the Bauchi
Division of Bauchi Province.

ANKWE.

AUTHORITIES :
Capt. U. F. Ruxton Capt. A. E. Churcher.

The Ankwe are situated to the north and south of the Murchison
range, in the Pankshin Division of Bauchi Province, in the

18 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Districts of Chip and Jeppel, where they number some 5,644,
and in the Ibi Division of Muri Province, where, together with
the Ngarass and Mirriam, who are scattered amongst them, they
number 11,652. There are also a few villages some forty or
fifty miles westwards, in the Assaikio District of the Lafia Emirate
(Nassarawa Province), thus making a rough total of 18,000.

This district is fertile and well watered, and the people are
purely agricultural.

The area of the Ankwe District is some 1,013 square miles
and with a population of 11.5 to the square mile.

Salt from Pankshin, where the Ankwe work it, iron bars
and cloth are imported.

The Ankwe are closely allied with the Angas, Sura, Yergum and
Montol group, and their language is sufficiently similar to
that of the Angas for the latter to understand a few words, though
an Ankwe man cannot make out the Angas language.

In Muri Province the Ankwe tradition is that their ancestor
came from the Lali section of Montol, together with his wife,
son and daughter, and that he settled in the country south of
the Murchison range ; but that when his wife died he left his
son and daughter and repaired to the top of a hill, where presently
he fell into a trance. His son and daughter married each other
and their children set out one day in search of their grandfather.
They found him covered with grass and with one eye open.
Their efforts to rouse him were vain, even though they used
iguana and snake in the attempt, but when at last they brought
small-pox the old man coughed and arose. He commanded
them to bury him under the hill of Matan Fada, and told them
that so long as they and their offspring prayed to him there
they would multiply and enjoy plenty. That is why Matan
Fada is the Ankwe place of worship, even though it is situated
in the Montol territory.

A more practical version of the same tale attributes their
origin to ' Pan Larep," a hill abutting on the Murchison range
to the north of Mata Fada, which they left some two hundred
years ago under the guidance of their first chief, " Legni," himself
a son of Mata Fada, after whom the hill has probably been named.
At some period they must have been conquered by the Jukon,
with whom they intermarried ; and to this day their method
of dressing the hair, clothing and appearance is very similar.

At one time Sarkin Wukari claimed suzerainty over the
Ankwe, which must have been after he had destroyed the Jukon
capital of Kororofa." About 1820 the Filane Emir of Bauchi
captured the neighbouring town of Wase, and at the same time
conquered some of the Ankwe, though never the Chief's branch.

The tribe thus became broken up, though they have since
been re-united under the tribal Chief Sarkin Tshendam ; Tshen-
dam being their headquarters, whither they removed about

TRIBES. 19

igoi when their former land was farmed out. Donkwop, a
third-class Chief, is reigning now. The principal clans in the
Ankwe Ngarass district (population 5,474), are the Kunum,
Doka, Pirpum, Larr, Jagnung, Kwonum, Let, Mudurr, and,
of course, the Ngarass themselves. Ngarass meaning " on the
stones . ' ' Whilst the Ankwe proper live in walled villages , the Ngarass
erect small stockades around their dwellings, and the Jagnung
live in scattered compounds each within its own fortification.

The Pirpum employ dogs to run down game. They carry
shields when hunting as a protection from leopards. If a dispute
arises as to the ownership of the kill the game is split in two down
the spine ; one party takes the head and neck, the other the skin.

The Ankwe had an elaborate administrative organisation,
which included the offices of Chief, of :—

' Kassun " — Haussa ' Wombai," who is next in rank to
the Chief, helps him to settle disputes, and also aids in the election
of the 'Chief's successor.

' Kabo " ' Maidaiki," who helps the Wombai and conducts
the selection of the new Chief.

' Kanai " " Chiroma," who is the principal of the Chief's
sons and directs their work.

' Nuwang " " Galadima," who acts as intermediary
between the Ankwe and their neighbours the Yergum.

' Kyon " ' Tukura," who arranges interviews between
the Sarki and visitors and conducts them to him. He also helps
in the selection of the new Chief.

' Nyu " —Haussa ' Lifidi," who acts as intermediary
between the Ankwe and Kunuun.

" Shundwar " ' Wangia," who lives on the Montol-Ankwe
boundary and conducts disputants to Tshendam.

" Kunnawal " —Haussa " Sarkin Yaki," military commander.

1 Dukkum " -Haussa ' Taffida," and

;< Sunnan " —Haussa ( Jarmai," war officers.

' Nybum " —who stays with the Chiroma, just behind the
Sarki, on march.

' La Ludass " —Haussa ' Dan Kunguni," cook to the
Chief ; there are five officials who go ahead with him to prepare
the Chief's house when he is travelling.

There are five officials responsible for cleaning the Sarki's
compound and for keeping the wall in good repair, and three
officials who are responsible for the Chief's farm. Kurwat lives
in the south of the Ankwe District and conveys messages to
the Chief from people approaching from that direction.

Kajen sees that the Chief gets his share of all fish and game
that are killed.

Koway is the royal barber and also performs the actual
coronation.

2O NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Shankwel is the high priest.

The levy most generally raised was that of Gaisua.

It was the tribal custom on the death of a Chief for the Maidaiki
Wombai and Tukura to select his successors from among the
Chieftains ; they agreed upon two names and elected one of
these by vote. When this was done the Maidaiki called upon
all the aspirants to the throne to come forward, which they
did, each individual presenting the committee, one with five
slaves, another with two horses, according to his wealth, but
after a while — about a month — they clamoured for the election
to take place, and the whole population were accordingly sum-
moned to Sheil Hill near Mata Fada, the royal burial ground,
and the spot where their tsafi — Mat Kerrem — is kept. While
the claimants squat in the open the Maidaiki sits on a kob
skin and proclaims that Mat Kerrem .will that day name their
Chief, but begs the disappointed not to be angry. He then calls
upon Tukura to bring forward the candidate Mat Kerrem has
selected, and the new Chief throws dust on his head and body
in token of humility. The Maidaiki places a red cap upon his
head and a big cloth round his loins, and delivers a speech to
him advising him as to how he should rule, and another speech
to the people foretelling prosperity under the new King. The
Maidaiki then vacates his seat, and the Chief, who has meanwhile
donned a gown, occupies it. The Maidaiki takes off his robe
and puts a cloth round his loins, and throws dirt on his body
in token of submission and loyalty to his sovereign, a proceeding
copied successively by the elective council, the Chieftains, and
the people. The Maidaiki then conducts the King to his banquet
hall.

The priest kills a horse, two dogs, two large goats and a
red fowl on the spot where the ceremony has taken place, and
a carouse takes place to the accompaniment of much drumming.
Beer is poured into the mouth of the image of Mat Kerrem and
all remain, eating, drinking and dancing for seven days.

On his return to the capital the King gives ten sheep to the
Maidaiki, ten pots of beer to the Chieftains, five goats and five
pots of beer to his own brothers, and other presents to the
peasantry.

One year after his accession, when his hair has grown long,
the Chief returns to the place of his election, the barber " Koway >:
fashions his hair into a black tuft, into which he inserts a certain
ivory needle with a disc at one end, which constitutes the coro-
nation ceremony. The accessories are termed ' Na Sunga,"
a name that is kept jealously secret. Seven days festival ensue
and complete the accession ceremonies.

No one may plant their farms before the Sarki plants his,
and a big festival takes place at harvest time.

TRIBES. 21

The Chief may not look on the river Benue under pain of
death.*

On the death of the Chief his favourite wife, horse, and
servant were buried in the same grave with him.*

An ordinary Chieftain was buried in a sitting position in
a vault-like grave, to which admission was obtained through a
small entrance. A gown was added to his goatskin loin cloth.

The Ankwe believe that the soul can pass into an animal,
and that all deformed beasts have human souls and would not
hurt mankind.

They will not kill either a crowned-crane or a hawk lest
they should die or become fools, but they regard the feathers
as giving strength to their wearers and eagerly seek them.

Those in Chip worship the god r< Gwon," f and eat human
flesh in his temple. .The women are not present.

The owl is considered a bird of evil omen,J and should a
man hear it he believes that it would peck out his eyes that night
were he, to sleep out in the open.

Boys are circumcised at the age of seven, when a special
dance takes place round them, its performers throwing themselves
on the ground and rolling over and over.

A man declares his suit by bringing the lady of his choice
a mat which encloses some cloth. If she favours him she returns
to them those brought her by other men, and a dowry is agreed
on, which is paid in large round skins and in goats, commonly
to a value of 305. When this is paid the bride, completely covered
by a big cloth, goes to the groom's compound, where his female
relatives give her a separate hut. Six or eight girls, followed
by many others, crawl along the ground after her, simulating
the motions of a snake and concealed beneath a big cloth. When
they reach the compound they demand a larger dower on behalf
of their friend, and when they have got all they can extract they
dance round her house before retiring.

The bride may not go out or do any ordinary work, and her
food is brought to her. The marriage is not consummated for
a period varying from three to six months, and the groom is
sometimes anticipated by his father.

The practice of giving tribal marks is now discontinued,
but formerly the women were marked on their faces, backs,
necks, chests and stomachs, and men on their faces, necks and
chests — a ladder-line down the centre of the forehead being
a feature.

The top and bottom front teeth are still filed.

The use of bows and arrows were unknown to them as late

* This is also a Jukon custom.

f See Angas. The Jukon have a god called Gion.

£ Nupe and Yoruba.

22 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

as the middle of the nineteenth century and spears
tribal weapon.

ARABS (LARABAWA).

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. P. A. Benton. Mr. G. S. Lethem.

Mr. G. J. F. Tomlinson.

There is a considerable colony of Tripolitan Arabs at Kano,
and a few individuals of this race are to be found in various
of the trading centres such as Sokoto, Katsena, Zaria, etc. They
are all traders.

In Bornu there exists a large section of pastoral Arabs known
as the Shuwa, who have long been settled in the Chad neighbour-
hood, and whose origin is from the East. Their name is probably
derived from the Abyssinian " Sha," or " Shoa," meaning
pastoral,* and is used to differentiate them from other Arabs,
such as the Jellaba from the Nile vicinage and the Wassili from
North Africa. It is to the Shuwa that the following remarks
apply. While claiming an eastern origin, and in certain cases
direct descent from the Prophet, the Shuwa were known to
be in occupation of Dar-Fur and Wadai as early as 1400 A.D.
Whilst some of their descendants still inhabit those regions,
others have gradually migrated westwards to the Chad basin,
four clans arriving in what is now British Bornu early in the
seventeenth century. These, however, the Joama, Maiyin,
Saraje, Bakariye and Ezubio, intermarried with the natives
of the district, and are now more or less merged with the Kanuri,
being subject to the same administration — having no separate
Sheikhs of their own — and in many cases speaking tittle or no
Arabic. They are to be found to the south and west of Maiduguri
in its near neighbourhood. Offshoots of these are to be found
in North- West Bornu, Katagum and Kano, where they migrated
circ. 1700 A.D., but they, too, have become merged with the
nomad Filane and others amongst whom they settled. The
next arrivals came to Bornu in response to the invitation of
Sheikh Mohamet al Amin al Kanemy, circ. 1809 A.D., to assist
him with their light cavalry in clearing the country of the invading
Filane forces. They were given in return lands now known
as Ngomati lying south-east of Chad, between it and Maiduguri,
where the majority still reside, and in addition were granted
independence of Kanuri control, but, to meet the protest of
the former Kanuri occupants of these lands, the Shuwa tenure

*Mr. H. R. Palmer.

TRIBES. 23

was made conditional on their paying a custom of one ram and
one bowl of butter per village per annum to the ejected residents.
The Shuwa Sheikhs exerted great influence at the Bornu court
until the year 1892 A.D. when, on the arrival of Rabeh, they
espoused his cause en bloc, and with him suffered defeat at
the hands of the French, losses from which they have not yet
wholly recovered.

Both under the Kanembu Shehus and under Rabeh the
Shuwa were under the control of their own Sheikhs. In the
time of Al Kanemy they were represented at the court of Kukawa
.by three Arabs who held the rank of ' Kogena "=councillor,
and acted as " Chima " (equivalent to the Haussa ' Kofa "
or " Ajia ") for the clans under their control. This office was
never held by slaves. In the same way under Rabeh the Shuwa
were grouped under their own Lawans, who again were subordinate
to Ajias in Dikoa, the seat of Rabeh's Court.

After his fall the Sheikhs, each one independent of the other
and recognising no seniority amongst themselves, were ad-
ministered centrally by the Shehu of Bornu, who deputed a
Kachella (a slave) to deal with them individually on questions
of routine and taxation. The tribesmen, even when living
in a village of mixed nationalities, appointed a headman of
their own who, in cases of dispute, appealed to his own Sheikh.
This system has been so far modified that the Shuwa are now
under the district heads of their place of residence, though the
Sheikhs retain their control by means of an agent in each district
inhabited by any section of the tribe. The office of Sheikh
is hereditary within certain families and the appointment is
made by the Shehu of Bornu in accordance with the wishes
of the tribe. The Shuwa pay Jangali = is. 6d. per head on
cattle, of which they own some 85,000, and id. on sheep and
goats, which number some 50,000. An income tax has more
recently been assessed on settled farms. The land is for the
most part rich, yielding double crops, millet in the wet season
and berbere or masakwa in the dry season — it is tilled by slaves
who average rather more than a tenth of the total population.
The excellence of the irrigation farms is remarkable.

Horses are bred for the market, the Shuwa retaining mares only
for their personal use. Cattle are frequently handed over to
Filane herdsmen.

The Shuwa excel as blacksmiths and leather workers.

There are some villages in the dry season pastures in Chad
where the inhabitants are able to remain all the year round,
though the stock is sent away in the wet season, but for the
most part the villages, though recognised as permanent head-
quarters, are deserted by all but a few slaves, who remain as
caretakers when water becomes scarce towards the end of December,
the owners returning about the middle of July. This interval

24 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

they spend in a definite dry season pasture, where the village
is reconstructed as described below, with the exception that
the inner room only is erected, the slaves putting up small grass
shelters for themselves and the stock remaining in the open.
The characteristic features of the villages are the absence of
fenced compounds, the almost complete absence of trees, and
the great size of the round buildings or turn-turns which are
often from thirty to forty feet in diameter and from ten to fifteen
feet in height. These are constructed with a framework of
wood covered over with mats and supported in the centre by
one or more tree-trunks, the whole being roofed over with stalks
of guinea-corn and millet. Each of these contains an inner
room of about ten by six by -five feet, made of mats and skins
laid over a light framework of wood and raised off the ground,
which serves the family as bed and store-room, while the outer
room is both stable, byre, barn and slaves' quarters. Even
in the not very common event of a man having more than one
wife a single house generally suffices for the whole family. The
houses are usually constructed in a circle round a large open
space, the intervals between them being filled by a low fence
of thorn-bush. The open ground in the middle of the village
often contains a second zariba, where the live-stock are penned
at night in the dry season. In the localities, however, where
the soil is a heavy black clay a biting fly (not tsetse), is prevalent
in the rainy season and then the cattle are kept in the turn-
turns by day and are let out to graze by night.

As may be imagined the villages are very dirty, like vast
dung-heaps.

Generally speaking, the Shuwa are slight in figure, aquiline
in feature and of light complexion, but a number of persons
of dark colouring and negroid appearance are to be found amongst
them. Probably these are the descendants of slaves, for children
born of slaves are themselves free. The women plait their hair
into braids, which hang down from the temples often as low
as the breasts, while a thicker raised plait is worn at the back
of the head. Into these much butter is worked.

The Shuwa are very warlike. Frequent mention of their
military ardour and of the leading place assigned to their cavalry
in the Bornu army is made by both Denham and Barth. They
fought solely on horseback, armed with spears and long javelins,
occasionally carrying guns but never bows. Their favourite
method was a frontal attack, the riders often tying themselves
to their neighbours by the hems of their robes.

The Shuwa speak a dialect of Arabic which, while it includes
many negro and Sudanese words (particularly substantives),
retains many classical Arabic words and inflections which have
dropped out of use in modern parlance in more civilised countries.

TRIBES. 25

They number some 35,000 to 40,000 persons, distributed
between five groups, which again sub-divide into thirty tribes,
each one under an independent Sheikh. These are :—

1. The Kwalme, who take their name from their ancestor
Ghalim, who flourished in Northern Wadai about 1400 A.D.,
and who claim to be Sherifs, as descendants of Ali and Fatima.
They are the wealthiest group, owning as many cattle as the
rest of the tribes put together. They are sub-divided into eight
septs ; Wulad Sarar, Wulad Mohareb, Wulad Salim, Wulad
Abu loi, Wulad Amiri, Wulad Ghanem, Beni Wayil, Dagana.

2. The Wulad Himet, with three subsidiary groups, all
descendants of Ahamet al Ejedum, who flourished in Southern
Wadai about 1400 A.D. Their ten septs are ; Shiebat, Shiebat,*
Kilefat, Bulwa Hamsa, Bulwa Zarka, Jubarat Hamsa, Jubarat
Zarka, Wasabu, Musaribu, Wulad Mihimet.

(a) The Hamadiye, also descended from Ahamet al Ejedum,
divided into two septs the Hamadiye and Habaniye,

(b) The Salamat, likewise descended from Ahamet al Ejedum,
embracing two septs, the Salamat and Assala.

(c) The Lesiye or Assale, who appear to be descended from
Ahamet al Ejedum by a different line to the above, but
who have been in closer touch with the Kwalme from
whom they often claim descent. The two septs of which
they are composed both use the name Assale.

All the above groups claim descent from the Koreish, but the
claim, though seriously maintained by some authorities, is lacking
in documentary evidence.

3. The Khuzam, who claim descent from the ancient Khuzay-
mah tribe in Arabia, comprise two septs, the Khuzam and Jilefat.

4. The Juhaynah, who claim descent from Abdullahi Juhayni
of the Arabian tribe Juhaynah. They are sub-divided into two
septs, still mainly nomad, the Beni Badur and the Beni Set.
They are despised by the other tribes.

Of all these the Wulad Himet, Salamat, Hamadiye and Beni
Set are more mixed in blood, darker in complexion, have lost
some of their nomad qualities in favour of farming, and are less
rich than the others, and of less esteem.

5. The fifth group, the Tunjur, are possibly not of Arabic
descent at all, or have at all events received a large admixture
of blood from indigenous races and have abandoned many Arab
customs, so that they are despised by the other Shuwa, with
whom, however, they have been in close touch for many gener-
ations and whose language they speak. Tradition assigns
their origin to Tunis. Their forebears were the early rulers of
Dar-Fur and Wadai in pagan days. They consist of two septs,
the Tunjur and Kurata.

*Two distinct septs who use the same name.

26 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

ARAGO.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. A. Campbell-Irons. Mr. H. F. Mathews.

Mr. W. Morgan.

The Arago number some 3,800, who are distributed over
the Abuja and Lafia divisions of Nassarawa Province, and the
Koton Karifi District in the Niger Province.

Their origin is uncertain. There is a theory that they are
of Jukon descent, a theory based on the similarity of the Arago
language to Jukon,* but it seems more likely that their country
was under Jukon dominion and that the two races intermarried.
It is probable that they were of the Gara tribe, a section of whom
left Atagara, near Idah, about the year 1232 A.D., and travelled
up the river to found the state of Doma.

The town they built was larger than Hadeija, and was so
densely populated that there were no open spaces within the
walls. It was called after the leader of the expedition, Andoma.
After awhile these Gara heard rumours as to there being salt
pits in the neighbourhood, and a Chieftain named Keana went
to investigate its truth. Having verified their existence, he
found them so valuable that he remained there and built a town.
Andoma was very angry and marched against him, but his
people would not fight and he cursed them, using the appellation
" Aragogo," whence their present name is derived. Andoma
then had an iron cap made with which he covered the spring,
but the salt water burst it, and he accepted this as an omen and
retired. Keana sent him the first two bags of salt, and this
custom has been continued annually, but they do not recognise
the supremacy of Doma.

Atta, the twenty-seventh Chief of Doma, who succeeded
in 1901, is acknowledged as overlord by certain Munshi clans.

Ago, the sixteenth Chief of Keana, succeeded in 1903.

Muhammadanism is penetrating rapidly, but the tribal
divinity is one supreme god, " Gago," to whom sacrifices of
goat and sheep are made, and by whose name oaths are taken
in the temples. Two groves of trees are set aside for his worship
in Doma town, and in the villages he may either be worshipped
in a thicket or by some special tree, beneath which numbers
of skulls are scattered. A village generally possesses two temples,
huts in which an image is kept. These are fashioned in mud
with a black glazed surface. One was of a nude male figure
from the thighs upwards, almost life-size, the arms were repre-
sented by antelope horns, the skull thereof being embedded
in the trunk of the image.

•It is also very similar to Okpoto.

TRIBES. 27

The other figure represented a bush-cow and was about
half life-size, but the legs were of necessity very thick that they
might support the weight of the super-structure. Real buffalo
horns projected from the head, and the eyes consisted of circular
discs of tin embedded into the head so that they lay flush with
the surface.*

Tsafi is made on the graves of ancestors. There is a religious
dance, hight that of " good and evil." The old men sit round
in a circle, while boys conduct an impersonator of the spirit
out from the temple. He is concealed beneath sacking and
wears a high conical hat, which gives him the appearance of
being eight feet tall. He walks several times round the circle
and then whirls himself round to the quick beat of the drum,
addressing the elders in a falsetto voice, who, one by one, get
up and follow him. So long as the spirit dances they all dance,
and should anyone be struck by' the knob which is attached
by a long string to the spirit's hat it is a sure sign that evil will
fall on that individual or on his family. An elder, who carries
a wand, acts as master of the ceremonies.

There is a second circular step dance, " Joy," when the
rhythm is marked by jingling the ornaments worn on the arms
and legs, but this dance is probably without religious significance.
In Keana the marabout is accounted a sacred bird.

The towns are built on the edge of large Kurimis and are
always walled. The average architecture in the small villages
is very mean, the huts being small and the thatching bad. The
compounds are composed of a rough ring of small circular huts
with the doors facing inwards. The spaces between the huts
are filled by long, fairly heavy, logs of wood, laid horizontally
and kept in place by upright posts inside and outside, which
serve both as barricade and fuel store. The entrance is usually
formed by two rush fences, starting from opposite sides of a
space between two huts, parallel and overlapping for a few
feet before each is broken off. The narrow space between these
two fences, which forms the entrance, is quickly and easily barred.

The grain stores are not built of mud, but are large cylindrical
receptacles woven of tough grass, in the same manner as zana
matting, and raised off the ground on short bush poles to keep
out white ants and vermin. In the Benue villages all the hut
walls are also made of zana mats and sticks, as the annual rise
of the river floods the villages for a time and would cause mud
to collapse. During high-river, platforms of poles are erected
in the huts and the natives live on these and travel entirely by
canoe. The grain-stores also are raised on much larger poles,
to as much as six feet above the ground to protect them from
floods.

•Village of Rukubi, Doma.

28 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The architecture in Doma and other big towns is much more
solid and pretentious. Entrance zaures are often very large,
and the rafter-work and thatching of the conical roof are sym-
metrical and strong. Whether this solid variety is the original
Arago style and has been corrupted in the smaller villages by
Koro and Bassa influences, or whether the mean style of the
smaller villages is original and has been improved on in the
large villages and towns by Filane influence, it is difficult to
say.*

The people are of peaceful disposition, and of fairly good
physique, which, however, is deteriorating owing to the fact
that for many years past they have adopted the practice of.
inoculating their children with syphilis. f The children are covered
with sores in consequence.

A suitor pays a dower in money, or works, either himself
or by sending his younger brother as proxy, for three years on
his future father-in-law's farm (he continues to work on his
father's farm even after marriage). Marriage between cousins
is forbidden, and divorce is not recognised.

Women might hold property, which their husbands could
not inherit.

On the death of a man his younger brother inherited all
property and one widow. He was liable for debts of the deceased.

The corpse of a Chief was smeared \uth grease and kept
near a fire for one month before it was buried. His favourite
wife, child, horse, and three attendants were killed and buried
with him, together with half his possessions. J By tribal law
murder was punished by death, and manslaughter by the payment
of blood money, in addition to which a ceremony of cleansing
the earth where the deed had taken place was conducted at
the perpetrator's expense.

A thief became slave to the Chief, and adultery was punished
by fine.

ARIWA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. H. F. Back well. Mr. J. A. Silcock.

The Ariwa inhabit the Emirate of Argungu in Sokoto Province,
where they number some 7000.

They live in small un walled compounds, which are scattered
at considerable distances from each other, in the valleys of a
fairly fertile but waterless country.

* Mr. H. F. Mathews.

f Compare Koro.

I Major Tremearne. Jukon custom.

TRIBES. 29

They have intermarried with the Kebbawa.

They are a clean and prosperous-looking people, but any
system of education is unknown to them.

They are pagans, whose ritual does not include the offering
up of sacrifices. They make prayer in times of famine, at birth
and at death, etc.

Their temple consists in a small circle of stones, the ring
being complete to ward off evil influence. It is broken at the
end of prayer.

The founder of the tribe was one Akazamma, son to Ari,
Sarkin Kukawa of Bornu, by a pagan woman of Arewa
Raft. The child was given his mother's tribal markings, i.e.,
two cuts on either side of the face, which remain the Ariwa
markings to this day, but Ari, the father, was vexed to find
his son so marked and refused to take him to Bornu. Akazamma
therefore remained at Arewa Raft and founded the town of
Bagaji. He was succeeded by nine Chiefs, after which, two
brothers, Maidoka and Maiyaki, divided the territory between
them, and their descendants are now district-heads of Arewa
Gabas and Arewa Yemma respectively, though the greater
part of their ancestral lands are now under French dominion.

ASBENAWA or TUAREG.

The Asben kingdom is situated in the desert due north of
Daura, but its history is linked with the peoples in Nigeria.
Some people assert* that it was first inhabited by Daurawa,
who were presently conquered by Kanuri, probably in the
twelfth century, and when their power waned the Gobirawa
ruled. They, in their turn, were succeeded and driven south
by the Tuareg, who sent a deputation to the Sultan of Istambul
asking him to appoint a Chief to reign over them.f He sent
his son by a concubine, who returned with the deputation to
Abir or Asben, and was the first Chief under whom the Tuareg
clans were unified. He arrived about the year 1406 and twenty-
two years later the town of Agades was built. In 1515 Askia,
King of Songhay, invaded the Asben oasis. In 1684 they were
at war with Bornu. In 1748 they attacked Katsina, and in
1767 inflicted a defeat upon Gobir.

Asbenawa have settled in the Emirates of Kano, Katsina,
and Sokoto. In Sokoto they are frequently styled, together
with their serfs the Adarawa and Tokarawa, ' Bugaje," whose
total collective population numbers some 45,000.

* "Asben Records," Mr. H. R. Palmer.

f Compare "History of the Bedde," page 59.

30 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Though known to Europeans as Berber or Tuareg and to the
Haussas as Asbenawa, they call themselves Imoshak and their
language Tamashak. That these people were once Christian is
shown by the extensive use of the Cross in their ornaments,
especially the saddle-pommel.

They weave particularly fine mats, and the women make
ornamental leather-work by means of a series of small incisions
with a knife.

They have no tribal marks. The males are closely shrouded
wearing coverings over their brows and mouth to keep out the
desert sand, but the women on the contrary go unveiled, a rare
occurrence among Muslims.

In their desert homes they are great horse breeders and the
best horses in Haussaland come from these parts.

ATSIFAWA or ACHIPAWA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. C. E. Boyd. Major Hamilton-Browne.

The Achipawa are situated in the Sakaba Division of Konta-
gora Province, where they have a population of 1,396, and in
the central Makangara hills (Kwongoma Division, Niger Province)
whither they migrated a long time ago from Sakaba, and where
Achipanchi is still spoken and certain customs observed.*

They claim to be descended from Kishera, who led a vast
concourse of people out from his kingdom of Badar, near Mecca,
in the time of the Prophet, and are, therefore, akin to the
Bussawa, Dendowa, Kengawa, Shengawa, Borgawa, Bedde,
Gurumawa and Yorubawa.f It is probable fchat the Atsifawa
are identical with the Sef of Bornu history, and there existed
an undoubted connection between Bornu and Borgu, which
appears to have been recognised as recently as the early nine-
teenth century by Mohammed Bello (Sokoto), who spoke of
" Borgu-Bornu." The story is that a brother of Kishera's
founded the first settlement in Sakaba on the present site of
Karissen, whence the Achipawa spread. After the lapse of
many centuries some Katsinawa came and settled in their midst,
intermarrying with them, and their offspring were the Kamberri.

The Sarkin Karissen may only drink water from Karissen,
or from Dabai, a Dakkakarri town.

Certain crops are peculiar to the sexes. The men cultivate
and own the cereals (guinea-corn, millet, maize, gero and some

* Vide " Kamuku."

| Vide " History of Illo," and " History of Bussa."

TRIBES. 31

rice, also tubers (gwaza) , and some cassava ; the women cultivate
and own beans and yakua. A widower, however, inherits his
deceased wife's crops.

A man does not take up a farm of his own until he marries.

The right of occupancy to a farm passes on death to a man's
(i) sons, (2) father, (3) brothers, (4) uncles on paternal side,
(5) half-brothers, (6) intimate friends. Each class totally debars
the one below it from enjoying any share in the inheritance.
Whoever is farming the land at. the time the death occurs is
bound to yield the enjoyment of the locust-bean trees to the
deceased's sons, or, if the inheritance passes to any other rank,
must divide the produce of these trees with the successor.

The eldest brother has charge of the deceased's children,
acting as trustee for them.

Each brother, in order of seniority, has the option of marrying
the widows, but if these do not agree to the arrangement they are
at liberty to return to their own people and to marry whom they
choose.

The Achipawa do not practise circumcision.

They have no tribal marks.*

ATTAKKA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. D. Cator. Mr. H. F. Mathews.

The Attakka occupy a spur of hills in the Jemaa Emirate,
Nassarawa Province, which is a continuation of the Bauchi
plateau, where they have a population of some 4,000.

It has been suggested that they migrated from Bauchi together
with the Kagoro,f but it is more probable that both these tribes
are members of a large group which migrated from North-
West Zaria, of which the Moroa, Kaji, and Katab are members.

All these tribes wear the same tribal marks, i.e., numerous
short perpendicular cuts along the forehead from ear to ear
and thirteen or more long slanting lines on each cheek from
ear to chin. The incisions are painted with soot. These are,
however, of recent origin, having been invented two generations
ago by a skilful Katab operator.

The Attakka, Kagoro and Moroa languages are similar and
bear affinity to those of the Katab and Kaji. Haussa is commonly
known.

* This points to Arab or Berber origin,
f Major Tremearne.

32 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The Attakka maintained their independence from the Filane
until, in I9i2> they consented to acknowledge the Sarkin Jemaa
as their paramount Chief. They are now rapidly losing their
identity, becoming merged with their neighbours the Moroa,
Kagoro and Kaura on the west, and with the Gwandara in
the south.

Their villages are situated in the hills and are built in a similar
manner to those of other members of the group.*

They keep a fair number of horses, which they ride in a similar
manner to the Bauchi hill-pagans. f

Their weapons are spears for the horsemen, and bows and
arrows for the footmen. They first learnt the use of arrow-poison
some twenty years ago from the Kibbo (Bauchi). They keep
the skulls of their enemies.

The men wear triangular leather loin-coverings, or a skin
hanging from the shoulder,* over a small wicker case ; girls,
a loose girdle of string which is exchanged for a bunch of leaves
in front and a thick stem of plaited palm-fibre with a broad
base behind.*

Their customs are said to be similar to those of the Kagoro,
and the afore-mentioned group of tribes intermarry, but more
especially the Attakka and Kagoro, as their women are prepared
to clear grass for the farms, which women of the other tribes
are not. As with the Kagoro the consumption of a dog is the
final ceremony of the wedding day, but instead of devouring
it himself the Attakka suitor gives one to his bride's family. J

AUYOKAWA, SHIRAWA, TESHENAWA.

AUTHORITIES :

Capt. J. M. Fremantle.

Mr. K. L. Hall.

The origin of the Auyokawa, Shirawa and Teshenawa is
identical. Three men of the above names, variously described
as Margi, or as coming from Bagirimi territory, east of the Shari,
founded three towns about the year 1211 A.D. The date is,
however, disputed. Local tradition supplies the names and
approximate length of reign of twenty-five Chiefs, descendants
of Awuya, which would bring his advent to the year 1346 A.D.,
whilst another authority gives 1400 A.D. as the probable date.
In the reign of Jibrin, 1780-1820 A.D., the Filane came to the
country from Gobir, under the leadership of Sambo Jiginsa,

* Vide Kagoro.
t Vide also Moroa.
I Major Tremearne.

TRIBES. 33

great-grandfather of the present Emir of Hadeija. He sent
a present of a hundred cows to Jibrin and asked, and obtained,
leave to feed his cattle by the river. Jibrin's son, Gazizi, escorted
the strangers to a place about a mile and a half from the present
site of Hadeija, and here they remained for three years, using
it as a base for carrying off cattle and kidnapping children.
Gazizi then told his father that he would go out at the head of
i.ooo horsemen to drive the marauders from the land, but he
had secretly conspired with Sambo Jiginsa, who met him on the
road and followed with him into Auyo. Gazizi then told his
father that the Filane had defeated him and that they must
fly. Jibrin accordingly escaped through a hole in the wall, but
Gazizi remained and reigned in his stead. After a lapse of three
years, however, Sambo Jiginsa deposed him in favour of a Filane.

Native authority claims that the Auyokawa are of the same
stock as the Bedde, originating from a town called Badr, east
of Bagirimi. The two languages^ show close resemblance, the
termination of nouns and a strong accentuation of the last
syllable being very noticeable. Many of the words are identical.
Auyokanchi is, however, now spoken only by two old men.

They number some 3,273, including some Filane who are
living amongst them.

Auweya is in the Hadeija Emirate, but, prior to the Filane
conquest, paid allegiance to Bornu through Nguru.

Muhammadanism was introduced towards the end of the
seventeenth century.

No clothing was worn but goat-skins.

Auyokawa are notified from Katagum and from Sokoto
Province, but these are Filane emigrants from Hadeija who
have adopted the name.

The Shirawa also became subject to Bornu in the sixteenth
century, and some still reside in that Province.

Others are notified from Jemaari and Katagum, where
Shira is situated, in Kano Province, and there are 770 in Bauchi
Emirate (Darazo).

In the latter Province they live in walled towns or hamlets.

Nearly all are Muhammadans.

Teshena is situated in the Katagum Emirate. The people
have a great reputation for longevity, living to a hundred years
and more. They were formerly under Bornu and have a register
of seventy Kings.

The Muhammadan religion is observed.

There is a certain baobab on the Kano road, west of Teshena,
which is called " Gerazo," and is held in great veneration.
The people say that its fruit has not been plucked for a period
of over one thousand years.

34 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

AWOK.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. T. F. Carlyle. The Hon. Oliver Howard.

The Awok occupy one town in the Gombe Division, to the
south-east of Bauchi Province.

This town is situated to the north of the Tula group and
in Mr. Oliver Howard's opinion its inhabitants came, with the
Tula of Wange and Iri, from Tuar on the Benue. They fought
and destroyed a township named ' Tidi," and called the hill
they occupy ' Tudul."

Mr. Carlyle, however, thinks that they came from Kakali,
a town once lying between Kamu and Awok, whose inhabitants
wer# probably Tangale.

They paid tribute to the Jukon at Pindika before the Filane
invasion, but never came under the Filane sway.

The language they speak is entirely different from that of
the Tula or Tangale, and was probably acquired from the original
inhabitants whom they conquered.

The tribal marks are also distinct. They are clearly marked,
the lines being neither so faint as those of the Tula nor so pro-
tuberant as those of the Tangale. The women have adopted
the Tera marks from motives of vanity, i.e., one deep line from
the centre of the forehead to the end of the nose, three horizontal
lines from the corner of the nose, and a quantity of lines from
the top of the head to the jaw-bone.

Both men and women have lines running down the front
of both arms.

Their religious practices are identical with those of the Tangale,*
but their priest is entitled " Losuni."

The legal, marriage, and succession customs are also identical,*
though the payments are slightly different. A murderer loses
his farm and pays a fine of fifteen goats, whereas a Tangale
murderer pays seven goats, three hundred small hoes, and gives
a boy of his family to the bereaved relations. A bridegroom
works on the farm of his fianceVs father, as well as paying a
dower of ten fowls and six goats.

The music and dances are the same.

AWORO.

The Aworo have a population of some 3,799, and inhabit
the Agbaja Division of Kabba Province.

*Also Tula.

TRIBES. 35

They speak a distinct language and are probably indigenous
to that neighbourhood, though some people believe them to
be an off-shoot of the Yoruba.

They suffered greatly from Nupe razzias, and were probably
subject to the Bunu.*

Their arms consist of a few dane-guns.

They practise riverain pursuits and are good agriculturists,
especially to the north of Lokoja.

Rights of occupancy of land are granted to any resident in
the community, but if he proves undesirable he is. twice warned,
and if he does not amend is called before the Oru of Agbaja and
the Judicial Council and, if adjudged guilty, is whipped. Should
he continue to prove undesirable he is banished, the produce
of his farm being divided between his eldest brother and sons,
while the lands revert to the community.

Rights of enjoyment of forest produce are also granted by
the Chief, but if the possessor thereof does not work his right
the Chief may re-assign it to .someone else.

Owing to the small population, land is plentiful and is never
under cultivation for more than four years, and often only for
three. When it is left fallow it falls in .automatically to the
village headman. .

The sons inherit rights of occupancy to land, with any erection
thereon — where there are no sons the brothers succeed — and where
there is no brother the property revtrts to the community.

The right of enjoyment of trees (mango, oil-palm and locust-
bean) always passe=> to the brother, but if they are growing on
the farm itself the brother only receives a proportion. Failing
brothers the sons succeed, and failing both the right reverts
to the community.

All liabilities are paid off immediately after burial. A portion
of the real estate (arbitrarily settled) is given to the widows,
and the remainder is divided in two halves : (i) between the
eldest whole brother or brothers, and (2) the sons.

If the sons are minors, the eldest whole brother acts as trustee,
and if there is no brother the headman acts in his place ; the
sons ultimately receiving the whole.

Widows are free to marry whom they will.

A peasant was buried immediately on his decease, but a
Chief's body was smoked and preserved for three or four months.
His favourite wife, boy, and slave — sometimes many slavesf —
were killed and buried with him.

A suitor worked on the farm of his betrothed's father once
to three times a year, according to the number of helpers he was
able to bring with him. He also made certain presents.

* Vide Bunu, page 71.
f Jukon custom.

36 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

No one was permitted to marry outside the tribe.
The affairs of the tribe were administered by the Or
Agbaja with the assistance of his Judicial Council.

AYU or AYUB.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. H. F. Mathews. Mr. C. Migeod.

The Ayu are situated in the Ayu District (145 square miles),
in the south-east of the Jemaa Emirate (Nassarawa Province).

They have a population of 1,822, men preponderating over
women.

A few have been notified from Bassa Province.

They are said to owe their origin to a fusion of the neigh-
bouring tribes of Kibo and Numana, amongst whom a Katsina
man named Ayuba settled, intermarrying with the natives and
giving them his title. The district head is entitled Sarkin Fada
Ayu. They were conquered by the Filane Sarkin Jemaa, and
are a cowardly, unenterprising people. The tribal weapon is
a wooden sword.

They are good farmers and obtain considerable wealth in
palm-oil.

The women clothe themselves in a lot of loose strings, some
of which are passed round the hips and fastened at the back,
whilst others are brought between the legs and tucked in in
front .

Marriage is by exchange, a girl of one family being given
as bride in exchange for a girl of another family. Cousins,
therefore, may not marry. If a woman leaves her husband her
" exchange " must do so likewise, together with her children,
but if the number of their offspring is even the children remain
with their fathers.

A man who has no " exchange " to offer may be allowed
to marry, but in that case his offspring belong to his wife's
family. It is more usual for a man so situated to attach himself
to some family who can provide an exchange for him.

There is no limit to the number of wives a man may have,
five or six being common amongst the richer men.

Widows pass to the younger brothers of their deceased hus-
bands, but failing them return to their own families.

There is no high standard of morality before marriage, but
an adulterer is fined.

The priest regulates and administers trial by ordeal. He
hands the accused a calabash of poison, of which the guilty

TRIBES. 37

man dies while an innocent man vomits and is saved. An
important man may use a fowl to act as deputy in the test.

A lunatic is given medicine and tied to a tree, but if this
cure is unavailing he is left there to die.

BA.

The Ba are situated in the Bukuru district on the western edge
of the Bauchi plateau, where it culminates in Amo peak. They
have a population of 3,200.

BABUR.

AUTHORITY : Mr. J. H. C. Elder.

The Babur are a pagan tribe who inhabit the Babur, or Biu
district, in the Gujba division of Bornu province, an area of some
1,150 square miles.

They have a population of some 9,727.

A small body, forty-five, have settled in Gombe.

Legend assigns their origin to North Africa, but they are said
to have been in Bornu by the fifteenth century. The founder of
the present kingdom of Babur was one " Yemptarawalla," a son
of the Mai (= chief), of Ngurgur Gamu, in the Geidam division,
by a Mandara woman. He came to Limbur, circ. 1628 A.D., a
place six miles north-east of Biu, where he was joined by the
Mulgwe tribe from Dikoa. With their aid he drove out the Burra
and Hinna, and established the present community. In his suc-
cessor's reign, the Burra reconquered the country to within six
miles of Biu ; and in the reign of the present chief's father the
neighbouring district of Tera re-established its independence.

Mai Arri, a third-class Chief, and a direct descendant of Yemp-
tarawalla, by a Burra mother, now reigns. He has again been
given jurisdiction over the Burra, who now freely intermarry
with the Babur, the two peoples speaking a similar language.
He became a Muhammadan in 1910, but is still subject to a
superstition which forbids the Mai of Biu to look upon the waters
of a certain lake lest he should be smitten with blindness.

The country is rocky and the soil poor, but the people can
grow enough for their needs, and they get some fish from the
river Hawal. A woman has a separate farm from her husband,
but is bound to work on his for three days out of seven, during
which time he provides her with food. Ordinarily each party
contributes his or her own share, but the woman cooks for both.
The man grows grain only.

A peculiar breed of small cattle, horses, donkeys, sheep and
goats are kept.

TRIBES. 39

The Babur live in scattered hamlets.

They are a prolific race, but they suffer from high infant
mortality, due to the women doing excessive manual labour.

Girls are usually ten to eleven and youths twelve to fourteen
years old when they marry, the engagement taking place less
than three months before the wedding.

A man may repudiate his wife, but a woman may not leave
her husband.

The Mai of Biu has the right to seize any virgin.

When a child is born the mother's husband and parents provide
a goat, fowls, beer, etc., and a feast is held.

They are heavy drinkers.

BANGALAWA.

Ninety Bangalawa are notified from Ako in Gombe Emirate,
Bauchi Province.

BAREDAWA.

A small community of Baredawa are notified as hill-pagans
in the north of Bauchi Emirate.

BASHAR.

AUTHORITIES :
Major A. E. Churcher. Mr. H. Vischer.

The Bashar are situated in the Wase district of the Ibi division
of Muri province, where they number some 2,643.

Over 13,000 Bashiri are notified from Bauchi Province.
Possibly they are related to the Muri Bashar, who came from
Konkiok, in Bornu, whence they were driven by the continual
slave raids of the Bornu chiefs, and settled at an old Jukon village
north of Wase rock and paid tribute to Kororofa (the Jukon
capital) .

lu the reign of their second chief, Yamosa, they were driven
out by Yakubu, first Filane Emir of Bauchi, circ. 1820-30, and
settled at Goram, but a subsequent Chief, Abubakr, who reigned
for forty years, founded their present town and paid tribute to
the amount of 1,100,000 cowries to Bauchi, and 14,000 to the
Ajian Bauchi, 40,000 to Wase, and 5,ooo to the Chiroma Wase.

A series of short reigns followed, when the Bashar were fre-
quently without a chief, till Alihu succeeded and reigned from
1892 to 1911.

40 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The British occupied the district in 1905 and found the Bashar
in receipt of tribute from the Burmawa and Ban to the west and
north. The reigning Bashar chief, Usuman Ela, is a grandson of
Yamosa, and holds office subject to the Sarkin Wase. He is the
first Chief to have discarded the use of the Kanuri tribal marks.

No member of another tribe is permitted to settle in the town.

BASSA.

AUTHORITIES :

Captain F. Byng-Hall. Mr. G. L. Monk.

Mr. T. W. P. Dyer. Mr. W. Morgan.

Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Bassa tribe are probably indigenous to that country to
the south of Zaria, now known as Kwongoma, whence they have
extended to the neighbouring territories of Katsina and Zamfara ;
but, though they claim to be indigenous to the Gumna neighbour-
hood (Kwongoma), their neighbours of Pongo and the Bauchi
tribe say that they were conquering immigrants, whilst others
assert that they were descended from the Filane Bororo and in
support of this theory adduce the fact that in Ashera the Bassa
practised the Bororo ordeal of manhood— " Shiri,"* or " Sharup",
until very recent date. There are traces of a Filane population
in the Benue districts, who were originally cattle-owners, and they
may have adopted the practice from these. However that may
have been, centuries have passed since their headquarters were at
Gumna, which, though now an independent district in Niger
Province, was under Zaria in pre- Jihad days, when it formed the
most important unit between the kingdoms of Zozo and Nupe.
It is noteworthy that the Gumna royal family intermarried with
the Habe kings of Zozo.

It was from Gumna that the exodus of Bassa took place :
some went north, via Kamberi and Dawaikin Bassa, to the
Zanfara towns of Bungudu, Gedda and Kotorkoshi, where they
appear to have become merged with the native population. Others
settled in Kontogora Province, some having migrated there direct
while others sojourned for a while at Bugu, in Nassarawa Pro-
vince, then at Tawari, near Lokoja, before proceeding there.

They are now scattered over the Niger Province, both in the
independent districts of Tegina and of Allawa, where they are
under a Gwari Sarki ; in the Lapai Emirate, where they number
some four hundred ; and in the Koton Karifi division, where they
first came in the time of Okaza, Sarkin Koton Karifi, having been

* Vide Filane.

TRIBES. 41

driven westwards from Nassarawa by the slave raids of the Filane
under Makama Dogo. A large number migrated in the old Habe
days to the Province of Nassarawa, where they settled along the
banks of the Gurara, acknowledging the supremacy of the former
inhabitants, the Gade, and in the plains to the south and south-
west of Abuja, where they now number some 11,646.

There are a few in Keffi Emirate (146) and some 24,429 in
Nassarawa Emirate. They have also settled in Gwagwalida, in
Kundu, Pai and Ashera, where they are mentioned as being par-
ticularly closely connected with the royal house of Gumna, where
they have intermarried with the Filane inhabitants, making an
approximate total of 47,400 in Nassarawa Province.

The Bassa of Tawari migrated thither from Bugu, in Nassa-
rawa Province. They successfully repelled the attacks of the
Filane and gave shelter to the people of Koton Karifi, who were
less fortunate.

Those residing in Bassa Province are called Bassa-Komo,
and now number some 12,064. They left Gumna in the old Habe
days and migrated to Nassarawa, where, as already mentioned,
a large number still remain along the banks of the Gurara and in
the plains to the south and south- west of Abuja. In consequence
of the Filane raids a proportion of these crossed the Benue and by
permission of Ata Amaga, of Ida, settled at Oguma in the latter
half fof the nineteenth century. Such large numbers joined the
pioneers that the Ata became alarmed and ordered their removal
from Igara territory, but he was met with resistance, and after
a six months' war the Basso-Komo triumphed and occupied the
banks of the Benue, from Mozum to Amageddi, together with
about fifteen miles width of land along that stretch of river.

The tribe is split into a number of clans or families, of which
the Akuba, the Shanshama and the Arashamashi are alike notified
from Bassa, from Umaisha to the south and from the Gurara
neighbourhood to the west of Nassarawa Pfovince. These clans
are further split into septs as follows :—

(a) Akuba embrace the Otindi, Kuberi, Ogushi in West and
South Nassarawa, the Akallobe, Obanje, Akilene, Euyusu,
Keggie and Zongolo in West Nassarawa, and the Aregi or
Arengi, in Bassa and West Nassarawa.

(b) The Shanshama (or Sanshama) embrace the Kwakwa,
common to all three districts and the Amonu, Olagwa,
Jumoku, Onukpashe, Komotui, Nakwashe, Ambarache
and Kwiakwia, notified from West Nassarawa.

(c) The Arashamashi embrace the Imberichi, notified from
West Nassarawa.

Other clans or septs are the Degeshi, notified from Bassa and
from Umaishi.

The Ohoso and Samberiki from Umaisha ; and the Tari from
Bassa.

42 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

All the clans in Bassa Province acknowledge the Akuba as
their chief, with the single exception of the Tari.

Each clan owes allegiance to its own Chief, who administers
through the village chiefs. In Bassa a supreme Chief was intro-
duced by the British Government in 1912, a Muhammadan, and
a member of the reigning family of Kano. In the Niger Province
each centre is administered by a judicial council, consisting of
Sarakuna and elders (i.e., heads of families), under a headman
who has little authority. Trial was held by the Sarki in public
assembly (Umaisha), he being assisted by the elders (Koton
Karifi), or, as in Bassa, the law was administered by the Chief
Akuba, and the chiefs of the two principal clans (Shanshama
and Arashamashi) , assisted by the village chiefs. Very heavy
costs were levied on both plaintiff and defendant. If they be-
lieved that the principal was lying he was subjected to ordeal,
and had to drink boiling oil from a calabash — did he spill any
his guilt was considered proved.

In Koton Karifi also, if the court were in any doubt as to which
of a number was the guilty party, they ordered a trial by ordeal.
The procedure was to pass a short thick rope through the nut of a
giginia palm, the rope being knotted at one end so that it might
not slip through. The nut was then buried and each sus-
pected person in turn pulled on the protruding end of the rope ;
the guilty man failed to pull it out of the ground.

Ordeal by gwaska poison was another alternative in use in
Nassarawa Province.

A murderer was punished by death.

In Umaisha he was obliged to hang himself before the court,
but he often committed suicide in his own house without awaiting
trial.

In Koton Karifi the sentence was inflicted by others ; the noose
was placed round his*neck and the rope passed over the branch
of a tree and pulled until the criminal was swinging.

Manslaughter was punished by death, or by slavery, though
in certain cases guilt of intention was tested by gwaska ordeal.

In Umaisha, however, the penalty was merely a fine of one
goat and one gown, in addition to a large pot of beer for the
obsequies of the victim.

In Bassa a thief was punished by flogging, in addition to which
all his goods were seized arid given to the victim.

In Koton Karifi a serious offence (in theft as in other crimes)
was punished by slavery, but in minor cases restitution sufficed.

In Umaisha a thief was called upon to return the goods stolen,
and if he was unable to do so he was obliged to work for the
injured party for one or two years.

In other parts of Nassarawa Province a thief was flogged, or,
in certain cases, was enslaved by the headman.

TRIBES. 43

The penalty for assault was a fine of one goat, one chicken and
one pot of beer ; but if it were of a heinous nature the delinquent
was stripped, covered with dirt, and exposed in the market place
(Umaisha) . Rape was punished by a fine (Nassarawa) . Adultery
was considered of little moment in Nassarawa, but in Umaisha,
if a man were discovered in the act, it was considered no murder
to kill him, otherwise he paid a fine of goats, sheep, chickens, etc.,
to the aggrieved husband.

A woman was not punished, and divorce was not recognised.

In addition to any punishment awarded him the offender was
obliged to furnish the court with beer. If he had not the means
to supply it himself, his family or friends provided it for him.
(Umaisha) .

In many instances, however, a case was never brought before
the court, it being acknowledged that each family had a right to
avenge its own members ; thus they would shoot a male, or
strangle a female murderer, and should the criminal escape in
person they exacted the delivery by his family of a proxy of
the same sex.

Female criminals were permanently interned in the headman's
house (Umaisha).

Juvenile delinquents were dealt with by their fathers or
guardians.

Lunacy was regarded as an offence against the community
and lunatics were driven out to die (Nassarawa), but in Bassa
they were merely deprived of the right to hold property.

Each Village Chief, ex-officio, holds the land in the neighbour-
hood of his township and half-way to the next in trust for the
people, amongst whom he distributes it for cultivation. In Nassa-
rawa a man is not eligible to hold land until he becomes a father,
but in Umaisha he is permitted to do so on marriage.

The rights of usage of oil-palms and of fishing pools are also
apportioned by the Village Chief, but no alien may enjoy the
fruits of trees-, even when growing on land which may have been
allotted to him for farming purposes (Koton Karifi).

Theoretically land reverts to the community on the death
of the occupant, but where his heir (if eldest son or brother) has
been living with him, and working on the farm, he continues in
occupation. If he has been absent he applies to the headman for
leave to occupy the farm and customarily obtains it.

Succession is : first to the eldest living brother, second to
the eldest living son, except in Umaisha, where the sequence is
reversed. There a woman's property is inherited by her son,
and, failing male issue, by her blood relatives ; but in Bassa
women have no administrative rights, and may not hold property.

When the heir is a minor, guardianship is to the eldest living
uncle, and, failing him, to the eldest living brother. Failing a

44 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

near relative the village head acts guardian. Children remain
with the heir, or failing him, with their guardian.

It is customary for the heir to divide a small part of the effects
amongst the family, but a childless widow receives nothing
(Koton Karifi).

The heir becomes responsible for the debts of the deceased.

Slavery was not permitted by tribal custom, though strange
infants might be accepted into, and brought up as members of,
a family, when they had the same rights of inheritance as if they
were legitimate (Bassa).

Blood-brotherhood is recognised. Each of the principals cuts
his arm close to the wrist and sucks the other's blood.

The Bassa country is so fertile that a change of crop is all that
is required to keep it in good bearing condition ; but a man will
usually take up a fresh plot each year.

The work of the fields is mainly done by the women, but the
men do the reaping, and the corn is garnered in their quarter of
the village.

A great deal of cotton is cultivated. In Umaisha the men
cultivate the cereals, and women beans, etc.

It is customary for the men of the community to work in a
band on the Sarki's farm for a day or two each season.

In Nassarawa the sons work on their fathers' farms until they
themselves become fathers. An average sized holding is from
three to four acres. They are in the habit of tilling deeper than
their neighbours. They do not manure any crop except tobacco.

The men do a good deal of fishing, and in the Niger Province
they obtain considerable wealth by gathering shea-nuts.

In Nassarawa weaving is an important industry.

They are keen hunters, and communal hunts are organised
on the jealously guarded village grounds.

The Basso- Komo keep hunting dogs, but are inferior sports-
men, and for the most part idle their days away smoking out of
long pipes with brass bowls, and drinking beer, leaving the
women to do the work of the community.

They are an unthrifty race, who make their corn into beer,
drink it away, and starve every season.

In Nassarawa. however, they are described as industrious,
and in Koton Karifi as energetic, though their best efforts are
only put forward after imbibing beer, which they consume in
great quantities.

Their skulls are notably flattened at the sides, narrow across
the forehead and eyes, and protuberant at the back (Koton
Karifi) . They are of good physique, though subject to the ravages
of disease and particularly of small-pox.

Both sexes file their teeth.

TRIBES. 45

They carry loads on their backs instead of on their heads, as
is the prevailing custom.*

In the Niger Province they speak a language which bears some
affinity to Baushi.

It is possible that the Kamberi, Dukawa, Baushi, Ura, Ngwoi,
and Kamuku may be akin to the Bassa, and there is a similarity in
their religion, but the points of resemblance may well be due to
propinquity.

The royal house of Gumna (Niger Province) have kept their
original distinctive mark — a short vertical line in the middle
of the chin — but its use was generally abandoned some three
generations ago.

In Koton Karifi there are no tribal marks, though an infant
is often adorned with the Yanbaka,f and the women have their
chests and backs ornamented with scars, and incised and tattooed
designs. In Nassarawa the tribal marks consist of a perpendicular
line on the forehead and sides of the jaw ; and in Kontogora of
two short cuts on each temple, and two cuts down each cheek to
the corners of the mouth. This mark is identical with that borne
by the Kamuku, of Kotonkoro.

The women keep their heads close shaven and oil themselves
every day ; they wrap one cloth round them for dress, while girls
wear a small belt of beads, or a leather loin-cloth. A copper
bracelet is the principal ornament. The men also wear a cloth,
one end of which is thrown over the shoulder, but they are very
dirty, and only wash once every six days, out of a small calabash
of water brought them by their wives for this purpose.

A long knife, with poisoned blade, is carried on the forearm
by means of an iron ring, which slides down to the wrist when
the thrust is made, similar to the Munshi. It. is never taken off
when fighting is anticipated. Other arms are spears and bows
and arrows, the tips of which are poisoned with the bark of the
Bokula tree.

They have a wide knowledge of poisons, the bark and roots
of trees, plants and insects being alike turned to account (Bassa).

In the Niger Province the weapons are bows and arrows, axes,
and knives.

The Bassa keep to defensive tactics and rely upon ambushes.

It is a peculiarity of the Basso-Komo that the sexes live in
different parts of the town, and this is so strictly carried out that
small boys are sent to live with their fathers so soon as they are
old enough to manage for themselves (this may indicate Bantu
origin). The huts are very small, with mud walls and grass roofs.
Each woman has one to herself, but where her husband has other
wives their huts adjoin each other. They are round in shape and

* Ditto Kamberi, Dukawa. Baushi, Ura, Ngwoi, and Kamuku.
t Ornamental, optional, and in no way tribal.

46 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

encircle an irregular oval space, in the centre of which is a little
square, made by four pots, held together by clay, with a space
for a fire underneath, where beer is brewed (Nassarawa). A pile
of wood is stacked outside each hut in deference to the custom
which ordains that a log must be provided for every mourner
from the deceased's pile — to serve as seat on the occasion of the
burial and afterwards to be carried home with him (Niger, Nassa-
rawa). There is also a large communal stack in each village,
which is employed as fuel when brewing beer for religious festivals.

The ordinary domestic animals are kept, goats and pigs, fowls,
ducks and pigeons. These are not killed except for sacrifice,
though they are eaten when they die. Dogs and horses are also
eaten, though the consumption of horse-flesh is being aban-
doned.

Marriage is arranged between families ; a girl or woman
belonging to one being given in exchange for a girl or woman
belonging to another. This method is, however, in some cases
modified with advancing civilisation. Marriage within the clan
is not permitted, the one exception being in Koton Karifi, where
a guardian is permitted to marry the daughters of his deceased
brother when they arrive at maturity.

It is the custom for the suitor to approach the girl direct and
in secret, and if she consents to the marriage he and his comrades
waylay her and carry her off to his house (it is immaterial whether
or not they are of marriageable age). After the lapse of three
days the groom informs his bride's father of what has happened,
and after a stormy scene it is agreed that he must give a relative
in return, but if there is no girl available in his family he promises
to give his daughter. Should his first-born prove to be a son he
begs a girl from his relatives (Umaisha and Koton Karifi).

If husband and wife quarrel, and she runs back to her home and
refuses to return, her father must send back her " exchange,"
and if his daughter runs away to another man her "exchange,"
together with the children of the " exchange," must equally be
returned, the head of the house freely admitting that the ag-
grieved husband has had a bad bargain (Umaisha). Separation
or divorce are not, generally speaking, permitted.

In the Niger Province marriage by exchange does not obtain.

In Umaisha the married couple live in the same compound
with the groom's father, unless his wife or child dies, in which case
he sets up for himself.

A rumbo of corn is apportioned to the wife for culinary use,
but though the couple share to a considerable extent, a woman
is always expected to provide her own clothes.

In Koton Karifi there are no festivities on the birth of a child,
or at its naming, which takes place seven days after birth, but
in Nassarawa it is made the occasion of a feast, when much beer
is consumed.

TRIBES. 47

In Nassarawa they practise circumcision, whereas in Konto-
gora they do not.

The grave consists of a tunnel, approached through a hole,
dug variously to a depth of from three feet (Umaisha) to eight
feet (Bassa). In this the corpse is laid at full length, the head
being pillowed on the right arm (Umaisha). The Bassa-Komo
place the body on a roofed brushwood hurdle. Food and beer
are put in the grave and are also passed down the air-holes which
communicate with the vault below (Bassa). After the grave has
been filled in, an inverted pot is placed over it (Umaisha).

Both sexes are buried in the same manner, but while there is
no celebration for a woman until a year after her decease, when
her husband makes play, with song and dance and beer, a man's
funeral is attended by all his comrades, carrying axes, and many
of them arrayed in head-dresses, who drink and dance (Umaisha).
Certain fetish priests, called " Tua," come and dance at burials
(Bassa) .

In Koton Karifi, when a death occurs, a goat is sacrificed at
the family altar, and feasting and beer drinking ensue for a period
of seven days.

The death of a Sarki is concealed for seven days. Then a
great feast is held, attended by both men and women from the
whole neighbourhood, who dance together, and consume quanti-
ties of beer.

In Bassa a widow may not wash or shave for fourteen days
after her bereavement, whereas in Umaisha she i? obliged to wash
both morning and evening for five months, after which time she
passes to her late husband's brother, failing whom she is permitted
to return to her own family.

In Koton Karifi she must mourn for three months, after which
time she may follow her own inclinations.

The Bassa of Tegina and certain other villagers claim to have
been Muhammadan prior to the Filane Jihad, but if so they have
reverted to pagan beliefs, and worship " Aseun " and " Maigiru "
as described under Makangara. In Bassa stone worship is prac-
tised, and near each towrnship there is a sacred hill-top where
sheep and goats and beer are sacrificed. Each family has a food
tabu peculiar to itself.

In nearly every case there is a sacred tree, the Ajuba, which
is peculiar to a certain family, which no member of another
family is allowed to worship. Prayer is made to these for rain,
and good harvests, and sacrifices of sheep, goats and beer are
offered, the latter being poured over the roots. There are many
witch-doctors, called 'Tua," who can cure or cause disease.
They claim to cause death by sending a bean to the victim,
however far away he may be.

The principal ceremony is a harvest festival, when the male
population, smeared with white earth, and dressed in coats and

48

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

cocked hats of threaded cowries, dance and parade the streets
for six days, ringing huge brass bells distinctive to their cere-
monials, with the object of driving the devil out of the crops.
On the seventh day the dance changes to one of gladness, in which
women join. Both sexes, clothed in maize-stalks, form in lines,
as in an English country dance, and advance and retire in regular
evolutions. The music is supplied by cow-horns, bells and drums,
which latter are also used for signalling. The assemblage then
retire to wash and when they reassemble a dog is shot in sacrifice
to the Ajuba tree. Throughout this period unlimited beer is drunk.

A somewhat similar festival takes place at Umaisha, but when
the corn is in the ear.

Both sexes of all ages collect to celebrate the rites of a spirit
called " Agunu." The votaries smear themselves with red and
white clay, and put on all sorts of grass and reed garments, head-
pieces, etc., in the decoration of which cowries play a large part.
They dance and drink for five days. Another rite is to induce
rain. It is called " Gilo-apa," and is attended by men only, who
bring large supplies of beer to the sacred site in the Kurmi, where
they sacrifice sheep, goats and chickens, and dance, drink and
shout. The rite is repeated at intervals until rain falls.

In Nassarawa this prayer is made at a certain place, called
Wuye, probably the Sarki's grove.

There also " Tua " plays an important part in the religion,
and it seems that he is a god who is worshipped in a temple, called
' Boka." There is a certain temple in the bush which may only be
visited by men — should a woman go there she would die. Both
men and women assemble at the Sarki's grove, "Awuye " or
" Aguma," a place where goats are sacrificed and libations of
beer made, the remainder of the beer being drunk by the donor.

Another sacred spot is " Agwotana," which signifies "the
place where twigs and small sticks are placed on the ground."
Chickens are sacrificed here. Should two families quarrel, peace
must be ratified on the sacred hill, where a goat is sacrificed,
cooked and eaten. Kola-nuts are also partaken of at this feast
(Bassa) .

There is only one recognised oath, Tua, which is connected
with the religious observances of the tribe.

BATTA and kindred tribe of BASHAMMA.

AUTHORITIES :

Major F. Edgar. Mr. H. Ryan.

Captain R. B. Knight. Mr. S. H. P. Vereker.
Mr. G. W. Webster.

-

The Batta and Bashamma tribes inhabit the banks of, and
north and south of the Benue, from the Muri boundary to the

TRIBES. 49

east of Numan in Yola Province, in a district covering some
1,700 square miles. At a rough estimate the Batta number some
14,000, with an additional 221 in Lau div., or, including their
offsets in Muri Province, 20,735, and the Bashamma some 10,000.

The Batta have a legend that they once lived in the neigh-
bourhood of Sokoto, but left owing to the poverty of the soil,
and, after sojourning awhile at Lokoja, .finally settled in the
neighbourhood of Demsa Powa,or Demsa,in what is now German
territory. Hence the native name of Puwa, Pwa (Puare=men of)
or Bware (men of Bwa), who was their mythical ancestor and is
now their chief god. They came to Demsa Gong, near Yola, early
in the nineteenth century, in the reign of Adama, first Emir.
Before the Filane invasion their kingdom stretched along the
Benue from Garua to Lau.

Offsets of the Bashamma, the Djen (9,952), Kunini (292), and
Lau (270), are settled in the Jalingu District — Lau Division, of
Muri Province. They .all talk Batta or a dialect of Batta. A
section of the former, commonly called Djen-djen, to the number
of three hundred, are located in Muri Emirate, where they have
been settled so long as to be considered part of the aboriginal
population.

A number of Bashamma from Yola travel to Ibi and Lau every
year, settling for a few months as woodcutters, canoe-men and
zana mat-makers.

The Malabu* are a fusion of three Batta septs — the Habaru,
Diginte and Angure, the Jire and the Lakka.

A division has arisen in the Batta tribe, as, though the larger
number retained their independence, some of them were con-
quered by the Filane and live in the Fulbe Emirate Division.
Of these the Jire clan is an offshoot. Those in the Giri (river)
District account themselves fishermen to the crown ; others
render service to the Emir as slaves, and these have their land
taxes paid for them ; whilst others pay in kind, in labour and in
cloth, and are under a headman of the Emirs. Originally of the
same stock, their customs and dialectf only differ slightly now,
but it is the Independent Batta that the following more especially
describes.

Five generations ago the Chief of the Battas, who lived at the
town of Demsa, died, leaving twin sons, who quarrelled. One of
them, Jaro Palame, split off, crossed to the north side of the river
and settled in the hill region, at Lamurde, as Chief of the
Bashamma. His brother, Chief of the Batta, remained at Demsa,
but his brother's (the Batta Chief's) son, succeeded as Chief of the
Bashamma, and since then the office alternates from one to the
other of these families.

* Vide " Malabu."

f Billachi Batta speak three dialects — Wurkerden, Batta and Bula.

5o NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The seventh Chief, Pafracho (1909), now reigns over the
Bashamma, his two predecessors having been deposed on the
advent of the British.

The Batta proper have no such system of direct descent, the
"chieftainship going first to all the brothers of one family, and then
to another family of importance, though not necessarily to one
of the blood royal. Hartatinchi, a direct descendant of the old
line, reigns now, but is likely to be succeeded by Billamu, a Filane-
speaking Batta, who comes from the neighbourhood of Chukol,
in the hill district of the south, who has no blood connection with
the reigning family.

These tribal Chiefs had a right to certain presents and could
take corn. All land outside village boundaries was in their gift,
and in granting the right to farm it the Chief received a present,
or a part of the first-fruits, but it was the habit for him to waive
this right in the case of a poor man. He claimed all bush-hunting
rights, and received a proportion of the game killed — that is to
say, on hunts outside the village boundaries, when big drives were
organised between the neighbouring townships, on which occasions
horsemen on small bare-backed ponies rode down and speared
antelope and other game. They also fought on horseback, using
spears. The tribal Chief granted all fishing rights and received
a small proportion of all fish caught.

He exercised rights over any virgin in his domain, though it
was customary for him to give a fair dowry to the parents.

Any dispute between villages was appealed to the Chief, as
also any case of law that could not be settled between the families
concerned. He appointed the headmen for every township, and
though he usually nominated a man recommended by the villagers,
he had the right to make an arbitrary selection. It was the
custom for a newly-appointed headman to present the Chief with
a horse, a cow, or a cloth, according to his wealth. The Chief
in turn gave him a drum and a spear, and either a cap or a gown,
sometimes both. Unless for some exceptional circumstance the
headman held his title for life. He does not, however, seem to
exercise any great power, as the administration is well defined.

It is worth mention that in the Bashamma township of Dimuso
there has been a female Chief tainess from time immemorial.
Marriage, however, resolves the tenure, and when a vacancy occurs
a woman is elected who is past the age of child-bearing. Though
rare, this practice of female rule is by no means unknown in Yola
Province.

The greater part of the country which these tribes inhabit is
flat and marshy, the black soil is fertile and the grazing good.
What stone there is is soft sand-stone.

Each village owns well-defined areas of cleared land and of
bush land. Within the limits of this latter a villager may clear
himself a holding, and may allot portions of it to members of his

TRIBES. 51

family, if he so wills. When this is done he tells the headman and
his fellow-townsmen, and so long as it is cultivated he and his
heirs retain the right of occupancy. Should he, or they leave the
village the right lapses, or should it not be worked another man
will be accorded leave to farm it, though the original occupier has
prior rights for any future farming.

The grazing; is communal, and nomad Filane pay a fee to the
headmen and villagers for pasturage.

The houses are well built and cleanly, kept, though the sur-
roundings are often insanitary. The huts are round in shape and
have mud walls, six feet to twelve feet in diameter, and thatched
pointed roofs of cane grass. The villages are rambling, but the
houses are very closely grouped.

Men and women alike wear their hair in tiny close plaits,
frequently ornamented by strips of tin, bent round them. The
usual dress is a leather loin-cloth, though the Bashamma women
more often wear an apron, or a covering of leaves. The Batta
also wear a short fatare of special pattern, either of blue, with a
white stripe round the border, or of Vandyck blue with a white
or. blue stripe round the border. At dances the Batta wear elabo-
rate bead necklets and anklets, and zouave-like corsets of blue
beads ; while the Bashamma dress in black and white, with
armlets, anklets and garters of wool, fibre or hemp. Neither boys
nor girls are clothed.

Each tribe is further decorated by tattoo marks peculiar to
itself, on face, arms and body, but more especially on the stomach.
These are made by knives and at times are burned in. A usual
form is nine cuts on the forehead. The women's navels are sur-
rounded by straight lines, with four rows of dots above. The
men have dots on their aims.

Teeth are often filed, but this is done at individual pleasure.

Circumcison is practised by certain villages only.

A girl is betrothed when a few days old, though she is allowed
the right of veto before marriage is consummated — and spinsters
are recognised. A suitor commonly pays cloth or stock to the
girl's parents to the value of £i or £2, and gives a cloth and mat
to his bride. Marriageable age is from twelve and ten respectively
but the ceremony does not usually take place before twenty
and fifteen.

The Bashamma marriage dower consists of a gift of firewood,
sleeping mats, two gowns and four goats, in addition to building
a hut for the mother-in-law.

During the period of engagement it is usual for a Bashamma girl
to give her suitor a calabash of guinea-corn every wet season.
When the marriage is near consummation the groom brings one
or two sheep to his mother-in-law, and makes a house in her
compound, where he and his bride live, as a rule, till she becomes
pregnant. He has meantime given the father-in-law a feast of

52 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

beer, a sheep and a gown, and at various intervals three more
cloths and three more gowns.

The first confinement takes place in the mother's house and
there is abstinence for three years until the child is weaned.

Adultery is rare, and stringent penalties may be exacted,
though very often the husband lets the wife go on receipt of a
fine of cloth or stock paid by the co-respondent, but if the
latter is unable to pay he is liable to be sold as a slave.

Disputes are settled, and trials conducted, by the families of
the parties at issue, with final recourse to the Chief of the tribe,
or to trial by ordeal — a poisoned drink — where an agreement
cannot be arrived at. Theft is punished by a small fine, and
murder by death. The execution is either by arrow shot, by a
stab with a spear, or by cutting the throat with a knife. Should
the murderer escape, his brother, or near male relative, may be
seized and executed ; but if all escape for a year the sentence is
commuted to the payment of a horse or two cows to the bereaved
family.

When a death occurs the body is clothed in good robes, of
either black or white, a cap and sandals are put on, and thus
fully attired it is laid outside the hut. For a day and a night
drums are constantly beaten, and the relatives cry incessantly.
At the end of this period a big feast is held of corn-porridge and
pito, and the actual burial takes place, the corpse being
laid flat at the bottom of a deep hole, dug at right angles, which
is almost always inside the hut. Grass mats are laid over the
body, and earth is thrown on them till the grave is filled in. Occa-
sionally the Batta erect ornate mausoleas over the grave, but
these are not kept in repair.

The Chiefs are buried in a place half a mile to the south-east
of the village.

A widow may not marry again for some two years. She in-
herits part of her husband's effects and has a share in his land
rights, as is but fair, for the women work on the farms. The
eldest son inherits from his father, the uncle acting guardian in
the case of a minor. A woman's property goes to her sister.

They believe in a measure of transmigration, and that if
prayer is rightly addressed to the spirits, a change of condition
may be granted, and that the soul may pass into some animal.
A hunter can tell from the elongated spoor if the beast is inhabited
by a spirit, when he is careful to do it no hurt.

As a general rule, however, the spirit is believed to go south
after death — those of the Bashamma all pass through Gumpao,
in the vicinity of which the good god, Kwa, lives — and there is
a vague belief in after life.

The existence of ghosts is recognised.

Regular festivals are held for the propitiation of departed
spirits, and each individual has a personal fetish. They all worship

TRIBES. 53

two gods and an imp of mischief. The evil god, or rather goddess,
Ju-da, resides at Nafaran. She is greatly feared, though her
principal attribute appears to be the punishment of crime, and
she is propitiated by offerings of black goats. Neither at Nafaran
(near Numan) or Fare (a mil^ from Demsa), her two principal
shrines, would any native dare to steal anything.

Annual festivals are held at the shrines of Nafaran, Fare,
Bozo and Bulke, which are attended by both tribes, and by the
Mbula also ; but although Nafaran is the principal shrine, the
biggest festival is held at Fare. It takes place at the beginning of
the rains. When they are near it is said that the good god Kwa
warns the priests of Fare in their dreams. They immediately
send to acquaint the village headmen, who give presents to the
messengers. Kwa meanwhile goes to reside for a while at Fare.
After the first shower or two has fallen the priestess of Ju-da,
entitled Bomso, a virgin who tends the shrine at Fare all her life,
and who is always chosen from the town of Kona, in Muri Pro-
vince, makes a final call. It is responded to by every Batta,
Bashamma and Mbula village.

* " Each township throughout the country sends a party of its
people ; all the young people of both sexes go to join in the actual
dance, and most of the older ones go to watch, or to join in the
subsequent feasting, beer drinking and marketing. For days
before the dance takes place troops of pagans are to be met with
throughout this country, all marching to Fare, with pots of beer,
bowls of food, and seeds for sale and barter at the market.

" Having arrived at the town each village party selects a big
shady tree under which to form a temporary camp, and on the
eventful day they may be seen decorating themselves and each
other with all their savage finery of beads and feathers.

' The men adopt a fashion of feathered head-dressing somewhat
after the fashion of Red Indians, each man having his own fancy,
and the feathers being of all kinds and colours, chiefty white.
They wear three-cornered loin-cloths of dark blue native cloth,
bound with a white fringe, and round their arms and legs they bind
bands of finely plaited grasses. Round elbows and knees are
bound strips of white goat hair, just as the Basutos of South Africa
love to do. The final adornment usually takes the form of a short
sword or a knife tied on to the hips.

" A few years ago the women and girls were practically naked,
now they wear a tiny loin-cloth of dark blue native woven
cloth, tightly drawn round the hips. They wear many
strings of coloured beads round neck, arm and waist ;
some of the young girls have also beautifully-made body belts,
almost like zouave jackets of blue beads, which are worn
tightly round the waist, and meeting in a point under the

* Quoted verbatim from report by Mr. S. H. P. Vereker.

54 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

breasts in front, these of course being uncovered. Round their
ankles they wear ' jangles ' of iron, and bracelets of brass or
iron, with which they emphasise the step-dancing later on in the
day, by stamping in time with the drums.

" The virgins all carry alight walking spear as a final ornament,
but none of the women place feather., in their hair, though many of
them ornament their short plaits by fastening rings of metal (tin)
round them.

' ' The day's ceremonies begin by ageneral dressing, then , as each
village party is complete in all its finery, they form into a line,
the men leading, and proceed to parade about around the outside
of the village, chanting and marching after their leader, round
and round, past other and similar village groups. All criticise
each other very severely, and the men take great pride in their
own group of women and girls."

" These tribes have a bad character, which is probably riot
justified. They are said to be cannibals, but themselves deny
ever having been so. They are accused of selling their children,
but the only time they did so was in the great famine of 1904,
when they just as often gave their children to traders as the only
means of saving them from starvation. Slavery was never prac-
tised, and was .in fact unknown before the penetration of the
Filane. They, are heavy drinkers, and loaf through the dry season,
though they are industrious during the wet season. They make
good pottery of red baked clay in graceful patterns, and also
weave mats.

The Hill and River Batta do not intermarry. The former
are very backward, and even believed that no Chief could live
after looking at the River Benue.* The latter do a good deal of
fishing, using trays of woven grass like elongated lobster-pots in
shape, and shaped cane barriers, against which the fish are driven
and speared. The catch is subsequently dried in the sun and
smoked over wood fires.

The canoes are poor, owing to the lack of big trees. They
have rounded keels and are pointed fore and aft.

Iron arms are used, light spears, swords, knives, arrows, and
also agricultural hoes, but these are all bought from Southern
tribes.

The Bashamma use gongs and ivory horns for musical instru-
ments, as well as drums.

They are very subject to epidemics of smallpox, and when
suffering from it eat a pap made from the leaves of the Kargo
(Bauhinia Reticulata) tree. They use a herbal medicine to induce
vomiting in the case of snake-bite, but it is by no means always
successful .

* A similar belief to that held by the Jukon.

TRIBES. 55

BAUSHI.

AUTHORITY : Mr. G. L. Monk.

The Baushi are not indigenous to their present location in
the Tegina and Allawa districts of the Kwongoma Division, but
are said to have come from the east at some time prior to the
Gwari. They embrace the clan called Pongo (Gumna District),
whose real name is " Arringeu."

The population is small, as the Baushi were almost wiped out
in a raid from Kontogora in 1880. The Arringeu number some
2,250.

They are administered by a local council of elders, presided
over by a headman who has, however, little personal authority.
The present Chief of the Baushi, Zarumai, is of the conquering
stock (Kontogora Filane), and was reappointed undef the British
in 1901. Pongo is under Sarkin Gumna, to whom little loyalty
is shown, owing to the exactions of his predecessor, who was
deported in 1910. Pongo consists of seven large ungwas, or
compounds, one of which contains over six hundred persons.
Each has its own headman, but rule is through a council of adult
males. The Baushi speak their own language, which shows
affinity to that of the Bassa, who settled in their neighbourhood
many centuries ago. The numerals resemble those of the
Kamuku, Ura, Ngwoi group. The Arringeu speak a dialect of
Baushi.

Their beliefs also are similar. Both sections observe the cult
of " Aseun," who is served by the high-priest Gulabe or Garabe ;
and the cult of " Mahog," served by Ugwam Mahog, for details
of which tfzWtf •Kamuku.

Some of the Baushi villages have a Bukin Maigirro, known
as " Isshe," as to the time of celebrating which a Gwari boka
is consulted, and another called " Uginga." Each family ob-
serves an hereditary cult, which is transmitted to the eldest
child of the same sex, the father to his son, the mother to her
daughter, as the male and female cults are different. In this
connection offerings of rice, flour, maiwa, and the feathers or
blood of white chickens , are made on the village or farm boun-
daries.

The principal festivals are those of Aseun, Afwiaseu and Gani,
as they are with the Kamuku, of Tegina.

In Pongo they are Uteun, Giarra (the harvest festival), the
Ugialla of the Ngwoi, and Kwiasseu or Bukin Sarki, the latter
being identical with the Afwiaseu of the southern Kamuku.
This last is also kept by Gumna. The Western Baushi, who are
not in such close alliance with the Bassa and neighbouring tribes,
have somewhat different festivals. The principal one, " Giakeu,"
is held after the death of a Sarki or Madawaiki, and on the tenth

56 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

day of a new moon, after a leopard had been killed and eaten by
the men of the Ungwa. The feasting lasts from four to seven
days, and commences with ceremonial sacrifice, followed by
feasting and dancing, in which both sexes participate. The men
dance on one side, the women on the other, and a continuous
stream of very personal compliments is interchanged.

Another festival, known as " Karma," takes place at sowing
time, when a goat is killed and food and rice offered at the foot of
the Loko tree. A single strip of white native cloth is bound round
the tree, and a space is kept clear round it as is the path leading
thereto.

A second offering of corn and honey is made after the guinea-
corn harvest. Sacrifices are made in time of drought to invoke
rain, and a rock at Tugoma is said to be especially efficacious
for this purpose; and also to promote child-birth.

A special sacrifice, " tsafin Sarki," used to be made annually
on Guda hill, when a black bull was slain by the Sarki, who gave
the priest (Maijaki) a haunch, the hide and the head, the re-
maining limbs being thrown to the three Ungwaii and the remain-
der being kept by the Sarki. This custom was abandoned when
the town was moved from the hill to the plain, but the present
Sarkin Mogau performed it on his accession.

In the Eastern section, where the Baushi have commingled
with the Bassa and other non-Gwari pagan tribes, the principal
festivals are " Awie," held at the time new farms are cleared,
and " Urragge," after harvest, both of which last for one night,
and are celebrated by full grown men only. " Shiriammeu,"
the sowing festival, lasts from seven to nine days and is partici-
pated in by the whole village.

Both sections practise ordeal by poison, except in the neigh-
bourhood of Tegina and East Allawa. It is regulated by the
Sarkin Gwaska.

Oath always includes the swallowing of ashes, which may be
consumed dry, in beer, or in water.

Amongst the eastern Baushi, of Allawa, the most binding
oath is the halving of an old corn-bag with a knife, between the
parties, with a simple formula of words.

The Baushi once had mounted forces, but these were entirely
destroyed in the conflicts against Kontogora. Like the Kamuku
the Baushi practise defensive tactics and place much reliance
on ambushes. Their weapons are bows and arrows, axes, knives,
swords and spears.

The Baushi practise circumcision, but the Arringeu do not.
It is the occasion of a feast and is performed when a boy is weaned.
Each Ungwa is exogamous. Courtship commences when a girl

TRIBES. 57

is seven or eight years old. Her suitor brings gifts of a
thousand cowries, corn and wood to his prospective father-in-law,
and works on his farm. If he is accepted he brings four more
young men to help him, their duties being the initial clearing of
the farm, subsequently hoeing, the carrying of grain crops, and
the supply of firewood. When the marriage is consummated a
feast is given, at which a leg of beef or venison is consumed.

Amongst the Western Baushi the customs are slightly different.

When the bride is of marriageable age the groom pays a dower
of six thousand to nine thousand cowries to the girl's eldest un-
married brother, with which he obtains a wife, but there is no
feast until the birth of the first child, when both families inter-
change gifts of food, corn and cowries, and revelling continues
for several days. Though this feast marks the completion of
the marriage, the young husband and his friends continue to
work for his father-in-law until the birth of the second child.

Either party is at liberty to repudiate the marriage, when the
dower is refunded, with the exception of a thousand cowries. If
the woman does not prove to be with child during the next three
months, this also is paid, but if she is, the money is kept and the
child is handed over to its father so soon as it is weaned. In Pongo
there is no compulsory repayment on divorce.

Like the Kamuku the Baushi practise blood-brotherhood*
as between individuals and whole townships.

Where the villages are subject to outside influences there are
cases of divergence from the tribal custom, which is more closely
observed by the people of Pongo than it is elsewhere.

The tribal intoxicant is " bami," made from the bamboo palm
(Hyphaena Sp.), as with the Gwari. The untouched Baushi does
not brew beer.

The graves consist of large well-shaped vaults inside the walls
of each compound. In Pongo they contain as many as a hundred
bodies, amongst the Baushi only two to ten. but only old men
and women of rank are buried there, others are taken some
way outside the village and are interred with no particular rites.
The bodies are buried in a sitting position, clothed in the ordinary
costume of a leather apron, with a strip of white cloth bound
turban- wise round the head. The entrance to the vault is closed
with flat stones, the women "debbi," i <5.,beat it, and a pattern of
cowries is laid in the centre. The whole is polished with makuba.
A goat and fowl are killed, and their blood, together with beer
and rice-flour, is sprinkled on the tomb. The meat is cooked and
divided amongst the representatives of each family present. The
bereaved family make tuo and gia, and dancing and feasting
take place for two days. The Arringeu only celebrate this feast

* Sec Kamuku.

58 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

in the case of an elderly man of rank. In all other cases a chicken
is killed on the grave four days after the burial of a woman, seven
days after the burial of a man. Subsequently, twice a year, when
guinea-corn is sown and when it is threshed, chickens are sacri-
ficed on the vault, one to the mother, one to the father.

A detailed account of the burial ceremonies of the Madawaiki
Mogau (western or purer section) is as follows : On the news of his
death the Mossuku Ungwa shave half his head, and hide his hair
in their grain bins, whilst Mogau does the same with the other
half. The Sarki then kills a dog, and afterwards a cock, by
dashing it against a wall. He then roasts and eats it. After
that a ram is killed and laid across the path to the grave so that
the body is carried across it. The corpse is buried in a cloth, as
described above, and, in the case of a Sarki, a thousand cowries
out of a basketful of cowries are laid on the body, whilst the
remainder is divided amongst the .grave-diggers.

After the burial they all salute the corpse, adding " You have
returned to the earth, next year you will be earth, prosper for us
our crops."

The funeral feast, Gaikeu, is celebrated from four to seven
days later, and to continue in the words of the old Madawaiki
himself, " When they have feasted and are satisfied, they will
gather together and charge up to my grave and do ' Jan ' to me,
saluting me, and say ' Madawaiki, rainka shi dadde, rainka shi
dadde ' (may your days be long), and I, sitting inside there,
will receive their salute, and answer, ' Agaisheku samari, mutua
gado, mutua gado ' (greetings to you warriors, death is our in-
heritance) . This they will do each day of the feast, and on the last
day will give me their last salute, adding ' You have returned
to the earth, next year you will be earth, make our crops to prosper.' '

The brother inherits the widow, bow and arrows, clothes,
and household utensils, whilst the residue of the estate is held by
the children in common. If there is no surviving brother, the
eldest son inherits and gives the widow in marriage to whomso-
ever she desires ; but if he is not of adult age, the next of kin
inherits.

BAYAK.

The Bayak are a tribe numbering some 4,025, in Bauchi
Emirate.

BAZAGAWA.

Bazagawa have been notified from the Godabawa District of
Sokoto Province.

TRIBES. 59

BEDDE.

AUTHORITIES :

Major C. A. Booth. Mr. A. Campbell-Irons.
Mr. F. Dwyer. Captain J. M. Fremantle.

The name Bedde is derived from Birnin-Bedr, a town south-
west of Mecca, which was the ancestral home of the tribe.*

For seven year^ the inhabitants of Birnin Bedr fought
against Muhammad, after which their chief, Dala, led them to
Bagayam (Asben) where he lived for seven years before his death.
His successor, Sarkin Umar, moved to Belma, also in Asben,
where the Bedr remained for thirty-seven years, until the Chief
of Belma made war on Bornu, which caused the Bedr to move to
Andurrur. After fifty years the King of Timbuctoo made war
with Belma, and the Bedr again fled to Arondai, where they re-
mained for seventy years without a king. The elders were desi-
rous of having a Chief and sent to Istambul to ask that one
might be appointed, and the Sultan in response sent his son,
Haroun Raschidu. He proved unpopular, and about 1749 many
of the Bedr left him. Some went to Damargu (near Kano ?) , where
they settled under an Elder, named Musa ; others to the present
Bedde District, under an Elder named Ardo ; others, under the
leadership of Buyam, went further south to Potiskum ; and a
fourth body trekked into South Bornu under Awio. It was pro-
bably at this time that the Ngizim, a branch of Bedde, numbering
some twelve thousand, broke off from the main stock.

On a comparison of dates with the one given of their final
migration, i.e. 1749, it will be seen that there is a long period
unaccounted for. Accepting 1749 as the correct date, and reckon-
ing roughly from it, the Bedr would have reached Bagayam, in
Asben, in 1575, Belma in 1582, Andurrer in 1619, Arondai in
1669 — a calculation allowing for a period of ten years for the
mission to Istambul and reign of the unpopular monarch. It is
probable, therefore, that the wanderings to Asben took many
centuries.

Another version has it that the Bedde arrived in the Bedde
District early in the seventeenth century (a discrepancy of over
a hundred years), whence they were subsequently driven by the
Filane, but returned and built the town of Gorgoram, circ. 1739.

* It will be noted that the Kengawa and Bussawa also claim to have
come from the Kingdom of Bedr near Mecca, and that, under a King named
Kishera, they made war upon the Prophet, but, being unable to stem his
advance, trekked westward to their present location in Sokoto and Kontogora
provinces. They are therefore of the same origin as the Borgawa, Dandawa,
Shangawa, Gurumawa, Atsifawa and Yorubawa.

60 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

It is from the Bedr in the Bedde District of the Geidam Division
of Bornu Province that the above information has been derived.
A record of the recent chiefs of the Bedde District give Mai
Akwia as reigning at Gudigud ; Mai Babugi and Mai Aji at
Gorgoram, their successor, Mai Duna, having been driven out by
Rabeh. The reigning Chief, Mai Sale, who succeeded in 1897, is
a son of Mai Aji, and grandson of Mai Akwia. He is a second
grade chief and independent, having a jurisdiction over twelve
hundred square miles, and a population of 17,236, of which
15,652 are Bedde, the total Bedde population in Bornu totalling
some thirtv thousand.

./

The soil is mainly clay, and cotton, tobacco and the usual crops
are raised. A considerable amount of stock is bred, and there
is fishing in the wet season ; in the dry weather the rivers dis-
appear and the people are dependent on wells for their water
supply.

They seldom intermarry with other tribes, and are a lawless
and superstitious people, mostly of a pagan religion, though
Muhammadanism has begun to penetrate amongst them.

The tribal marks have some similarity to those of the Kanuri,
though the cuts are deeper, i.e., a perpendicular line from the
forehead to the point of the nose, and the majority have five,
seven or nine cuts down each cheek. In remote villages additional
cuts are sometimes added at the corners of the mouth and eyes,
either or both.

A large number of Bedde, perhaps as many again, are
scattered through the Shehurate under various headmen. There
are two Bedde villages in the Emirate of Hadeija, and individuals
are scattered in some Nguzum villages, and they have one town-
ship in the Katagum Emirate, whence the following notes have
been collected.*

These Bedde claim to have migrated from Asben and to be
of the same stock as those in Bornu, but they have different facial
markings, and certain dialectical differences have arisen.

On the birth of a child the mother's friends bring her corn,
pepper, salt, cow-heels, fish, and the pods of dorowa and kimba
trees. Seven days after birth the child is named, if a boy after
his father or uncle. He is washed in water stolen from another
man's house, so that he may be thus early initiated into the business
of robbery, which, together with hunting, was a man's main
occupation.

When a man wishe0 to marry he pays the parents of the bride
100,000 cowries — if she dislikes him the money is returned. Inter-
course is often held without marriage.

The houses are built in one piece, and all the family live in
the same compound. There are no granaries, for the grain is

* Captain Fremantle.

TRIBES. 61

buried, and may be left without deterioration for several years.
They eat quantities of dried fish and honey, and to the former attri-
bute the fact that they suffer little blindness, though it is worthy
of remark that they are very cleanly in their habits. The flesh
of dogs and pigs is consumed, the animals usually having their
throats cut, but they will eat cattle that have died a natural
death. Native beer is largely drunk.

A large cylindrical drum was formerly used in time of war.
When it was beaten, men, women and children would remain to
fight to the death. The weapons in common use were bows and
arrows, swords and spears. Shields were used for defensive
purposes.

Good wrestling exhibitions are a feature.

The basis of their religion is a debased form of ancestor worship.
In the month of Zulkido those who have lost their fathers kill a
cock and mix the blood with uncooked gero flour and honey.
This mixture ic poured on or into the grave, and the son calls on
his father to grant him health and long life, in recognition of the
offering.

Inanimate objects are worshipped, such as trees, stones, or
an axe tied to a tree, and prayer for immediate wants is offered
to these.

The Bedde are very superstitious, but different forms are
observed by each individual. One man believes that if he did
not pass a woman on her left side on his way to market, his journey
would be useless. Another would believe the same if he did not
meet a dog. A third would turn back if he stumbled on the road.

When a man dies the body is treated with some medicine,
which prevents it from smelling or putrifying. After ten days
it is buried outside the door of the house. A bed is put into the
grave and covered with zanas. Rigas are also put in. In the case
of a warrior the mourners gallop to his house with swords and
spears, cut down zanas and pierce walls. A dance is held for
a big man.

The eldest son succeeds, the younger receiving a small legacy.
The widow gets ten loads of corn. If there are no relations the
Sarki takes everything, after first adding a riga to that already
in the grave.

BELL AW A.

The Bellawa, now but a small settlement of 120 people, inhabit
the Kanam District of Pankshin in the hill division of Bauchi
Province, where little is known of them but that they wear the
Jarawa tribal marks,* and a further group occur at Fali in
Bauchi Emirate.

* They are not of Jarawa stock.

62 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

BINAWA.

The Binawa, Jiwapa, Konu and Kuzumani are pagan tribes,
situated in the Kauru District of the southern division of Zaria
Province.

BIRKUNAWA.

The Birkunawa are a tribe numbering some 380 in Bauchi
Emirate.

BOLEWA.

AUTHORITIES :

Bornu :

Mr. W. K. Eraser. Capt. J. ff. Hopkinson.

Mr. W. B. Thomson.

Gombe : Mr. T. F. Carlyle.

It is said that towards the end of the thirteenth or beginning
of the fourteenth century, a great number of people migrated
from Yemen, south of Mecca, and travelled across Africa until
they reached the mouth of the Shari river. Here a section split
off and settled in the country they still occupy, that of the
Bagirimi. Amongst the remainder a hunting dispute occurred,
which caused another body to break off, and after wanderings
that took them to Dali — between Mutue and Ngalda- — Geri,
Kami, Ngegi on the Benue, and Njibum, settled amongst the
Bolewa at Daniski (1540 A.D.), a town only a few miles from Fika,
which at the beginning of the nineteenth century became their
headquarters.*

It was about this time, circ. 1538, that the historian Chief,
Dunomaisha, reigned — from whose archives, kept in the Marghaby
(Arabic) script, the above information is obtained. He was
Chief over the Bolewa at Njibum, but whether he was of pure
Bolewa, or pure eastern extraction is not mentioned. More
probably he was of mixed blood, for it is expressly stated that
the emigrant people settled amongst the Bolewa, with whom
they intermarried and whose language they adopted. (Bolewa
remains the language of the people, though Haussa is widely
spoken.)

* Fikan chronicles : The main body of the people wandered into Bornu,
south and west of Lake Chad, and were merged with the inhabitants.

TRIBES. 63

Dunomaisha was a Muhammadan, but the people did not
adopt this religion until the eighteenth century, and even now
the Koranic law is far from strictly observed, the people drinking
beer, etc. In Bauchi Province some two-thirds only of the Bolewa
are Muslims.

The independent state of Fika, on the north-western boundary
of.Bornu, may be said to be their headquarters, though the
Bolewa form perhaps but one-third of the population, i.e.,
7,388. Women outnumber the men by three to two. About the
same number are scattered through Gombe, where their history
is nearly identical with that given by the Bolewa of Fika. They
say that their ancestors were "'red men," who came from Yem-
mel near Mecca, under the leadership of Moi Ali, who led them
out in peace some time after the arrival of Muhammad. They
crossed the Nile and came to Gerra (possibly Ba-gerimi) , thence to
Pitiri (Fittri), and thence to Birnin Bornu. Later they came
to Gere, near Bauchi, stopping there, as also at Inkil. After
many years sojourn the Bolewa quarrelled with the people of
Inkil, and some of them returned eastwards to Kafaretti. This
.contingent was further sub-divided into settlements at Biri,
Rabadu and Fika. A quarrel ensued between the remainder as
to the Chieftainship, and half the population left Kafaretti to
found the town of Gaddam, under the protection of the Bolewa
of Kalam. It is said that their Chief , Bultu, first fraternised
with, and then, by trickery, killed the " Habe " Chief of Kalam.
Those who were left intermarried with the Habe inhabitants
' Rogdo," who were probably Tangale, having a similar dialect,
and acquired their speech. Those Bolewa who had remained
at Inkil failed to settle their differences with the original
inhabitants and left for Kalam, where they settled amongst
the Yaffudawa, who were probably Tangale.

All these sections were more or less broken by the Filane
in the nineteenth century, though the Bolewa of Ribadu were
given certain privileges, owing to the friendly reception they gave
Buba Yero, first Emir of Gombe. Yearly raids were made
on Fika and those settlements east of the Gongola to collect
tribute.

It is probable that the Tera in Gombe are an offshoot of
the Bolewa.

Their facial marks are identical, i.e.^ a series of close per-
pendicular lines from the temples to the level of the mouth.
These are possibly an exaggerated form of Kanuri.

The Bolewa are also distributed over the neighbouring country
east of the Gongola in Bauchi, where they have intermarried
both with the Filane and with other tribes, and number between
9,000 and 10,000. Here the tribal marks are the same as those
of the Kanuri, i.e., perpendicular lines on each cheek.

64 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

They have also spread into Muri Province. Their total
number is some 24,000.

The Chief of Fika (3rd class) is elected by the elders of Fika
from amongst the male member?, of the royal house, an occasion
when the advice of the late Chief's mother is asked. The reigning
Chief, Idrisa, is a direct descendant of Dunomaisha.

By the law of the land murder was punishable by death, though
any extenuating circumstance was taken into consideration.

A suicide received no burial rites.

Maiming was punishable by a fine and damages.

Rape by fine and imprisonment.

Repeated theft by the loss of a hand. •

Rebellion by death for the leaders and imprisonment for
their followers.

Treason by confiscation and banishment.

Assault was adjudged on its merits.

Abduction, three slaves were payable to the Chief and one
to the aggrieved family.

Trespass was punishable, but was dealt with by the headman
of that quarter of the town where the defendant lived.

Sacrilege, by fine or more probably by death. (In olden days
it was sacrilege to bring a donkey within the inner wall of Fika
town, as it was thought to betoken the extermination of the tribe.)

A dissenter from the Muhammadan religion had to pay
two slaves every year, so long as he remained in tfye district.

A man convicted of adultery was expected to give his own
wife a present to conciliate her, and had to pay a heavy damage
to the aggrieved husband. If he could not pay the fine he was
imprisoned.

Contracts of general agency were recognised, when the principal
was held responsible for the acts of his agent, but might summons
him for misuse. If men joined together for trading purposes,
and declared before the Court the amount of their respective
investments, their liabilities were limited to that amount.

Loans in currency (the ordinary currency was Maria Theresa
dollars, now forbidden, cowries and coin of the realm) were
given at a rate of about 300 per cent, interest, whereas loans
in kind were practically gratuitous. A penalty of one-tenth
of the sum due was exacted for every month's delay in payment.
A man might be compelled to work for his creditor, but labour
did not count towards the remission of debt. A debtor was
usually given two or three months' grace, and was then liable
to imprisonment, unless his failure was due to some unforeseen
misfortune.

Sons or slaves might be pledged for debt, in which case the
pledgee ranked as a bought or captured slave, but the pledging of
children was rare.

TRIBES. 65

Heirs were liable for debt in proportion as they benefited,
but the death-duties due to the Chief were subtracted before
these were paid — the heirs could, however, obtain the permission
of the Court to repudiate the inheritance.

The Koranic laws of succession prevail, and heirs-at-law are
expected to give presents to the parents, uncles, aunts or nephews
of the deceased who do not benefit.

Formerly the succession always went to the head of the
family, though anything up to a fifth part of the personal movable
property might be awarded to the widows. (This was not the
practice in Gadam and Kaferetti.)

A woman's property passes to her sons.

A man may make a will, which is witnessed and kept by
the nearest heir, and may likewise direct the Court to make
gifts from his estate, but only with their sanction.

The Liman and Alkali of Fika are the executors, and receive
about one-tenth of the estate.

Illegitimate children may not succeed, but must be supported
by their father until they are adult.

A guardian has the same rights as a father, but must obtain
the leave of the Native Court before he may spend his ward's
money.

Lunatics are confined by their fathers, or, if they are orphans,
by the Court.

Neither lunatics, children under fifteen, or captured slaves
are permitted to buy or sell. This prohibition does not apply
to domestic slaves and to those born in captivity.

All slaves have property of their own and may woYk for
their own profit for three days every week.

The Native Court at Fika adjudges in all cases, but the
crimes of murder and manslaughter are brought before the
Chief as well.

The head of a family protects all its members, and all con-
tribute equally with the guilty member to pay their share, as
a rich or as a poor member, of any fine.

The head of a family is its eldest male member, subject to
his being sound in mind and body. In old days he paid all
fines, maintained the young, and gave the marriage dowers, etc.

The right to occupy land is granted by the Chief, who formerly
received one-tenth of the corn raised — it may be held by women
and children as well as by men.

Farms are cultivated for six years and then allowed to lie
fallow — rotation of crops is not practised and no manure is used.

Horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep, goats and fowls are kept
in considerable numbers, as well as dogs, which are largety used
for hunting.

66 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

On the birth of a child the father gives his wife a present-
if he is poor, a piece of cloth, if he is rich, a goat, sheep or even
more. For the first seven days he gives her two fowls to eat
every da}7, so that she may become strong, and she is also given
vinegar, honey and pepper at frequent intervals. At morning and
at night she is washed with warm water, and she has a fire in
her house and does not come out. On the eighth day the infant
is named. Only the Mallamai go into the mosque, but the
relations gather outside, and food, including the meat of a sheep
or a goat, is distributed amongst them, part to the men and
part to the women, who eat it in different places, and there is
a general rejoicing. On that day, or the next, the tribal marks
are cut on the face and body of the baby. The mother then goes
with her baby to the house of her parents, and remains there
for two years. On her return she receives valuable presents
and a feast is held.

Until the age of ten days, but no later, an infant of another
race may be admitted into the Bolewa tribe.

*" When a young man, who is usually from twenty to
twenty-two years old, wishes to marry a certain girl, he informs
his father. His father calls on the girl's father to see if he is
agreeable to the proposed marriage. If so, the suitor visits the
girl's house and gives her four lengths of cotton and one black
cloth. The girl's mother then sends for a hairdresser, who
dresses the girl's hair in a particular way, which shows that she
is engaged.

" The girl at this time is probably about nine or ten years
old. She remains with her parents for the next six years, during
which time, thrice a year, the prospective husband supplies
her with four lengths of cotton, a hundred ' dowdawa,' and
one black cloth.

" At the end of six years the two fathers meet and haggle
over the dowry. No man can get a virgin for less than twelve
gowns. The gowns are handed over to the girl's father, half
are divided amongst his relations and half among the relations
of the girl's mother.

" On the .morning of the marriage all the male members
of the community are assembled — no females are allowed to
be present. The bridegroom's father brings one white gown
and twenty-two lengths of cotton. The gown he hands over
to the ' lowari/ a person appointed by the girl's father and
responsible for all misdeeds committed by her after marriage,
with whom all complaints are lodged, and who will chastise the
girl if thought necessary. The twenty-two lengths of cotton
he distributes amongst the assemblage.

* The following account of marriage is taken verbatim from a report
by Mr. W. K. Fraser.

TRIBES. 67

' He then asks the ' lowari ' what ' sadaka ' he
expects on behalf of the girl. Instead of replying, the latter
points to a goat, donkey, bullock or horse, and this is given
without demur.

' Mats are laid out and anybody who wishes to give a
wedding present does so. The girl's father gives two large
white and two large black gowns. All presents are taken charge
of by the ' lowari.'

' In the evening the girl is mounted on a horse and
escorted in state by men, women, children and drummers to her
new home. She is alighted off her horse by young male friends
of the bridegroom, carried into the house and placed on a mat.

' The wedding presents are then handed over by the
' lowari ' to the bridegroom's father to be given to the bride
later on.

' The girl passes the first night in her new home surrounded
by six young girls, friends of Her own, together with twenty
very old women ; the bridegroom and four of his friends sleeping
in a house adjacent to and opposite that occupied by the girl.

" At noon, the following day, the twenty old women com-
mence cooking food, and this once ready any man, woman,
child, or stranger may enter the house, accept, and enjoy a
hearty meal, then depart.

" The old women are then replaced by four married
and younger women, relations of the girl, whose duty it is to
cook for the bride and bridegroom and their respective friends.

' For eight days the six young females remain with their
friend, during which period no conversation whatever takes
place between the males on the one, and the females on the
other side, both parties passing the time as best suited to them-
selves.

" On the seventh day the bridegroom sends one of his friends
to purchase three goats one of which he gives to the girl's, the
other to his own friends, the remaining one he presents to the
four female attendants.

" On the eighth day the bridegroom produces eighty lengths
of cotton (six for 3d.), thirty of which he presents to the young
girls in attendance on his wife, thirty he sends to his mother-in-law,
the remaining twenty being divided amongst the four females
supervising the cooking of food, etc., etc., and this done, men,
wornen, and young girls depart to their homes, leaving bridegroom
and bride alone in the house.

' That evening the bridegroom's father visits them and
presents the bride with various gifts in the presence of witnesses.
He also gives presents to the girl's two aunts (one on her father's,
one on her mother's side), and to the six bridesmaids and to
the twenty old women.

" That night intercourse takes place.

68 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

' If the husband is satisfied that the girl was a virgin
he kills a sheep, which is distributed by his mother-in-law among
friends and relations.

" If the husband finds she is not a virgin, no sheep is
killed. If the girl's father agrees, the girl is returned and the
bridegroom recovers his money. If the girl's father does not
agree, the case is taken to the Native Court. If the seducer
can be discovered, he has to make good the money paid by the
bridegroom, and the girl is returned to her father."

It is customary to allow the bride the right of refusal, and
she may later repudiate the marriage on returning the dower.
In such cases the children remain with their father, and, unless
she has first obtained the consent of her own father to her action,
her father may confine her.

The Bolewa observe the Muhammadan restriction of four
wives, but will keep as many as twenty concubines. Neither
sex is permitted to marry a pagan. The first wife has control
of the stores and supplies, and gives orders to the other women
as to work, etc.

The richer men confine their wives closely.

Men and women never eat together, and the flesh of swine, mon-
keys and dogs is forbidden to both sexes alike, while women
may not eat lion, leopard, or hyena.

The compounds contain a number of huts, with many en-
trances into both huts and courtyards. Rows of pots are ranged
one above the other round the rooms, and are finely made and
patterned. There are also large numbers of carved wooden
bowls, into which soft tin, imported from Bauchi, is beaten for
decorative purposes. There are mud bedsteads, beneath which
are two holes, where fires are lit every night.

The boys make clay animals with which they play, the girls
dolls, rudely moulded in a form similar to the Egyptian mummy,
replicas of those they brought with them from Yemen. There
is another toy in the form of a laze-tongs for the infants.

When a death takes place the women wail until the burial,
which is held as speedily as maybe. The grave is shallow and
a covering of wood is put over the body to prevent the earth
touching it.

The women cover their heads with white cloths and remain
in the house for forty^days. They then return to their parents'
houses and are as unmarried girls, but retain the custody of
their children.

Marriage with the brother, or sister, of the deceased by
the same mother is not allowed.

TRIBES. 69

BOMAWA.

The Bomawa are a small community of pagans located
in Bauchi Emirate.

BOIY1BORAWA.

The Bomborawa are a small community of plain pagans
in the western part of Bauchi Emirate, near Gura.

BUDUMA.

Buduma is a nickname meaning, in Kanuri, " reed-man," and
it has been almost universally adopted by Europeans. Yedina
is, however, what they call themselves, as to the origin of which
there are three explanations : (i) that it comes from the Kanuri
word, " Geri"=east ; (2) that it is from the town of Yedi, in
the south-west of Lake Chad, which was originally inhabited
by the So ; (3) or that it is the name of that tribe of Kanembu
from which the founder of the race, Bulu, sprang. The legend
is that between the tenth and sixteenth centuries, one Bulu fled
from his own people to escape justice, and sought refuge on
one of the islands on the eastern shore of Lake Chad, but presently
pursued his fortunes to the west, and was given hospitality by
the So Chief in the neighbourhood of Kaua, but abused his
confidence by seducing his host's daughter, Saorum, and was
in consequence driven out, together with the lady, back to
the islands of Chad, where the pair became the founders of
all the numerous Yedina septs. These are the Guria (a pastoral
clan), and Maibulua (fisher folk), the Budjia, Majagujia, Kabaga,
Kutlaa, and Dallaa (fisher folk), who gradually broke off from
each other, and carried on a desultory warfare with each other,
as well as with the peoples of the mainland. They agreed to-
gether, however, that the Guria and Maibulua should have the
right of pillaging Bornu for slaves and cattle south of Kaua
and Ngurno, whilst the Budjia, Majagujia, Kabaga, Kutlaa,
and Dallaa confined their depredations to the north. Living
on islands in a lake begirt with reeds, and protected by the
shallowness of the water, it was impossible for their victims
to pursue them, and the Shehu Hashimi of Bornu made an
ignominious compact with the Kachella of the Guria, that he
should have jurisdiction over the mainland population on the
borders of the lake, who would furnish him with corn and cloth,
if he would protect them from inroads. The Kachella agreed
to this, within the bounds ascribed to him, i.e., south of Kaua
and Ngurno. Rabehs' advent the following year ended the
pact, which was, however, afterwards renewed.

70 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The only connection of the Buduma with Nigeria now is
as traders. They convey considerable quantities of potash
from the Eastern shore to the market of Kaua Baga, and do
a small export business in skins, fish, butter and nets. They
intermarry with Kanembu women, but do not take them back
to their island homes, nOr will a Buduma woman marry a main-
land man.

They speak Kanuri, but their native language is a dialect of So.

Muhammadanism penetrated amongst them at the beginning
of the nineteenth century, but is intermingled with paganism.
The Majagujia worship the lake, and every year perform a
rite, when, after a woman and a girl have prepared corn by the
waterside, the population pray for plenty of water, fish and
corn, and then give part of the corn prepared to the poor, and
throw part into the lake. If the fish eat it at once the omen
is considered favourable.

The Kabaga worship a stone.

The Kailogoma (talakawa of the Maibulua) worship the
acacia albida, the largest tree that grows on their sandy shores.
They say that when their ancestor founded the village this tree
sprang up before his hut and that he watered it, and that as
it brought him luck he sacrificed the blood of a bullock to it
before starting on any expedition, and that on his return he
watered it with meal soup if he had been successful.

BUGAJE.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. E. J. Arnett. Mr. H. F. Backwell.

Bugaje or Buzai are notified from Kano, Katsina, Kazaure and
Daura Emirates, and from Sokoto.

They were formerly slaves of the Asbenawa, but the term
has come to be generally applied to the Asbenawa, Adarawa,
and Tokarawa (one being subservient to -the other in the order
named), who together number some 45,000 in Sokoto Province.
They are all of servile origin, i.e., they or their forefathers were
captured in war or bought by the Asbenawa (Tuareg). They
are black and negroid in type, but may have come from a variety
of tribes.

They talk their masters' language, Tamashak, and an inferior
Haussa.

Their tribal marks consist of three horizontal lines at each
corner of the mouth, and numerous thin vertical lines running
from the hair to the centre of the forehead.

Those of the Tokarawa consist of two rows of two short
lines on either side of the face near the eyes.

TRIBES. 71

BUNBORAWA.

The Bunborawa are a group of barely 100 persons inhabiting
the Hill Division of Bauchi Province.

BUNU.

AUTHORITIES :
Capt. F. Byng-Hall. Mr. H. B. James.

The Bunu migrated from Iddo* (which is said to be in Southern
Nigeria, or more likely in the extreme south of Kabba Province)
in search of game, and the first settlers founded Kirri and Ike
in the present Bunu District, in the north of Kabba Province.
They became the over-lords and were joined by many immigrants
from Yagba, extending their suzerainty over the Aworo and
all peoples from Kiri in the north, to Aiere and Ogiddi in the
south-west; also over all tribes with vertical face-markings.

The Bunu tribal marks consist of two curved lines from
the middle of the scalp over the temples to the corners of the
mouth and a third to the chin, with a short scar over each eyebrow.
A line is added from the corners of the mouth over the nose in
the case of children whose elder brothers or sisters have died
as infants.

The Bunu Chief is obliged to live in seclusion on the top
of the hills of Ike or Kirri, whence he can view the river Niger.
He may not descend, and is at present surrounded only by a
small community of seven men, nine women and two children.
He is elected from the descendants of the original founders of
Kirri or Ike.

It is variously suggested that the Bunu are of Yoruba blood
and speak a dialect of Yoruba (a bastard Yoruba is, however,
the lingua franca of their habitat), and that they are slaves
of the Nupe, who speak a dialect of Nupe. They appear to be
closely allied with the Nge or Bassa-Nge, and to have almost
identical customs.

Some 6142 Bunu are located in the Bunu District in Kabba
Province. These are under a Kanawa Chief, introduced by
the British Government. They are good farmers, fishermen
and potters, and in Kabba Province are famed for the excellence
of their weaving, and particularly for their burial shrouds. The
cloth is commonly dyed red from a practically seedless sorghum.

Both sexes wear one cloth; the women wrap it round them,
whilst the men throw one end over their shoulders.

* Compare Nge.

72 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

They carry bows and poisoned arrows.

Thev inoculate for small-pox from the pistules of a disease
person.

They are a pagan people, amongst whom Muhammadanism
is penetrating.

BURKAWA.

agans

The Burkawa constitute a small community of hill pagan
in the northern part of Bauchi Emirate.

BURRA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. J. H. C. Elder. Mr. S. H. P. Vereker.

The Burra are a pagan tribe inhabiting the independe
district of Biu in the Gujba Division of Bornu, where they number
some 36,743. There are a few in the Goneri District under the
Shehu of Bornu, and some 1,375 over the Yola border, near the
river Hawal. These latter were incorporated with their neigh-
bours, the Hona, under the hereditary Hona Chief, Giyaiyi, in
1914, who is responsible to the Emir of Yola.

They had never been conquered by the Filane, but had agreed
to pay a small gaisua to the Filane Chief of the neighbouring
District of Goila, in order to obtain immunity from slave-raids,
and at the same time granted to him the right of appointing a
chief over them.

They claim to have come from the west (probably from
Ashanti*), together with the Eastern Lala and Hona, but it has
also been stated that all these tribes came from the Kamerun
hills to the east of their present location ; statements that are
not incompatible. The Burra claim to have reached their present
location in Yola Province long before the Filane invasion of the
nineteenth century ; and state that they are a branch of the
same tribe that settled at Bulke in the Song District. They
speak the same language as the Hona, the numerals of which
are identical with those used by the Kilba. The Burra are dis-
tributed over large tracts of dense uninhabited bush, where
the soil is poor, and which produces no sylvan wealth, except for
a few groves of fan-palms and of locust-bean trees.

A murderer can atone for his crime by the payment of forty
gowns, but, should he fail to remit the price, the bereaved family
may murder him or one of his family.

* Vide Gaandap.

TRIBES. 73

A thief or his family must make good the thing stolen.

An adulterer has to pay twelve gowns to the aggrieved husband.

The chief god " Pasha " resides at Dingai, where the Arnado
is chief priest. Pasha is represented by a rod of rough iron,
some 2\ feet long, with a rounded handle, and with rings of iron
threaded together to hang from the top. It is shrouded in grass,
as none but the Arnado may look upon it. A man about to make
a solemn oath brings an offering of beer (which is placed in the
temple " to make Pasha strong "), two gowns, a woman's black
cloth, a goat and a calabash, which he gives to the Arnado, who
then confers with Pasha and places the symbol in the hands of
the witness, who, if he swears falsely, dies within the month.

No big festivals are celebrated, but food and beer are left
outside the temple (a hut) at irregular intervals, sometimes of as
much as nine months' duration.

Another god, named " Kwariwudia," together with his wife,
lives in a grass hut in the village of Tawa, where they are served
by the Arnado of Tawa. Her symbol is a very small rough iron
knife, on which oath is made in a similar manner to that described
above.

The Burra were driven out from their northern territories by
the Babur, but maintained their independence in the hills. Within
a few years of the invasion they succeeded in recapturing their
lands to within six miles of Biu.

They have been placed under Mai Arri, of Biu (Babur), but are
a truculent race, of migratory habits, who are unwilling to admit
any authority. They intermarry with the Babur, however,
observing similar marriage customs and speak a similar language.

Marriage may take place when youths are from twelve to
fourteen and girls ten to eleven years old, but as a rule girls are
fifteen or sixteen before they marry, and the physique of the
Burra is finer than that of other neighbouring tribes. The groom
pleads his suit through a friend, who brings the girl's father a
hundred small copper-coloured rings, four horse-tail whisks, and
one black cloth, and the girl ten small brass, coloured, orna-
mental hair-pins. If these are accepted further presents are
given by the groom at intervals of one month, until the marriage
is celebrated three and a half months after the first proposal.

The bride lives in seclusion in her husband's house for seven
day- before the marriage is consummated, and a week later a feast
is given, when a musician, who plays the " shinga," a sort
of dulcimer, takes a prominent part.

A feast provided by the father and maternal grandparents
is given on the birth of an infant.

The Burra are stock breeders, owning dwarf cattle, horses,
donkeys, sheep and goats. The soil is poor for agricultural pur-
poses, though in the west a farm is nearly twice as valuable as
in the south-east.

74 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Men and women have separate farms, but the man has a rigl
to demand three days' work in every seven from his wife, during
which time she receives corn from her husband's store for her
food. When no farming work is going on each supply food for
their own wants, though the wife cooks for both. They grow
considerable quantities of cotton, which they weave into cloth
and sell to the neighbouring tribes.

BUSSAWA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. R. McAllister. Mr. C. E. Boyd.

Major W. Hamilton-Browne.

The Bussawa claim their origin to have been in Badar, in the
vicinity of Mecca. They vainly opposed the advance of the
Prophet Mahomet and on the King, Kishera, falling in battle
against him, migrated westwards across Africa led by his son.*
On reaching the river Niger they decided to settle down and the
town of Bussa on its right bank became their headquarters. Many
of them wandered further, and the kingdom of Nikki was founded
by the Bussa Chief's brother-in-law, Sheru, Illo by his brother
Wuru,f both states regularly sending tribute (gaisua) to Bussa.

On the rise of the Songhay power they were attacked by the
King Mamara, his principal fighting force being furnished by the
Zabirmawa, whose language is still commonly spoken throughout
that neighbourhood.

The Bussawa speak, however, an individual language, of
which Dandowa, Kengawa, Shangawa and Borgawa are dialects ;
these peoples being, it is said, together with the Atsifawa, Bedde,
Gurumawa and Yorubawa, part of the same migration. J

Bussa is in the Borgu Division of Kontagora Province, but the
people have spread up the Niger, and there are some 3,000 in
the Illo District of the Gando Division of Sokoto.

They practise riverain pursuits and cultivate farm lands ; but
they are an unintelligent and degraded race, whose only industries
are to weave and dye cloth for local use, and whose principal
occupation is drinking beer.

They wear a sleeveless gown which hangs to the knee. It
is split up the front and back of the neck in recollection of a tra-
dition that when their forefathers first crossed the Niger they
left their gowns behind them in a heap upon the bank, and that
when they returned each one had been split with a spear.

* Vide History of Illo, and History of Bussa.

f Or " Agwasa."

I Vide History of Illo.

TRIBES. 75

They have no tribal marks.

Their form of salutation is shaking the clenched fist (="am").

They are pagans, but nothing has been recorded of their
religion, except that their priest " Mayi " is a woman, entitled
" Dogua," who lives in a grove off the road connecting Illo andGiris.

The Chiefs of Bussa were spiritual as well as secular heads, but
now there is a Sarkin Tsafi. A rite is performed each year when
the corn is cut, on the grave of the last deceased Sarkin Bussa,
which is enclosed within a small hut, the entrance to which is
barred by a stone. A red or a white bull is brought thither, and
struck three times on the back with a pestle, by the Sarkin Tsafi,
who then cuts its throat. The blood is left for the spirits to drink,
and the flesh is divided amongst the people. A fowl and goat are
killed, and their blood is sprinkled on the stone which bars the
entrance to the grave.

Before going out to war, after the grass was burnt in the dry
season, a black goat was taken out about a mile down the Luma
road and there released. Horsemen chased it, and each one buried
his spear in its flesh. The first to do so was awarded four kola-
nuts, the beast being then buried in the bush.

A similar rite is still performed on the occasion of an epidemic
of smallpox.

At the commencement of the tornado season, before the rains,
a black bull is killed at the tsafi stone, near Kagoji, on which the
blood is sprinkled. The meat is distributed amongst the people.
This sacrifice is thought to prolong the life of the Sarkin Bussa.

There are also tsafi places at Mt. Zakana and the hills just
outside Kainji.

When the guinea-corn is nearly ripe, the men repair to a tsafi
stone, half a mile west of Bussa, where they brew beer and spend
the night. The next morning the Sarkin Bussa rides out with
all his horsemen and the horses are given beer— they will not all
drink it — to give them health.

Until recent years a stretch of land between Bussa and Gani
Kasai, as also between Gani Kasai and Sagunu, was preserved
from forest fires until a big game drive had taken place, at the
termination of which a feast was held. The two events took
place within a week of each other.

Formerly the Sarkin Bussa might not cross the Niger, because
Kishera had never recrossed to the left bank; but in 1908, after
the sacrifice of a black bull, this custom was broken through.
He might only drink water from the Niger, or from Karissen, a
place in Sakaba, founded by a brother of Kishera.

Every two years the men of the surrounding towns assemble,
and after a bull has been sacrificed, plant sixty to a hundred
rows of yams, each row being about 150 yards long, at the Sarki's
expense. When ripe anyone who is destitute may come and help
himself to the produce.

76 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Whilst the more influential men took up land in the vicinity
of Bussa the talakawa spread westwards and became known as
Borgawa or Barr'ba. The latter is the title given to the inhabitants
of South Borgu by the Yoruba ; the former the title conferred
on them by the Haussa. Borgawa is, however, sometimes
applied to the inhabitants of North Borgu exclusively, and
Barr'ba to the inhabitants of South Borgu.

They are variously described as speaking dialects of Yoruba
and Busanchi (Dandenchi) .

Their tribal mark is the Shatani or Bille, i.e., a breadline
extending for about three inches from the bridge of the nose
downwards, on one or both sides of the face.

Their dress is identical with that of the mother stock.

Their form of salutation is prostration.

A suitor makes small presents to the girl's people every year,
and also on the occasion of festivals, until the marriage is con-
summated. The tie is a loose one.

The dead are buried inside the compound, where their families
remain for a period of three months, after which time the effects
are divided and the widows remarry.

The property is divided into two halves, the eldest son gets
one, the other is divided amongst the younger children, male and
female.

The older generation have no claim, but, if the widow has been
perfectly faithful , it is customary for the heir to make her a present .

Boko is the name given to the people of Kaiama, and " Boka-
lawa " is the Haussa form of the name of the people in Borgu,
known at Boko. A certain number of immigrants from there
have settled in the southern Gando Districts. Dandowa is the
title of the Borgu mallams, which, in some instances at all events,
has been applied to their descendants. They are, of course, an
offshoot of the Bussawa race, and speak a dialect of the same
language.

They have been notified from Sokoto Province, Argungu
Emirate, but the name is now generally applied to all inhabitants
of that particular district whatever their nationality.

The Gurumawa. an offshoot of the Bussawa race, are located
in Sokoto Province.

BUTAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. S. Grier.

The Butawa, or Mbotuwa, are situated in the Independent
State of Burra, in the western Ningi hills, in the north of Bauchi
Province, under an hereditary chief of their own race. The popu-
lation, which numbers some 7,200, consists mainly of Butawa.

TRIBES. 77

There is also a settlement in the Makamai District of Kano
Province, whither a section had migrated from Burra in the latter
half of the nineteenth century.

The Butawa state that they have lived in Burra for very
many generations, and they are probably of common origin with
their neighbours, the Ningawa, the languages of the two tribes
showing a remarkable similarity. The children are, however,
now being taught Haussa. They also show considerable affinity
to the neighbouring Warjawa, Afawa, Kudawa tribes.

They have no distinctive tribal marks, though many of them
adopt those of the Kanawa.

The Butawa are just commencing to move down from the
hills, where the soil is poor, to the fertile plains below. They
possess little stock, only a few sheep and goats.

They are famous for their knowledge of medicinal herbs.

The Sarkin Burra and a sprinkling of his followers are Mu-
hammadans, but the mass of the people worship a god, through
the priest, who is often also the headman, Magaji'n-Dodo ; con-
sulting him as to the conduct of war, etc. Each family or clan
has, in addition, its own god, and every fifth year, first the tribal,
then the family, gods appear in visible form. On these occasions
the women hide, while boys of seven years or upwards are cir-
cumcised, after which they are left in the sacred grove for a period
of two months, the men bringing them food. On their return
home, cattle, sheep, goats and fowls are slaughtered and a great
feast is celebrated.

They believe that certain people have power to assume the
form of animals, more particularly elephants.

In Kano Province the shrines are amongst the rocks. After
the harvest they go to Burra to celebrate the festival with their
kinsfolk.

All disputes are settled by the family head, who commonly
calls on the accused to attest his innocence, by oath, on the grave
of the family god. Should any misfortune overtake him in the
ensuing year he is thought to have forsworn himself, and his
whole household is forfeit to the accuser, who, however, is
generally bought off by a heavy ransom.

Marriage outside the tribe was not permitted. Within its
limits it was arranged by exchange, i.e., one girl for another;
but where this was impossible a dower of some 20,000 cowries
was commonly accepted.

In Kano Province girls are betrothed at the age of five or six,
on a system of dower paid to their fathers, while a man married
as many wives as he could afford.

Divorce might be granted by the village head, but the father
retained possession of the children.

The dead are buried in the compounds in a sitting position
in Kano ; lying (the men on their right, the women on their left

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

sides) in Burra, with their heads resting on their hands. The
burial ground is common to all members of the same family,
though a stone is set up on end to mark the grave of an important
personage. A wake is held after a short interval, and libations
of beer are poured on to the graves whenever a fresh death occurs
in the family. In Kano a bull is killed on the death of a rich man,
a goat on the death of a poor man.

Dead animals are an article of diet.

Men wear gowns, while women wear bunches of leaves both
before and behind, which are suspended from a string round the
loins.

BWOL.

The Bwol are a small tribe of 1,831 persons inhabiting the
Ibi Division of Muri Province.

CHAMBA or TSHAMBA.

AUTHORITIES : (Muri)

Mr. A. L. Auchinleck. Mr. H. S. Berkeley.

Mr. H. Q. Glenny.

The Chamba tribe are probably of Vere descent, though
they have now commingled with their Mumye neighbours.

They inhabit an area of some 240 square miles on the Yola,
Muri and Kamerun border, and the west part of the Vere hills.

It is a hilly, well- watered country and the people are good
farmers, possessing much live stock. Those in the valleys are
keen traders, though the hill section are wild and timid, living
in small huts perched amidst big boulders.
. The village Chiefs have little authority, but in times of war
all united under one War-chief. They maintained their inde-
pendence, but have recently been put under a Filane district-
head in the pagan division of Yola Emirate.

The women wear bunches of leaves and occasionally cloths ;
the men wear loin cloths.

They are given to excessive pito drinking.

The population numbers some 8,035.

Besides those aforementioned in Yola province and in the
Kamerun (of whom we know nothing), a considerable section
migrated from Tubati (Kamerun) and from the Dingi country
east of Yola, about 1832, to escape the increasing pressure of
the Filane. They came first to the neighbourhood of Wukari,
where some of them settled under the Jukon ; others trekked
north and south to the Ibi and Takum districts, but the majority
joined the main body, circ. 1838, who had gone direct to Donga.
Owing to a famine they again separated, some going north and
north-east to Jibu and Wurrio, but this section were exposed
to such heavy taxation from the Filane Emirs that they left
once more for the south, and finally settled in the Suntai District
(Ibi Division), adjoining Donga, about 1870. There they were
under Bakundi, to whom they paid an annual tribute, consisting
of a small number of slaves.

These Chamba had intermarried freely with the Jukon and
Kentu, and their language is said to bear a close resemblance
to that of the Jukon. They number some 6,000-7,000, and are

8o NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

composed of the Denye, Doros and Tugumawa clans, the former
contributing some 5,500 to the total population.

As we have seen, a section of the Chamba came south to
Takum, where some remained, though others rejoined the main
body at Donga, and others again settled on the Gamana River
in Munshi territory. The Takum settlers were attacked by the
Zumperri tribe from the south, but, on receiving reinforcements
from Gamana, succeeded in reducing and even enslaving the
Zumperri, who were, however, eventually ordered to return
to their hills on recognising the supremacy of the Chamba, to
whom they paid tribute at Takum. The two sections of Chamba
then united under the leadership of Kumboshi, who was a grand-
son of that Sarkin Tubati who was reigning when the migration
from the Kamerun took place. They became powerful and
attacked and sacked the Jukon town of Wukari.

The twelfth Chief of Takum received an envoy from the
vSarkin Muslimi, who sent him a flag and a present of horses ;
and in return Takum sent thirty slaves to Sokoto, the beginning
of an annual tribute of from ten to forty slaves, which only
ceased on the advent of the British in 1901. The fourteenth
Chief tendered his allegiance and paid taxes to the British, but
was presently deposed for slave-dealing.

Yamusa, the present Sarkin Takum, was installed in 1907.

This branch of the Chamba is known as the Tik'r, or Tikarawa.
They number some 3,243 and are now merged in the Zumperri
District, Ibi Division.

Their language is said to bear a close resemblance to that of the
Jukon .

Some 453 Denye occupy the Kasimbila District, in the Munshi
Division, where they speak a mixture of debased Jukon, Haussa
and Munshi, and have generally adopted Munshi customs.

They are descendants of that branch of the Chamba which
settled on the Gamana River, whence a small portion broke off,
moving to the Katsena River.

Between the abovementioned Chamba in Muri Province, and
those in their original location on the Yola-Kamerun border,
are a section of Chamba, commonly known as Dakka, numbering
some 2,228. They are situated in the Kam District of the Lau
Division of Muri Province, and are under the Sarkin Kam.
The Dakka live on the south bank of the river Kam and the Kam
on its north bank. It has been suggested that both sections
are septs of the Chamba, but it appears that they differ widely
in language and in customs. The Chamba acclaim the Dakka
as their brethren. Their customs appear to be identical with
those of the Chamba proper. Like them, theii language is said
to resemble that of the Jukon.

The Kam number some 583.

TRIBES. 81

They are an agricultural people, guinea-corn being the staple
crop, which also serves as the medium of currency.

There is very little stock, only a few sheep and goats being kept.

Hunting is the principal occupation.

Other septs of the Chamba are the Gwanda and the Dirrim,
who are on the Muri-Kamerun border. The total Chamba popula-
tion is, therefore, over twenty-one thousand.

The Chamba girls marry at an early age. A semi-private
arrangement is entered into with the suitor, who, when the
time for consummation comes, goes through the form of carrying
off his bride at night. Her father seeks her and is presently
informed of what has happened by a friend of the groom's, to
which he only replies by demanding her back. The groom then
sends him a gift of goats and fowls, and if these are accepted,
the marriage is proceeded with. The young husband presents
his father-in-law and the Chief with some guinea-corn, and a
feast and dance is held, when each of his friends give the groom
two arrows and together select a new name for the bride, by
which she is henceforth called.

Should a girl's father not accept the goats and fowls his
daughter must be returned to him.

No limit is set to the number of wives a man may have,
but as a matter of practice it is rare for him to have more than
one, and amongst the Tik'r a large proportion Wave none.

On obtaining the consent of a father to his daughter's marriage
it is their custom for the suitor to give him some black cloths.

A suitor from the Kam District gives a few calabashes and
some zana matting to his betrothed's people, and works on her
father's farm until such time as his bride conceives, when a new
compound is built.

Adultery is no crime.

A week after the birth of an infant a dance and feast is held
and much beer is consumed. One of the guests names the baby
and smears its throat with shea-butter and the parents make
a present to the Chief.

Dogs are a staple article of food and fetch from is. to 35. 6d.
apiece.

Besides the aforementioned presents to the Chiefs on the
occasion of births and marriages, the Sarki levied considerable
imposts in the form of gaisua.

Each township had its Chief, who was subject, to the Sarkin
Suntai or Donga, who were themselves assisted by a family
council, consisting of their brothers, nephews and sons.

When a Chief dies the fact is made known to the Elders,
but to them alone. They announce to the people that he is
unwell. When the body is cold they select a member of the

* Donga and Suntai.

82 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

royal family to be his successor and bring him to the dead man's
house. In complete silence one of their number moves the body
three times in a final effort to rouse it, after which it is buried
inside the house or compound. In the latter case a hut is built
over it.

Formerly his first wife was buried with him, but not alive.
She was first stunned and then her neck was wrung. His favourite
slave, too, had his skull smashed with a club and was then laid
behind his master, with a pipe, filled with tobacco, in his hand,
and a piece of iron-stone beside him with which to strike a light.
Pots and pans were placed in the grave and four strips of cloth
tied over its mouth.

The bones of the Chief were left in the grave, which might
never be used again, but, after an interval, his head was removed
and carried to the spirit grove, when first his death was formally
announced, though this might not be until after the festival
of the first-fruits had taken place.

The people assembled in large numbers and sat in a vast
circle round the bereaved family, who were grouped together
in the centre. The head elder, titled " Panati," walked three
times round them, holding in his hand a white cloth, which
he finally bound round the arm of the newly elected Chief. The
other members of the family immediately dropped back to the
outer circle, while a new gown was brought to the Chief, which
he donned amidst the beating of drums and acclamations of the
crowd. Followed by them, he retired to his house, where the
elders were assembled, each with a whip in his hand.* They
greeted him with the enquiry as to who it might be coming to
their father's house ; but on his replying : ' It is I, the Sarki,"
all saluted him, and he held a reception. f

The burial of an ordinary individual is executed by the sons
or nearest male relatives. The graves are outside the town.
A man is laid on his right side in a tunnel approached through
a hole five or six feet in depth, whilst a woman is laid on her
left side in a T-shaped tunnel. The heads of both sexes alike
are placed within a pot and the grave is closed by a large stone
and loose earth.

A wake it held some three or four months later, when the
flesh has decayed from the bones ; the sons reopen the grave
and take out the pot containing the head, which they clean in
a secret place. A man's head is placed in another ornamented
pot, a woman's in a plain one, and each respectively is carried
to the spirit grove set apart for their sex.

* It was the ancient Yoruba custom to castigate the chief on his election,
as a test of endurance. If he flinched the appointment was not ratified
Major Ellis, "The Yoruba-speaking Tribes of the Slave Coast of West
Africa." Chapman, Hall.

t Similar to Jukon customs.

TRIBES. 83

After about a year has elapsed the grave is reopened and
the bones removed (for they have no more virtue) so that the
grave may be used again. It is sometimes hired out by the
year, but may never be used for two bodies at once.

Children are put in an ordinary grave without further ceremony ;
slaves receive full burial, but their heads are not subsequently
removed, as their spirits have no place in the ancestral grove.

The groves consist of a few trees in a screen of bushes, and
here the spirits live, for where their heads are there can their
spirits go ; consequently, when a village is moved, the heads
are all conveyed to a new grove in its vicinage. The women
prepare food, which the sons bear to their fathers. At first
they require as much food as a live man, but as the deceased
etherialises less and less is required, though the offerings must
never cease altogether. The living seek the counsel of the dead,
the daughter of her mother, the ^on of his father, and the election
of a village headman is submitted to the spirits of the ancestors.
The spirits can go abroad to observe the doings of the tribe,
but cannot communicate with them except in the groves.

On either side of all paths leading to a town, and from a
distance of a hundred to three hundred yards from it, are spirit-
gates, where the dead keep watch to turn away evil spirits and
small-pox from approaching their children. These gates may
consist of stone cairns, of heaps of reeds and sticks and antelope
horns. They may be mounds of earth, or, as at Dakka, of two
to twelve monoliths of solid rock a foot high.

Here the village elders bury the first-fruits of every crop,
which they eat in company with their ancestors — days on which
no other person is allowed to leave the town. Should anyone
eat corn before this ceremony is performed the whole crop would
lose its power of nourishment.

The spirit Jubi is the father of all the Chamba, and it is
believed that his headquarters are in the Kamerun, west of
Dakka. He has large numbers of sons, Juba, each of whom
is attended by an hereditary priest. They issue from their
graves in terrifying form to chastise a refractory woman, and
may only be consulted through the priesthood. One of the
guises assumed is that of a human figure clothed in grass, with a
small tail suspended ; the face is concealed behind a fiat and
featureless wooden mask, red in colour, with two horns and an
enormous protruding mouth in the centre of the face. Another
guise is the form of a donkey, fashioned in clay, with the head
of a crocodile ; this is hidden in the bush.

A spirit may be reincarnated into one of his descendants.

Some 15 per cent, of the Chamba of Donga are Muslims,
but the majority worship a number of deities, gods of war, of

84 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

hunting, etc. ' Bussom "* is the chief god, and the principal
ceremony is held at the beginning of the rains. Chickens are
sacrificed to him, but the blood is never shed, in sacrifice or
otherwise.

The Chamba of Tik'r believe in a supreme god named " Shin-
dung," who is the ruler of their destinies. The principal festival
is held at the beginning of the wet season, when the people pray
for sufficient rains and a good harvest.

1.7 per cent, are Muhammadans.

CHAWAI, JENGRE, RUKUBA GROUP.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. \V. F. Gowers. Mr. S. E. M. Stobart.

The tribes of Amo, Buji, Chawai, Gurrum, Gussum, Jengre
(or Jere) Kachicharri, Rebin (or Riban), and Rukuba are of
the same stock and speak the same language with dialectical
differences.*)"

The group is probably akin to the Katab, Kagoro, Attakka,
Moroa and Kaje family, a relationship between the Katab and
Kachicharri being specifically claimed. These two clans speak
dialects of the same language and practise similar customs.

The Buji, Gurrum, Gussum and Jengre occupy an area of
some 140 square miles in the north-west of the Bukuru District
of Bauchi Province, on the borders of Zaria Province, where
they are known collectively as Narabuna, and where they have
a population of some 7,280, to which the Bujawa contribute 925.

The Buji and Gurrum migrated from the neighbourhood of
Riban (Zaria), of which the name Narabuna is a corruption.
They speak an identical dialect with their brethren of Bugel,
Gurrum and Rebina, who live in other parts of Bauchi Emirate,
and they paid a nominal tax to Bauchi.

The Jengre and Gussum, cannibals, arrived later in the
Narabuna District, having migrated thither from Fanginna,
near Sanga. They speak an identical dialect. Gussum paid
tribute to Sarkin Leri in Zaria.

Each of these four groups built a town of their own name
in the rocky mountainous country overlooking the plains of
Zaria, and the Jengre were joined for a while by a settlement of
Kurama, who have now almost all returned to their own people.

* " Bussom" is also worshipped by the Gurkawa.

f Mr. W. F. Gowers, writing "tentatively" on the languages of the
Bauchi Province, describes a similarity " often very trifling" between those
spoken by the Buji, Guram, Jere, Naraguta and Taura group, which he thinks
may be related to the Sira, Afawa, Wurjawa, Rebinawa and Butawa group,
though between members of this latter group he says only ' ' traces of
connection " have been found.

TRIBES. 85

A considerable number of the Narabuna speak Haussa.

The district is well watered, the principal river being the
Gurrum. Sheep and goats are kept and the plain lands are well
farmed.

The Narabuna tribal marks consist of slight parallel cuts on
the face.

The women pierce their lower lips, and clothe themselves in
leaves, which hang in bunches before and behind.

The men wear leather round their loins, though a few possess
robes.

They practise circumcision.

The marriage system is one of exchange ; the groom fur-
nishing a girl from his own family in lieu of the bride whom he
receives. Where he is unable to do so, work on the farm of the
bride's father is sometimes accepted instead.

The corpses of Jengre and Gussum sarakuna are washed in the
Maidaiki's compound, and then burned in a large hole or hecatomb
in the chief's compound, each one being lain on a mat, which
is then covered over.

A heap of black stones, said to be thunderbolts, are kept in
the temple. Oath is administered on them and it is believed that
death by lightning would overtake a false witness.

Bows and arrows are the tribal weapons.

Of the Rebina, as apart from the Narabuna, it is notified that
they are a numerous and prosperous tribe, though backward in
civilisation. They are located in Bauchi Emirate and in the
neighbouring Riban District in Zaria Emirate, where they number
some four hundred.

The Rukuba are situated in flat country on the western edge
of the Bauchi plateau, where it breaks into small ravines and
valleys from rugged stony hills.

The soil is barren and rocky, but there is a perennial water
supply from the hill streams and the Rukuba river. Tin and a very
little gold has been found, whilst the natives are good iron- workers.

The Rukuba District proper has an area of 150 square miles,
and the total population in Bauchi Province is probably 11,720.
Some six hundred are situated in the neighbouring (southern
Division) of Zaria Province, possibly the original location, for
those on the plateau claim to have migrated thither from the
west some two hundred years ago.

The name " Rukuba " signifies people who live in the " rocks,"
a suitable cognomen, as their houses are scattered amongst them.
The compounds and towns are surrounded by thick cactus hedges.

They were first visited in 1905, at which time they would kill
a stranger at sight. They were essentially horsemen, and relied
on the charges of their mounted spearmen, though bows and
arrows were amongst the tribal weapons. The horsemen were
in the habit of making an incision on the backs of their ponies

86 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

and opening out the skin, thus causing the flesh to swell
form a pad, which ultimately became callous.

They were cannibals and " head-hunters."

Besides numerous hardy ponies they possess considerable
numbers of sheep and goats, but no cattle. Their principal
occupations are horse-breeding and farming.

The women clothe themselves in a bunch of leaves, one each,
and insert a stick or corn-stalk in the nostril for ornament. The
men wear goat or monkey skins round the loins.

The tribal marks consist of a series of dotted marks in parallel
lines from the breast to the stomach.

Boys are circumcised.

A suitor gives a hoe and some beans to the father of his bride.
They have no high standard of morality.

The dead are wrapped in grass, and their bows and arrows
and other property are burnt ; but the arrow-heads may be sub-
sequently recovered. Heads are shaved in token of mourning.

Succession passes to the eldest son, or failing him, to the
brother. The Chief may appoint either his son or his brother
to be his successor.

The Chawai inhabit the southern division of Zaria Province,
where they number some 9,226, scattered over an area of about
205 square miles, showing an average population of 50.6 per
square mile ; as some Haussas are scattered over the same
district.

Their chief is descended from a Haussa line of kings who
have ruled the Chawai since time immemorial.

It is the custom for the Chief to wear the caps of all his prede-
cessors, one over the top of the other.

Those who live in the hills are more backward than those who
live in the plains ; cloths are rapidly replacing leaves and skins
as the customary dress.

They are good farmers and possess a good deal of live-stock,
including some horses.

Some 550 Kachicharri occupy the Kauru District of Zaria
Province. They are probably an off-shoot of the Chawai and are
also akin to the Katab, whose customs they are said to follow.

CHIBUK.

AUTHORITY : Mr. Hermon Hodge.

The Chibuk are merged with the Marghi in the south-east
of Bornu Province and the adjoining districts of Yola Province.
In Bornu they number some 3,238 ; in Yola they have not been
differentiated from the Marghi, where together they may be
roughly estimated at 5,000.

• TRIBES. ,

In type they are small-featured and round-faced, with deep-set
eyes, snub noses and prominent foreheads.*

Their tribal marks are three semi-circular gashes on each
cheek.* %

It is said that they are a mixture of Marghi,Burra ana Kilba,
from whom their present language was evolved, a Marghi man
being the first settler in the district, which the Chibuk have
occupied for many centuries. They were driven into the rocks
by Kanuri and Filane slave-raiders, and at one time, though
for a few years only, they paid tribute to the latter of one dollar
per compound, or, in the case of a poor man, 6d. worth of cotton.
This lapsed, circ. 1872-80.

They have a good natural supply of water in the hills, but the
British have recently caused them to descend to the plains as a
check on their constant raids on traders. They drink beer to
excess and take snuff largely. Their customs and dress are similar
to those of the Marghi, with the exception that the unmarried
men wear a metal ring the size of a half-crown in the lobe of the
left ear, which is removed when they marry.

Young women wear two of these discs in the same ear.*

CHUM.

AUTHORITY : Mr. T. F. Carlyle.

The Chum are a small independent tribe, numbering 3,500,
situated to the east of the Tangalto group, in the south-east of
the Gombe Division, Bauchi Province. They welcome the
Kitije Filane amongst them.

It is suggested that they are of common origin with the Waja
and Wange group of Tula, but this is uncertain.

They were never under Jukon or Filane influence.

*" Boyd Alcxandet's Last Journey."

DADIA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. T. F. Carlyle.

The Dadia inhabit the Tula region, in the Gombe Division,
to the south-east of Bauchi Province. They number some 2,300.

It is possible that they were the original inhabitants of this
region, which was overrun later by immigrants from the Benue,
from Muri Province, and from the Tangale, who, together with
the Dadia, now speak dialects of the Tula language.

Unlike their neighbours, the Dadia never came under Jukon
influence, nor subsequently under that of the Filane.

They have no markings on the face, only on the body.

DAKKAKARRI.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. C. E. Boyd. Major W. Hamilton-Browne.

The Dakkakarri,* known locally as Dakkarawa, inhabit the
Zamfara district of Sokoto, where, together with the Bangawa,
they have a population of 8,ooo.f The main body of the
tribe occupy the Sakaba District to the north of Kontagora,
between Rijau and the Sokoto boundary, where they
have a population of some 31,917; who are united under
the Sarkin Darbai. They are divided into two principal clans,
the Lila (singular Ka-lila) and the Adoma (singular WadomJ),
numbering 27,007 and 4,910 respectively. Their tribal marks
consist of a series of very small cuts on the cheek, and one cut
on each side of the face, joining eye to ear, the Adoma bearing
a greater number than the Lila. These marks are made with a
razor when a child is eight to twelve months old. Shea butter
is rubbed over the skin, and three days later a mixture of shea
butter and red earth (majigi) is rubbed into the cuts. The navel
is also marked.

*From the Arabic " Dakakir," i.e., " idols" or " idolaters."

t Aliero, north of the Jega, was a strong Dakkakarri town until the

time of Jihad, when the inhabitants evacuated it and 'fled to the Niger

Valley.

I Possibly the same tribe as that known as Domawa by the Haussa,

who came from Bornu.

TRIBES. 89

They speak a language or dialect of their own, despite the
fact that the majority are descended from the Atsifawa, leavened
by a number of Haussawa from Zanfara.

There is a general similarity of numerals amongst the Atsifawa,
Bangawa, Dakkakarri and Kamberri ; the higher numerals
being a corruption of Haussa. Haussa is the lingua franca, for
though the two clans can understand they cannot speak to each
other. "Kelinchi," the Adoma dialect, is allied to Dukanchi,
but Lila is the most generally known. They are a brave people
and are fearless horsemen, the Adoma especially having a great
reputation as fighters. The mounted men are armed with swords
and spears, the footmen with bows and poisoned arrows. When
a man or animal is killed, the owner of the arrow chants the
praises of his poison, which is generally a mixture of two of the
three following poisons Kwankwani (strophanthus sarmcntosus) ,
Gautan Kura, and Cuba.

Both sexes are splendidly proportioned, but they are back-
ward, and as lately as 1904 had no use for coin, cowries being
their currency.

They are agriculturists, the principal crops being guinea-corn,
millet, makara, tubers, gwaza, and occasionally cassava and rice,
all of which are cultivated by, and belong to, men. Acha, beniseed
and beans are grown by women.

The surface of the ground only is turned before sowing, but
big ridges are made for potatoes, tumuku and cassava. Manure
is not used. Care is taken to propitiate the gods. When the
guinea-corn is one foot high a pot is placed in a small hole in the
centre of the farm at an early hour in the morning, and flour
is sprinkled over the trees surrounding the farm ; later in the
day a fowl is killed, and eaten with tuo ; its bones and fragments
of tuo are then placed in the pot, together with various medicines.
Prayer is made for a good crop, and then, only, they proceed with
the work. When the corn has grown up, and the grain is about
to form, water is poured into the pot. When the corn is reaped
samples of each variety are placed in the pot, which is then put
at the bottom of the granary, and is finally filled when the corn is
threshed. Much of the farm work is done by young men who
contract to do so many seasons on the farms of their prospective
fathers-in-law. They are known as "masu-golmo," and the
seniors amongst them elect two of their number to direct opera-
tions, appointments that hold good for two seasons. The Sarkin
Golmo retires immediately after the sowing season, the Ubanda-
waki immediately before it. The latter receives, on appointment,
a badge of office, consisting of a metal armlet, worn above the
right elbow, to which four bells are attached. On the following
day he gives the Sarkin Golmo sixty cowries and some tobacco . The
work commences with the first rains, when the masu-golmo clear
and sow the farms in pairs. Two months later they are sent in

90 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

threes and sixes to sow acha ; and from that time until the grain
is stored they work in gangs (gayya), each gang having charge
of a certain ward. The regular hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
one hour's rest being allowed in the middle. Masu-golmo, in
their first season are not permitted to fall out, nor are they even
allowed to drink water. A " golmo," or season's work, was
originally valued at the worth of one goat, of a basket of corn,
or of a large dog, value one shilling ; but, in 1906, the price was
fixed at ten shillings. Should a suitor fail to fulfil his contract
(which varies between three to six seasons) he is liable to lose
the whole, but if another man steps forward and completes the
term, and .marries the girl, he (the husband) gives him compen-
sation. It sometimes happens, however, that the girl marries
her original suitor after all, in which case he indemnifies number
two for the work done.

A youth cannot enter into an engagement until he is recog-
nised as an adult, at the age of fourteen to fifteen. He then gets
a young virgin to prefer hi^ suit to the mother of the bride elect.
If she and her daughter agree, the girl brings him the tidings, and
he sends back twenty cowries, which are placed in the bride's
hands in her mother's presence ; the fiancee being usually from
seven to twelve years of age. The suitor has no rights over the
girl until he enters upon his second season's golmo, but if she is
of age she often has a liaison with him, or with some other, before
that time. The father is supposed to know nothing of it, but the
mother encourages it. However, immediately before the second
golmo commences, the lover sends a cock and fifty cowries to the
girl's betrothed, who usually accepts it and thus closes the inci-
dent. The bride's father has meanwhile built the young couple
a hut, and on the morning of the day when the groom first occupies
it, he places an i8in. long stick, adorned with vertical stripes of
indigo, just inside the threshold of his father-in-law's compound,
to warn off other admirers.

When the contract is complete, several months elapse while the
groom gets his house ready. He then sends tuo, meat, etc., to
the parents of his bride, to be distributed amongst their relatives ;
and his mother-in-law gives him five to seven days' notice of the
wedding day. A day or two before this comes round she goes
with her daughter to inspect the new abode, for which she provides
all household utensils. On the day itself the bride is escorted
there by her female relatives and left without further ceremony.
An infant that is born with teeth in its mouth is immediately
killed, water being poured into it until it dies.

Circumcision is not practised by the Lila, but is by the Adoma.

When a boy is twelve years old he is taken by his father and
other males to the temple, where he is shut up for the night •
drums are beaten outside until, at dawn, the novice is dismissed.
He is. then permitted to wear a loin-cloth (wolki) , which hangs

TRIBES. 91

down behind, and when he is fourteen or fifteen he turns it up
in front and is accredited an adult. From that time on, for the
next five years or so, he devotes himself to wrestling. It is of
a very clean type, and is carried on with much spirit. A pre-
liminary meeting is held about the beginning of September,
but the season proper does not commence till six weeks later and
lasts until April. After the first big meeting the wrestlers give
sweet potatoes to the drummers. A small iron spear is carried
at meetings, and jangling iron anklets are worn, but since about
1909 a taste for finery has crept in, and decorated leather girdles
and necklets of beads or cowries, etc., are worn by the men.
whilst women wear heavv brass baneles,and coloured beads on

J -o '

their arms and ankles, whilst some wear light and dark blue
beads over their loins, intermixed with a few red and yellow beads.
Girls betrothed to the village champions have taken to wearing
a foot long reed, wound round with red wool and surmounted
with two white feathers, arranged as a V, as a head-dress. The
younger women and girls join in chants of victory for their friends,
and rush into the ring and pour flour over the heads and shoulders
of youths about to compete ; but this also is an innovation. In
their last season wrestlers carry corn-stalks or bamboos with rag
pennons, and an expert may sometimes delay performing his
" golmo " for two or three seasons, on the payment of twenty
cowries per annum to his future father-in-law, or by obtaining
the consent of his own father to allow his sister's suitor to do the
work in his place. When a youth attends his first Gayya (i.e. gang
work), he arrives in wrestling outfit, but brings a leather loin-
cloth in a bag. When the first stretch of work is complete, one of
the old hands takes it out, and, after removing the wrestling
ornaments, puts in on the novice, without checking his work,
for during his first season a man may not stop work at all, not
even to drink water. The next day the three or four ornamental
patches of hair worn by wrestlers are shaved off, and the trans-
formation is complete.

Immediately upon death the head of a corpse is shaved, and
the body washed, after which the relatives lay cloths over it.
Dirges are chanted until burial, which takes place so soon as the
grave is ready. This is shaped like an inverted T (i.e. X) three
feet, now six feet, in depth, and is lined with stone. The corpse
is passed through a narrow well-like opening and extended at the
bottom, where it is laid on its left side, with the left hand under
the head, which faces east. The elder son inspects the grave
to see that all is correct before the cloths are removed. Then
it is closed with a large flat stone, and is subsequently filled in
with earth. Whole families may be buried in one spot, the bones
being scraped to one side to make room for the new comer. Conical
mounds about two feet in height and three feet in diameter are
erected over graves, and these are decorated with beautifully made

92 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

symbols, urns, and figures, to denote the sex and standing of the
deceased. A wide-mouthed urn denotes a female, a small-lipped
urn a male ; they must be kept full of water, because the dead are
liable to walk at night. The figures are hollow and are made
with the mouth slightly open, showing well-shaped teeth, while
the head is frequently plastered with hair. The horns of a buck,
roan, hartebeeste, or buffalo, signify the grave of a huntsman who
has killed such animals. That of a great wrestler is marked
with a Y-shaped piece of wood, several feet high, which, in the
case of a special expert, has rings burnt around it. Models of a
horse, woman and servant notify the grave of a chief.

The burial over, the chanting ceases, but next morning
drumming commences and continues until five p.m. The beats
are, according to the calling of the deceased, on one or more of
about seven different drums.

(1) Every person receives the "Kimba," though a special beat
is reserved for champion wrestlers.

(2) The " Ganga " is reserved for blacksmiths, their wives
and daughters.

(3) Noted warriors and slave-raiders, together with their wives
and daughters, are celebrated by the combined beats of the
" Kalango" and " Kuria."

(4) Hunters, together with their wives and daughters, are
denoted by different beats on the " Turu," according to what
animals they had slain. If the deceased had killed an elephant
the walls of his corn-bins were pierced by an elephant's tusk at
the same moment ; or if the slayer of a buffalo the walls of his
house were pierced by the horns of a buffalo.

(5) Chiefs and sarakuna were awarded special beats on a drum
similar to the " Kimba."

(6) Chiefs, village-heads, skilled blacksmiths, and those
friends of the Chiefs or village-heads who had given valuable
presents received all grades of drumming.

The Lila share these honours with their wives and daughters,
but not with their sons ; the latter are, however, included by the
Adomo.

Infants are buried two feet deep and no further notice is taken
of their graves.

In the case of those who die from small-pox, snake-bite, arrow
wounds, or a fall from a tree, the graves are bordered with stones,
and are kept in repair, but are not ornamented as described above.

A feast is always given in honour of the deceased, and gener-
ally takes place one to three months after the death, but where
the relatives are very poor they may have to postpone it for three
years, before sufficient wealth has been accumulated.

This ceremony is never omitted and is always concluded by
a three or four days drinking bout.

TRIBES. 93

*

Fura, or the blood of a fowl, is periodically sprinkled on the
grave, as also on the outside of the outer door, and on the inside
of the entrance chamber to the compound of the deceased ; for the
spirits of the ancestors retain certain powers over their descen-
dents, and it is they who wage war with the spirits of evil over
the body of a sick man.

Widows inherit nothing, though they retain the right of dis-
posal of their own (women's crop) . As with the Atsifawa a full
brother of the deceased may not marry the widows, and if, there-
fore, they returned to their birthplace it was customary, though
not obligatory, for the heir to give them several baskets of corn
each. Generally they passed to the deceased's half-brothers,
the eldest having the first claim.

The brother acts as trustee and father for the children if the
sons are too young to do farm work. Otherwise the ordinary
line of succession is (i) to sons, (2) to brothers, (3) to half-brothers,
(4) to intimate friends.

Dorowa trees are considered part of the farm and legatees have
exclusive right to the produce if the farm is abandoned. If,
however, it is farmed by some other person, the legatee shares
the produce with the occupant. If the farm has been abandoned
owing to the youth of the heir (and he a son), he may claim the
right to the fruit years later.

A man inherits his wife's crops.

By criminal law a murderer was forced to pay two girls, or
a boy or and a girl, of his family to the family of the deceased.

A thief was sold as a slave, unless he were ransomed by the
payment of a girl or a boy.

An adulterer might be shot on the spot by the husband, or,
if the crime were subsequently proved, the Chief fined the de-
linquent a boy or a girl, whom he generally kept for his own use.

Each man has his own tsafi, which may be a tree, stone, or
some other object, which he sprinkles with fura and the blood
of a cock when proffering special prayers. Women use the blood
of a hen in a like manner.

There is a supreme being, known as " Assilur," who is served
by and who informs the high-priest as to coming wars, sickness,
etc. There are various temples throughout the country peculiar
to the different towns. In Dabai there are two of particular
interest. In the Dakin Machiji (house of the snake) a horned
python, known as " the father," lives on a heap of stones at the
foot of a certain baobab. All sorts of snakes gather here, and
are regularly fed with fowls before certain festivals, on which
days no natives dare pass by after dark.

The other temple is known as Dakin Tsawa (the house of
thunder) . Hereditary priests attend at both these shrines and
administer oath, false evidence given in the one place resulting

94 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

in death by snake-bite, in the other by lightning. Suspect*
persons are sent to both these places by the native court.

In the town of Dago there is an important shrine, known as
the Dakin Toka (house of ashes). After swearing falsely here,
neither a perjurer nor his companion are ever seen again.

A man who believes himself the object of ill-will scatters
red guinea-corn round a Maje tree, and on the same day, or on
the following evening, he kills and eats a red cock/ taking care
not to break any of the bones. He then places the remains,
bones and feathers, in a hole eighteen inches deep at the foot
of the tree, removes all his clothes, utters loud lamentations,
strips some bark off the tree and fills in the hole. He then dries
the bark and eats it, either by itself or in soup ; believing that
even as the cock has died, so will his enemy.

Sometimes the inmates of a house dry and hang up within
the entrance to their huts, a dark variety of ramma, to keep
out evil spirits. This is especially done where a place has a
doubtful reputation.

DAIYIPAR.

The Dampar are an off-shoot of the Jukon. They are situated
in the Ibi Division of Muri Province, and number some 1,783.

DARORO.

Darorp were the original inhabitants of the country in the
immediate vicinity of Jemaa, Nassarawa Province, and par-
ticularly of the hill Daroro, from which, perhaps, they derived
their name.

They were conquered and driven out by the Filane, circ.
1805-1810 A.D. Nimdam being now the only town in their
occupation. It is under the Emir of Jemaa.

DAZAWA.

The Dazawa have a population of 220 in the Bauchi Emirate,
whither they are said to have come from Kulum in Gombe.

Their language somewhat resembles Bolewa, and they are
said to be of Bolewa origin.

Their tribal marks resemble those of the Bolewa, consisting
of five vertical cuts on each cheek.

TRIBES. 95

DENAWA, GERMAWA, GAMSAWA, KIRIFAWA.

AUTHORITY : Capt. T. W. P. Dyer.

The Denawa, Germawa, and Kirifawa are intermixed,
speaking languages which, though not identical, are mutually
comprehensible ; and bearing tribal marks consisting of fine
vertical cuts on each cheek from the temples to the lips, and,
in the case of the Germawa, additional short vertical incisions
close to the nostril.

Both language and tribal marks are similar to those of the
Bolewa (western branch), and the latter to the Kanuri (Bauchi).

The Denawa and Kirifawa are described as pagans of the
Kirifi uplands, where the former still live in small hamlets with
a population of 7440. The latter have now descended from
their hill homes on the right bank of the upper reaches of the
Gongola River to the plain below, where they have a population
of 3,620.

The Germawa are situated in the adjacent district of Lemme.
whence some migrated to Jemaa near Gombe in search of new
territory, where they now have a population of some 886. The
majority, i.e., 7,510, have remained in Bauchi Emirate; and
they have an offset, the Gamsawa, who number some 165.

All three groups are in the Bauchi Emirate.

Muhammadanism is spreading rapidly amongst Ihe Germawa.

DIMMUK.

The Dimmuk are situated in a district of their own name
in the north-west of the Ibi Division of Muri Province, where
they have a population of 8,644.

The Chief is appointed by a tribal council, who select him
from amongst the members of the royal family. He and the
council together appoint a headman for each village, who must
equally be of the family of the late headman, though a son
may never directly succeed his father ; and he is assisted by a
village council.

A headman, with the aid of his council, adjudicates all
actions for debt, land disputes, and marriage questions, but
these may be transferred to the tribal Chief and his council
who sit as a court of appeal.

The village headman grants rights of occupancy over farm-
lands. The farmer is expected to give a sheep to the headman
every three years. Should he fail to do so he is usually given
a year's grace and then evicted. When the occupier dies his
holding passes to his sons, whom the headman confirms

96 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

in their right of occupancy. If they are infants the mother
acts as trustee.

Their customs are said to be similar to those of their neigh-
bours, the Mirriam and Kwoll.

Their origin is unknown, but they may be found to be of
the same stock as the Angas, Ankwe, Montol and Sura group.

DUGUZAWA.

The Duguzawa are a small community numbering 275 persons
in Bauchi Emirate.

DUKAWA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. C. E. Boyd. Mr. J. C. O. Clarke.

The Dukawa are akin to the Kamberri. They speak a language
which has much in common with Kamberri, and is mutually
comprehensible to both peoples.

The Dukawa tribal marks consist of sixteen lines on each
cheek and sixteen lines by each of the eyes. Both men and women
are marked thus. There are some 730 Dukawa in the Sakaba
Division of Kontagora Province, whose customs and beliefs
are similar to those of their Dakkakarri neighbours, but the
main body are located in the north-east of the Yelwa Division
of Kontagora Province, in hilly, rocky country, though some
have been notified from Sokoto.

They recognised the Sarkin Yauri as their overlord and
paid a small tribute to him. He appointed a Yauri man to
be their district head.

The towns are surrounded by strong walls, some ten feet
in height, with holes pierced in them for guns and arrows. Moats
six or seven feet deep encircle the walls and some three hundred
yards outside these there is another trench, two feet deep,
surmounted by low walls, on which a prickly thorn (Gardenia
thunbergia), is planted.

Bows and poisoned arrows, which are shot with fair accuracy
to a distance of fifty or sixty yards, are the principal weapons.
The arrows are sometimes fired out of a gun (sango) — this is
always the case in elephant hunting. The Dukawa do not use
shields. It is noteworthy that the Dukawa and Kamberri never
fought or raided with each other.

Even the town dwellers had extensive farms in the bush,
where they resided for a certain part of the year and kept con-

TRIBES. 97

siderable numbers of goats. The principal crops grown and
owned by men only are guinea-corn, millet, makari (Egyptian
corn), tubers, gwaza, and occasionally cassava and rice. The
former is used for beer making, but this is only drunk at feasts.
Women cultivate acha, beans and beniseed. Ramma fibre and
cotton is also grown, the latter being sold to Haussa traders.
A considerable trade is done with the fruit of .the shea-butter
tree. Tobacco is raised, the people being great smokers and
snuff-takers. They have a good knowledge of medicine, and
decayed teeth are stopped,* though not very efficiently.

Little fishing is done, though the women sometimes set traps
or dam the pools so that the fish are left high and dry.

Iron is bought and smithied locally.

Skins are tanned. The hair is removed with ashes and the
skin bleached with the seed and bark of the ' bagarua," an
acacia (probably Arabica or Nilotica). The men hunt, but n ever
pursue lion or giraffe.

Neither weaving nor dyeing is done, for the women still
wear bunches of leaves, and men leather loin-cloths as their
ordinary clothing. A few men possess gowns,, and successful
hunters and warriors wear a black shirt, together with bracelets
of the skins of their victims. Small brass rings are worn in the
lips and ear-ornaments of red stone, red silk, or guinea-corr^
stalks by the women.

In physique they are a fine race, the men averaging 5 ft.
ii ins. in height, the women 5 ft. 9 ins.

On the day of birth an old woman comes and attends the
mother and child for three days, after which the father returns.
A miniature bow and arrow is hung at the door, and hunting,
farming, or bandit songs are sung in the presence of the infant,
according as to which of those three professions has been chosen
for it. Small presents are given to the grandmother of the
child, who, if a boy, is named after either of its grandfathers.
If a child were born with teeth water was forced into its mouth
until it died.

Circumcision is not practised, with few exceptions.

When a boy is five years old his father buys and puts away
antimony for him, which he will presently have to give as a
wedding gift. When he has reached wrestling age his father
gives him a cloth and some land to farm, where the boy grows
beniseed for the next seven years, as he has to fill twenty-two
calabashes with beniseed of his growing, fried with salt, as part
of the marriage dower. Girls and boys meet at the wrestling
matches, and each girl is provided with flour which she may
scatter over the head of her chosen knight. The lad's father then
sets out to obtain the consent of the parents of the wished-for

* A mixture of Karonfara, Taroniya and Kamua is used for this purpose.

98 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

bride to the match. He takes a present of tobacco with him,
if the suit is accepted the relations are summoned and the tobacco
divided between them, and henceforth the suitor works on his
future father-in-law's farm. When the boy is old enough twenty-
two virgins are summoned and they carry his gifts to the bride's
parents, i.e., the afore-mentioned beniseed and antimony,
together with a box to contain the latter, a silk necklace, skein
of silk, bars of brass, enamel dish and a hundred onions — presents
provided by the boy's father. His relations visit the bride's
relations, and the groom then builds himself a hut in his father-
in-law's compound, where he lives, working exclusively for his
father-in-law until his first child can crawl, when he takes his
wife to a home of their own and they are independent — though
often a period of seven years of vassalage will have elapsed.
If he has found reason to suspect his fiancee he asks her to swear
her purity on the god ' Mai-girro." If she cannot do so her
paramour is fined, and if he refuses to pay his house is burned.
The young wife is escorted to the groom's house by two
married women and two unmarried girls, and for five days she
takes meals with her neighbours. A feast is given to the groom's
relations and his father gives her two hundred cowries.

A family commonly eat their meals together, though not out
of the same bowl, but women are confined to the flesh of antelope
or buffalo for meat, while the men eat goats and fowls in addition.
No one eats the meat of an animal that has died a natural death .
The huts are small, some ten feet in diameter, with walls
four feet in height. The furniture consists of mud beds, on
which the people sleep naked, and beneath which fires are burning.
They are lit by means of flint and steel — silk-cotton roasted
in the pod, and fibre being used to catch the spark.

Five kinds of drums are in use, the " ganga," the " kalango "
(a small drum), the " turu" (a single-ended drum), the " kimba "
(a log drum beaten at both ends), the " batta " of ' kworria,"
with a skin across the open end and with beans inside. There
is also a horn, which is always blown at wrestling matches.

When a man dies he is laid out in his house and covered
with a cloth, while drummers cry his virtues. At the time of
burial the corpse is laid flat at the bottom of a tunnel, access
to which is obtained through a hole in the centre, with the feet
to the west. A flat stone is laid on the top, and objects applicable
to his calling are laid on the grave, i.e., horns symbolic of
a hunter, etc. The Sarkin Mutua, the grave-digger, receives
presents from the mourners and a feast is held. If the deceased
were a young man (warrior) a leopard skin and bells are hung
on the post at the entrance to his house, and men of his own
age dance round it, while the drummers chant his brave acts.
His bows and arrows are burned. The women wail three days

TRIBES.

99

for a man and four days for a woman, and widows shave their
heads. Great care is taken of the graves.

The eldest son inherits the right of occupancy to that part
of his father's farm which is under cultivation, the younger sons
to that part which is lying fallow. If the sons are children their
father's eldest brother acts as their guardian and trustee. Failing
sons the succession goes to the deceased's father, brothers,
uncles, on the male side, half-brothers, or intimate friends — each
class totally debarring that next it from share in the inheritance.

A widow passes to her late husband's brothers according
to their seniority, but if they do not choose to marry her she
may return to her own people and marry whom she pleases.
In this case she is usually given several baskets of corn as a
farewell token of good will.

The Dukawa believe in a future life in a place they call
" Andakka." There the wicked are isolated for a term of two
years, throughout which they have neither food nor shelter.
The good are met by their predeceased friends, who bring them
clothes and food and beer. A dying man will often say that
he hears his friends calling to him. For them it is heaven:

They believe in the efficacy of their ancestors to help them
on earth, and offer pounded grain on the grave-stone whenever
they invoke the aid of the departed against sickness or misfortune.

Like the Kamuku, Bassa, and some of the Kamberri, the
Dukawa worship the god Mai-girro and present offerings to him
when they beseech favours,, a common request being for children.
A pot is kept at his shrine filled with " medicine." The oath
taken on Mai-girro is really an ordeal. The priest ' Bakin
Dodo," ="the mouth of thegod," rubsa knife on a stone and then
washes it in water which the swearer drinks — if he is guilty
he dies within seven days.

' Ilga"* is a god to whom prayers for success in hunting,
for offspring, and for the sick are offered. His chief priest,
Sarkin Tsafi, has wide medical knowledge, and great influence
in keeping wives faithful to their husbands. When his inter-
position is sought he receives a fee of one red goat, a black cloth,
and eighteen calabashes. ' Ilga " resides in a cave near Duku
and thither the Sarkin Tsafi and three elders repair twice a year,
one occasion being when the guinea-corn is three feet high. On
their return a feast is celebrated by all the villages, when much
beer is drunk. No one may leave the town that day, or he
would see a vision of four white horses — should he call others
to his assistance they would see the hoof-marks only.

The Dukawa see ghosts, which walk at night with fire issuing
from their arm- pits and beat people to death.

* Compare Kamuku.

TOO NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

" Alku " is worshipped in the form of a baobab tree, which
was formerly inhabited by bees whose sting was said to be fatal.
His chief priest is " Hazzo," Galadiman Sarkin Tsafi. A feast
is celebrated once a year in March, when Hazzo marches out
of Duku, accompanied by the young men of the Galadima,
Magaji and Ubandawaki (not those of Dauda Kanta). They
lean their bows against the tree on which " Kumba " is smeared
and four cocks are sacrificed. The ceremony over Hazzo distri-
butes beer. Every hunter gives him three ribs of each side of
every animal they kill.

Another god named " Bukun " is all-powerful in granting
children. If a woman has entire faith in him and offers, through
the priest ' Umerri," one black goat and a virgin pullet, her
request is answered without delay . Oaths are sworn on ' ' Bukun , ' '
death resulting to a perjurer within seven days, his estate falling
forfeit to ' Umerri/' the priest.

A white stone, " Asharingi," is sacred — fowls, goats and
flour being offered to it through the priest ' Kadaggo."
An oath on " Asharingi ' is binding to the Dukawa of Iri.

The fruit tree ' Kaiwa " is worshipped through the priest
Sarkin Tsafi, Fati of Iri.

Another god, " Arungi," is worshipped through the priest
Dodo of Iri.

There is general belief in witchcraft.

DUMAWA.

The Dumawa are a small tribe of plain pagans of an advanced
type situated in Bauchi Emirate, close to Bauchi town.

DUNJAWA.

The Dunjawa are a tribe consisting of 395 persons in Ba
Emirate.

EKITI,

AUTHORITIES :

The Ore of Awtun, Mr. T. C. Newton.

Mr, G. C. Whiteley.

Those Ekiti who are living in Northern Nigeria occupy the
Awtun District in the extreme south-east of Ilorin Province-
area no square miles, population 15,000 — and the Osi District-
area 300 square miles, population 7,500. The total population
is therefore some 22,500. In Southern Nigeria the area they
occupy is something like 2,500 square miles.

They speak a dialect of Yoruba.

Their grandfathers migrated from Ife (Benin), in Southern
Nigeria, in search of agricultural lands, and journeyed in con-
siderable numbers to Awtun, where they finally settled, after
stopping awhile at Musi near Ekure, and at Bole.

The Ekiti were subject to raids alike from Balogun AH of
Ilorin, and from the Yoruba of Ibadan — districts were over-run
and tribute exacted, but Awtun boasts that they were never
broken — little credit, however, is reflected on their warlike
prowess, for it was their habit to buy off the invader with presents
of kola and slaves. Osi appears to have been the only Ekiti
town of any importance which became a district of Ilorin, under
an Ajele of Balogun Ali. Their disputes were appealed to the
British Government, and for a brief period the whole of the
Ekiti were administered from Lagos, but Awtun and Osi were
shortly after put under Northern Nigeria, and they recognise the
Emir of Ilorin as their over-lord. In 1884 the Ekiti combined
with the Ife and Yebu against the Ibadans. All the Ekiti Chiefs
were represented and formed the Ekiti Parapos Confederation,
who, at a later date were guaranteed their independence by
the British Government. In 1900 some sixteen migrating Chiefs
received their titles from the Chief of Ife — the Ore of Awtun
being made President and the Olobo of Obo fourth in seniority.
These are the only two in the Northern Provinces, but on the
demarcation of the country thus dividing the tribal group the
Ekiti council came to an end.

The Chief is entitled the Ore of Awtun and, as his ancestor
was the first of the sixteen Ekiti Chiefs to receive his office from

102 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Ife, his seniority is still acknowledged, presents and greeti
being periodically sent him by the southern Ekiti Chiefs.

Succession to the Chieftainship is to the eldest male member
of the royal blood, and it has been said that by native law no
Ore might reign longer than ten years. The Olobo of Obo,
Chief of Obo in the Osi District, is, as we have seen, fourth in
seniority amongst the sixteen Ekiti Chiefs. His ancestors came
from Ife some two centuries ago.

The whole of the land is now distributed and is obtainable
only by the good- will of the occupant, who, as he grows older,
will often allow a young man to farm a portion of his land. In
making the request the applicant brings with him a present of palm
wine, but the land cannot be alienated either by gift or sale.
Kola and oil-palm trees belong to the owner of the land, and
the man to whom he has given the right of farming may not
touch them, though he may use other trees for firewood, etc.

Some compounds are very large, owing to the Ekiti system
of allowing strangers to come and reside with them. These
strangers must obey the laws of the compound and may at any
time be ejected from it, but they pay no rent and give no personal
service.

Succession is to the grown-up sons, who generally agree
to give their uncles some small portion of the land. If the children
are minors the deceased's property goes to his younger brothers,
who keep it in trust for the sons. It is the younger brothers who
inherit the widows, failing them the deceased's sons.

Cases of death by violence are reported to the Ore, but the
entire judicial control appears to rest locally amongst the head-
men of that town where the law has been contravened. Murder
and theft are the only two crimes recognised. These are first
notified to the village head-man, who calls together the Chiefs
of the district, and in their presence and that of any of the public
who like to be present, expounds the accusation to them. The
accused is sworn on iron, usually on Ogu, god of iron, or by
Ossala, the greatest god of all. The Ologu, the most important
of these Chiefs, first questions the accused and cross-examines
the witnesses, being followed one after another by all the Elders.
When the evidence is complete the public express their opinion
as to whether or not the accused is guilty — if there is doubt the
case is adjourned till more evidence has been collected. In
the case of suspected theft, however, the prisoners' hands are
sometimes bound tightly behind him and he is left thus in the
Chief's compound until he confesses his guilt, or until the court
come to the conclusion that he is innocent after all.

Murder by violence is punished by death. The criminal is
tightly bound to a tree, the populace are summoned and his
crime declared. He is then decapitated with an axe.

TRIBES. 103

If. however, the murderer has committed his crime by poison,
which is hard to prove, he is heavily fined — one third of the
sum going to the bereaved family and two thirds to the head-men
and council.

A woman never commits murder except by poison, when the
punishment is by fine. If, however, she denies her guilt and
is suspected of witchcraft, a rope is bound round one foot, and
the strongest men in the town drag her through the bush till
she is dead. Wizards are by no means so powerful as witches.

A male thief is fined, but a woman is flogged and warned not
to do it again.

The application of the above system holds good only where
the crime has been committed by a native in his own village.
If he has murdered an inhabitant of another town the head-man
of that town sends to inform his Chief, and the latter usually
causes him to be fined as a matter of courtesy, lest, if the crime
were unpunished, a similar misfortune should befall a member
of his district.

In old days there was very much crime, but it has decreased
since the advent of the British.

Marriages are arranged for girls when they are infants. The
father or suitor himself approaches the child's parents, and if
they are agreeable to the engagement presents them with Indian
corn, guinea-corn, yams, sticks and grass for the roof, goats and
money. Every subsequent year he brings one load of dried
yams and, if he be well-to-do, 55., if poor 2s. 6d. In addition
to this he makes some smaller gift every three months. When
the girl is eighteen, twenty, or even twenty-five, the marriage
is consummated and the bridegroom gives a further present
of £i los. or £i 55. These payments are made by the suitor's
father if the boy is still living in his compound, otherwise he
pays them himself. There is no intermarriage between members
of the same family, but within the compound all the women are
common to all the men, except to their own sons.

Divorce is unusual and in many towns is forbidden, whilst
prostitution outside the above mentioned limits is regarded
as a grave offence. In the town of Ekan a woman may only
leave her husband to enter the Chief's harem.

A girl is not permitted to reject any husband chosen for
her by her parents, except in the case of a man physically or
morally unsound. Since the advent of the British there have
been a few isolated cases of rejection based on other grounds.
A man may have one wife, or ten wives — the Ore himself has
a hundred.

The first wife takes precedence over all the rest, and one or
two are usually deputed to live with her and wait upon her.
The rest have each their own apartments. They can either mess
together or apart as they like — the husband may join them, but

104 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

more usually a man does not care to do so. The women do not
work upon the farms, much less may they own lands, but they
trade freely and may keep whatever money they earn. Their
property goes back to their own fathers on their death. Their
principal industries are weaving and spinning, in addition to
which the}' make fou-fou and cook.

A very ancient custom among the Ekiti, as amongst the
Nupe from the River Gurara to Awtun, and from the Yagba
to Ilorin, is one whereby a wealthy woman may go through
a form of marriage with one or several young girls, whether
she herself is normally married or not. The usual form of marriage
is gone though, i.e., if the woman desires a certain young girl
she would approach the father and they would resort to Akokerri
to discover if the auspices were favourable to the marriage.
As a rule the girl would be quite a young child — say seven to
nine years old. If the Akokerri 'allows the marriage, the usual
' Wasa " is gone through, and the dowry or present ordered to
be paid by Akokerri is handed over to the girl's father. It is
usually about 153. to 253., together with a certain amount of
yams or other farm produce, no heavy dowries being paid among
Ekitis and Yagbas. The ' marriage " thus being arranged,
the girl will usually be kept in her father's house until of marriage-
able age, during which period the ' woman husband " would
give the girl ' dashes" every now and then of cloth.

When the bride is marriageable, further ' Wasa " is gone
through, and she goes to her ' husband's ;) house and in future
works for her.

The ' woman husband" now seeks a husband for the girl,
and fixes on a particular man after the usual " akokerri," the
girl having no choice at all in that matter. The husband pays
no dowry, but makes gifts of firewood, yams, etc., to the woman
at intervals and works upon her farm. Nor is the girl taken to
the new husband's house, but he comes to her. In some cases,
however, there is reason to believe that promiscuous connection
is allowed on payment of a present.

All children of the new marriage belong to the ' woman
husband," in the same manner as if they were her own offspring.
Their mother continues to live in her house and work for her.

Such women are never allowed to marry elsewhere than at
the dictation of their ' woman husband," who may, however,
divorce them. If they are discontented with their lot their only
course is to run away. If they run to a man of the same tribe
no attempt is made to obtain the girl or the dowry back, but all
children of these fresh marriages would be claimed by the " woman
husband." But if, for example, an Awtun girl runs away to
Igbwona country, all claims on the children are surrendered
and the customary Native Court dowry of £5 or £7 los. for a
virgin is obtained through the ordinary Court channels. Pagan

TRIBES. 105

Yorubas rarely, if ever, make a fuss about their women running
away to a man of the same tribe ; all they claim is the children
of such a new union.

It seems probable that the custom is a survival of the old
system of slave-breeding, nor is it unfavourably regarded, for
both civil and religious Chiefs freely give their daughters in
marriage to a woman, and the girls consider themselves better
off than they would be in the hands of an ordinary husband.

A kindred custom is one that permits a childless wife to
" marry " a virgin, whom she gives to her husband, that she
may thus have children of her own, though by proxy, on the
parallel of Sarah who gave her handmaiden, Hagar, to Abraham.

When a girl is seven years old an operation is performed
to remove the clyteris from the vagina.

The Ekiti say that there is no future state, that the dead
are neither re-born to this world, nor is there another. Some
people claim to see ghosts, but the Ore does not himself believe
in them.

They sacrifice to eight gods, each of whom is worshipped
first in the compounds, and then outside in the bush amidst a
circle of oil-palm trees and stones. Each of these gods has his
own high-priest, an hereditary office which goes to the eldest
male of the priestly family. Seven of the gods are only worshipped
once a year at stated times, first in the compounds where much
liquor is consumed, and then both men and women repair to
the bush shrine, amid beating of drums and dancing, the women
first taking the cloth with which they bind their heads and
winding it round their loins.

1. Ossalla* is the principal god and his festival is held at the
beginning of the rains. The head-men of towns bring cows,
other men goats, and women and children kola nuts and palm-oil
biscuits to sacrifice to him. They pray for a good year in health,
crops, fertility, etc. The high priest is called " Alasshe."

2. Ogu* is connected with iron, and oath is commonly made
by him. He is the only god whose worship is debarred to women,
with the exception of butchers' women, who may offer kola
nuts to him. The men kill a dog and offer kola nuts and palm
wine. His festival is held in February and men pray to him
for children.

3. Olufon (fon being pronounced as in French) is worshipped
in January — dogs, kola nuts, palm wine and palm-oil biscuits
are offered to him. His properties are to avert bad sickness
and to give children. Only those women who want children
pray to him.

* Compare Yoruba.

106 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES. II

4. Shango,* the god of thunder and lightning, is prayed to
to avert lightning from striking them. His festival is held in
February, beginning some ten days after that of Ogu, but each
town celebrates it on a different day. Rams, fou-fou, palm-oil
and bitter kolas are offered to him. " Babba-Magba " is the
priest.

5. Olua's festival is held in March. Dogs, goats, palm-oil
biscuits and kola nuts are sacrificed to him, and prayers are
made that he should avert sickness.

6. Alashi also is petitioned to avert illness. His festival is
in January, when goats, kola, palm wine, and cooked Indian
corn is offered to him.

7. Ayau is worshipped in January, thirteen days after Alashi,
and he is besought both for long life and for children. Dogs,
kola nuts, and palm wine are offered to him.

8. Oshun is the god of small-pox, and he alone of all the gods
is prayed to at any and all seasons, though more by women than
by men. A pot is kept in every compound, which is kept sacred
to him. His outside shrine is near water. Ground beans, salt,
palm-oil, palm wine, Indian corn, and kola nuts are offered
to him. He is also prayed to for children. His priest is " Awuru-
woshu." A divergent account is as follows:—

' The religion of the Ekitis is pagan. The chief god worship-
ped by them is Odui, to whom they hold a feast called the feast
of Ogun at the time of the new yams. At Awtun the feast is
celebrated as follows : On the appointed day each of the four
ward-heads presents the Ore with a single new yam. On the
night of that day, when darkness has fallen, the Ore, as local head
of the religion, leaves his house and, accompanied by the chief
men of the town, proceeds to a small juju grove in the centre
of the market place. All the people of the town, men, women,
and children, are gathered round the mound on which the grove
stands. Amid perfect silence the Ore slays a dog at the entrance
to the grove and enters the sanctuary and lays the corpse on
the shrine, a thank-offering to the god for the yam harvest. After
appropriate prayers he emerges, and the people now burst into
songs of joy and thanksgiving, and anon disperse to their houses
each to perform a similar sacrifice of dog or fowl before their
private shrines.

" Another festival common among Ekitis and, I believe,
with variations, among all Yorubas is the feast of Egun, the
propitiation of the departed spirits of townsfolk. These spirits
are supposed to return at the time of the festival — early in May—
and are personified by cowled and hooded figures, who march in
solemn procession through the town, each family spirit being
attended by a band of his male descendents, who dance and sing

* Compare Yoruba.

TRIBES. 107

round him. The maidens, with palm branches in their hands,
dance and sing after the manner of a Greek chorus, beseeching the
spirit to make them fruitful and to bring peace and prosperity to
the city. As in the feast of Ogun, the Ore performs the prayers,
on behalf of the town, in the inmost sanctuary of the sacred grove,
to which all the hooded spirits conduct him. On his return from
the grove he announces the favourable attitude of the spirits, and
the whole town give themselves up to dancing and revelry. The
feast lasts seventeen days."

GADE.

AUTHORITIES :

Major J. E. C. Blakeney. Mr. D. Gator.

Mr.'C. O. Migeod. Mr. W. Morgan.

The traditional home of the Gade is between the River Suma
Kefti, and the north-west of Nassarawa Division (Nassarawa
Province), where they were situated before 1750 A.D. They
say that the Gwari came to the country along time after them,
Also that they, the Gade, have always been friends of the Koro
and Gwandara.

At the present day some 800 inhabit the Keffi Division,
some 2,000 the Emirate and Division of Abuja(t.£.,Waku, Kujeh),
and some 6,000 the Nassarawa Emirate, making a total of 8,800.
They are described as being artisan blacksmiths par excellence,
and inferior farmers to their neighbours, the Bassa, over whom
they established an ascendency.

Each man has a farm and may take up as much unoccupied
land within the village boundaries as he can work, an average
holding being two to two and a half acres. The eldest son, as
heir, is obliged to work on his father's farm, and the younger
sons are expected to contribute so many hours of work each
day if required.

The eldest son is heir to all his father's property and is also
liable for his debts. A woman cannot inherit, but she has full
rights over such property as she acquires, but if she. leaves her
husband, he has the right to take half, if not the whole of it.

The Gade are a polygamous people, and the average number
of wives is two. The first wife has authority over any subsequent
wives. The father has no right to compel his daughter to marry
any particular individual, and (except in Kujeh) no dower
is given. There is no wedding ceremony, but in Kujeh the groom
customarily dresses, or shaves, the head of his prospective bride.
Cousins may not marry. A woman of another tribe marrying
a Gade man is henceforth considered as belonging to the Gade
tribe. There is no divorce, and adultery, though rare, is not
punishable, but a stigma attaches to the woman who leaves
her husband.

Seduction is almost unheard of.

A man who commits assault must give compensation.

TRIBES. 109

, A thief is put to shame in a public place.

A murderer is killed by the same instrument that he used
in perpetrating his crime, or (in the Abuja Division) may be
sold into slavery.

The Gade do not keep slaves themselves, but sell to the
Filane.

A man who commits manslaughter in a passion must pay
blood-money, or is sold as a slave, but if he can prove that it
was accidental it is attributed to witchcraft, and he is tested
by trial by ordeal. This consists in drinking boiling shea-butter
from a calabash, which is said to leave a true man unharmed.

An ordinary oath is taken in the temple, when the juror
prays that death may overtake him and his family if he lies.

A family is reckoned through male descent from a common
ancestor.

A man cannot, however, succeed to the Chieftainship in
his father's town, but he is eligible for the post in the town of
his mother or of his maternal grandmother (Karshi) .

All blood relations live together in one compound, the custom
being for each young man as he marries to build on an. extra
house or two and corn bins, and, if necessary, enlarge the com-
pound wall , When the head of the house becomes decrepit his
heir fulfils his duties, though the compound bears the name of
the real head until his death.

The Gade huts are appreciably larger than those of the Gwari ;
they are not so close together, and the thatching of the roofs
is good. The compounds are irregular in shape. The women
wear headcloths.

Boys are invariably circumcised and often girls also. No
ceremony accompanies this practice.

A man objects to stating his own name, but will wait for his
companion to make it known.

A god named ' Bukuni " is worshipped at Kujeh— " Adan-
gareki " in Jua District.

A burial ceremony is held for old men only.

A widow returns to her own family and may remarry as she
pleases, but in Kujeh it is the practice for the grandsons to
look after their grandmothers, and in the case of a young step-
grandmother he may marry her.

GAEJAWA.

The Gaejawa are situated in Dass Bauchi Province, where
they have a population of 250.

iio NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

GAMAWA.
AUTHORITY : Mr. W. B. Thomson.

The Gamawa are indigenous to their present location in
Fika District in the north-west of Bornu. A small number
have spread into Bauchi Province. At a rough assessment they
number some seven or eight thousand exclusive of their off-set,
the Kerre-Kerre, who broke off circ. 1580 A.D.

They are under the Chief of Fika, to whom they make annual
payment for the right to cultivate land.

Farms are cultivated for six years and then allowed to lie
fallow — no rotation of crops is practised and no manure used.

Women and children may farm land, but the former are
not permitted to grow millet, the staple crop of the district.

A few sheep and goats are kept, but their milk is not used
for human food.

The flesh of bush-pig and dogs is eaten.

The villages are perched on the top of flat cliffs, and consist
of round huts with mud walls and thatch roofs.

The Gamawa speak a language of their own.

They are a pagan people, with a lively belief in sorcery.
Hunters, from their knowledge of trees, plants and animals,
hold an almost priestly position amongst their fellows. They
furnish wood of special properties to be worn inside amulets,
and produce bats' wings which, when powdered and rubbed on
the skin, are considered a protection against certain dangers. A
certain huntsman who lives at Ngara has a great reputation for
power to avert the consequences of the evil eye.

In connection with tsafi each man has a special pot sunk
in the ground at the threshold of his house, the branch of a
tree being placed by it. Beer is poured inside and a prayer
offered every month. After a man's death the ceremony is
continued on his behalf by his son.

A child is left to choose a name for itself, which is commonly
that of some natural object.

Tribal marks are made nine days after birth.

A girl is usually promised in marriage at the age of seven
years, when the payment of a dower rising £3 is commenced.
The bride is not allowed to leave her father's house until it is
complete. When she goes to her husband's house her parents
give her some gowns and 250 Ibs. of grain. Her consent is not
asked and subsequent separation is not tolerated.

The number of wives is unlimited and vary according to a
man's wealth. They rank according to seniority in marriage,
but the first wite has control over the subsequent wives and
over stores, etc.

TRIBES. in

A man may marry outside the tribe, but the offspring are
considered to be Gamawa. He may not marry his wife's sister
during his wife's life-time, but is permitted to do so after her
decease. Cousins may not marry. Women go about with the
same freedom as men, but they cannot be heads of villages
or of families.

When an old man dies a sheep is sacrificed, beer drunk, and
there is dancing and drumming and general rejoicing over the
long life the man has enjoyed. On no other occasion is there
any ceremony, though a period of mourning is observed by the
women for forty days, who wail and beat their breasts, but adopt
no special clothing.

The corpse is laid in a grave three to four feet deep and
a covering of wood is put over the body to prevent the earth
from touching it. The clothes and weapons of a man, the clothes
and ornaments of a woman, are buried with the body, the
burial taking place with all possible speed.

Succession passes (a) to sons, (b) to brothers, (c) to the father,
(d) to nephews — each degree meaning the total exclusion of
the one beneath it. When there are more than one of a degree
the eldest receives three-fourths of the property, the remaining
fourth being divided amongst the rest according to seniority.
The heirs are liable for the deceased's debts in proportion to
the extent they benefit.

A woman's property passes to her husband and his heirs.

The widows and unmarried daughters pass with the property,
the only obligation of the heir being that of their support. A
man may not marry his own mother, who passes to his half-
brother.

In the event of there being no natural guardian, the head-man
of that part of the village will take charge of an orphan, or lunatic,
but by favour only.

All disputes are settled by the elders. In these, as in all
other cases, it is the custom for the villager to lodge his complaint
at the entrance to the head-man's compound. The head-man
then summons the applicant, defendant and witnesses (no relative
may act as witness), and if he thinks the case a reasonable one
he demands the presence of those Elders, sometimes as many
as thirty in number, who are reputed for their sense, good charac-
ter and knowledge of tribal law, and lays the case before them.
The plaintiff, defendant and witnesses bring each a brown
feathered fowl and, with a sacred knife handed to him by the
blacksmith, cuts off the fowl's head and prays that he may die
if a lie passes his lips. Together with the head-man the Elders
judge the case. If they are in doubt witnesses are called to give
evidence as to the general character of the defendant, and if
the issue is still doubtful the accused is taken to the village
of Guddi, where a descendant of the magician Jinja Gujeh

ii2 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

administers an ordeal of earth from the grave of a deceased Elder
mixed with water: — death ensuing to the guilty.

When a decision has been given by the Elders the wisest
amongst them decides upon the sentence, which is declared
by the head-man, and the whole Court publish it abroad.

The winners of the cause give some present to the Court,
but there is a strong feeling against bribery.

Throughout the proceedings the Court is supplied with beer
by the village brewers.

It is only possible for a creditor to recover his debt by enlisting
the sympathies of the townspeople, who together persuade
the Elders to seize the debtor's property and insist that he shall
pay. In case? where the debtor has not the means of payment
he may be forced to render casual services to the creditor, but
these do not lessen his obligation.

A man may pledge his son for debt, when the pledgee occupies
the position of a bought or captured slave, as against a domestic
slave or one born in captivity.

The former, as is the case with children and lunatics, may
neither buy nor sell, whereas a domestic slave may buy though
he may not sell. (Barter is a more correct term, as money was
not in use before 1907). All slaves have property and may work
three days in every week on their own behalf. A slave may
not be pledged.

It is the practice to pay for work before it is done, an oath
being taken when the contract is made, which is similar to that
taken when making any promise as to future conduct, or state-
ment as to truth. A black goat is brought to a certain sacred
tree, where a hunter kills it in such a way that the blood runs
into a pot at the foot of the tree. Were this oath broken speedy
death would ensue.

The following crimes are tabulated together with their
punishments :—

(a) The family of a murdered man are awarded damages
up to the value of fourteen slaves.

(6) Rebellion, death for the leaders and -imprisonment for
their followers.

(c) Treason, confiscation and banishment, (b and c are
imposed by Fikan law.)

(d) Abduction and abuse, twelve goats to the parents.

(e) Adultery, heavy damages against the co-respondent,
who is imprisoned if he fails to pay. (No restriction
is placed on women before marriage).

(/) Rape, two goats.

(g) Assault, if accompanied by maiming, damages.

(h) Trespass, restitution in case of damage.

TRIBES. 113

GAMBIWA.

The Gambiwa are located in Bauchi Emirate, where they
have a population of 285.

GAMERGU.

AUTHORITY : Mr. P. A. Bent on.

A few Gamergu, about 1,500, are situated in the Konduga
District of the Maiduguri Division of Bornu Province. They
originally inhabited large districts near the River .Yedseram
whence they have been driven. They are a branch of the almost
extinct Ma-Sa family and lived by raiding.

They are a pagan, or semi-pagan people.

GAMISHAWA.

The Gamishawa are a small community of hill pagans, situated
in the north of Bauchi Emirate.

GANAGANA and DIBO.

The Ganagana and Dibo are two sections of the same race,
speaking the same language with dialectical differences.

Their origin is unknown.

The name Ganagana is onamotopaeic, having been conferred
on them by the Nupe, owing to their inability to understand
the strange language.

The Ganagana occupy the Emirates of Agaie (population
3,500), Lapai and the riverain district of Koton Karifi.

They settled in Jinjeri to avoid the persecution of the Zegezege
Abuja. They are also to be found in Abuja Emirate (1,500), and
Nassarawa Emirate (490), Nassarawa Province, whither a. small
number migrated from the west.

Their tribal marks consist of two semicircular lines from
the temples down the cheek, with small vertical cuts between
them, vide their offset the Dibo.

They are pagans, practising a form of ancestor worship.
They celebrate certain rites on the graves of their fathers and
grandfathers, and in Ashera they make ' tsafi ' at the now
deserted town of Forgwe, because their ancestors were buried
there, though the exact spot of their graves is unknown. Their
most sacred oath is made while consuming some earth from
the graves mixed with gia.

ii4 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

They are agriculturists, and collect quantities of pa
kernels and shea-nuts.

Their habitations are situated in hollows amongst hills and
are usually surrounded by thick jungle.

In Lapai the elders form a judicial council, presided over
by a head-man, which is responsible to the Emir. Before the
advent of the British, criminal law was as follows: murder was
punished by death, manslaughter by blood-money, in addition
to which the culprit had to provide goats for a ceremony by
which the ground where the victim had died was cleansed by
the sacrifice of their blood ; theft by flogging ; lunatics were
tied up and given a medicine which commonly resulted in death.
Seduction and adultery were punishable by fine, but divorce
existed.

A man's property is inherited by his younger brother (failing
brothers, sons), who in Agaie and Lapai likewise inherits every
female of the establishment. In Nassarawa, however, he inherits,
besides the children, one widow only, the remainder being
divided amongst the other relatives. The heir acts as guardian to
the younger members of the family. A woman's property goes
back to her own family on her death. Girls are betrothed before
birth, the dowry being worth between £8 and £20 according
to the wealth of the contracting parties ; it is also paid in labour.
Until the marriage is consummated a suitor is liable to be outbid
by another, when his presents are returned to him. Marriage
between cousins is permitted.

In Koton Karifi a groom works for three years on the farm
of his bride's father and also makes presents to her parents.

Only big men are buried with ceremony. The wake is cele-
brated from one to seven days according to the wealth of the
deceased.

The arms are bows and arrows, and knives with blades
eight to ten inches long.

They are a drunken race.

A child is named by its father, who first consults the relatives.

The Dibo are off-shoots of the Ganagana. They are pagans,
some 6,000 in number, inhabiting the Lapai Emirate. They
are agriculturists and practise iron-smelting and weaving.

Though the oil-palm is plentiful in their vicinage they will
not use it, a restriction probably due to some totem, which is
not in force amongst the Ganagana.

They consume large quantities of native beer.

The elders form a judicial council, which is presided over
by the head-man, and is directly responsible to the Emir. Where
the council failed to come to a decision as to the guilt of the
accused recourse was had to trial by ordeal. As with other pagan
Nupe it took the form of gwaska, strophanthus poison, or by
a means peculiar to themselves, the juice of a certain plant

TRIBES. 115

was squeezed into the accused's eye. If permanent blindness
resulted his guilt was considered proved.

Their tribal mark consists of a number of small vertical cuts
between two lines that extend on either side of the face from
the temple to the lips, vide Ganagana.

GANAWA.

The Ganawa are a small tribe of hill pagans, situated in
Bauchi Emirate. They occupy the village of Gana on the western
slope of the Gura hills.

They practise iron-smelting.

GANNAWARRI.

The Gannawarri are a large tribe situated in the Bukuru
Division of Bauchi Province.

They are cannibals, do not practise circumcision, and go
practically naked, though the women wear a number of iron
rings in front of the loins and a kind of leather brush behind.

Nearly all have ponies and are armed with spears. They
dig pits for defence of their towns which are further protected
by thick cactus hedges which surround each compound.

GARAGA.

AUTHORITY : Major F. Edgar.

Garaga, a town in the Kanam District, was founded by a
Ba Jari of Gwana (Jukon).

It lies in the furthest outcrop of the Murchison range.

There is no known date as to when it was founded, but Gardki
was founded by an immigrant from Garaga, circ. 1765-70 A.D.
The inhabitants paid tribute to the Filane Emir Yakubu, without
opposition, but joined with the Sarkin Kanam in the revolt
against his son, since which time they have preserved their inde-
pendence. The towns of Dada, Keram, Kwopkwoni, Lingan,
Shiwaka, Gwamma-Daji, Yalwa, Tudun Wada, Kyanzar and
Gwalam recognise the Sarkin Garaga.

The tribal god was brought from Jukon and is brought out
on the occasion of the harvest festival. The Sarkin Tsafi, ap-
propriately known as " Tsofo," is the chief priest. The people
believe in reincarnation.

They use Jarawa tribal markings.

n6 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

GAUAWA.

The Gauawa are a small community of plain pagans, occupying
the village of Gau, north of Badiko in Bauchi Emirate.

GERAWA.

The Gerawa are situated in Bauchi Emirate, in the vicinity,
but principally to the north of Bauchi Town, in Ningi and in
Ari, where they number respectively 12,465, 100, and 100,
showing a total population of 12,665.

Originally pagans they are now mostly Muhammadans,
and are an advanced people.

Their language shows an affinity to Bolewa, and is one of
a group described by Mr. W. F. Gowers as being remarkable
for the resemblance of much of the vocabularies to Haussa.

GEZAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. T. W. P. Dyer.

The Gezawa or Zarandawa are situated in Bauchi Emirate,
where they have a population of 14,850, and in the Jemaa
District of Gombe Emirate, where they number 477.

Their language shows affinity to that spoken by the Seiyawa,*
but they came originally from Bornu, speaking Kanuri. They
settled first on Zaranda Hill, and gradually came to adopt the
language and customs of the surrounding pagans.

Their tribal marks consist of broad vertical lines on the
cheeks and one on the centre of the forehead.

GOLAWA.

The Golawa are situated in Bauchi Emirate and have a
population of 230.

GUBAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. W. F. Gowers.

The Gubawa are a small and backward tribe inhabiting
two small isolated hills close to Bauchi Town, Guru.
Their language is allied to that of the Jarawa.

* Mr. W. F. Gowers.

TRIBES. 117

GUDOWA.

The Gudowa are situated in Song-Yola Emirate.

GUNGAWA.

The Gungawa inhabit islands on the Niger in Kontagora
Province (Yelwa District), to which part of the country they
are said to be indigenous. It has been suggested that they are
of ' Haussa " stock, aborigines of Yelwa and Kebbi. The
sobriquet Gungawa applies to their preference for an island
or sand-bank in the river as a place of residence.

They, together with the Borgawa, are famous doctors, to
whom apprentices go from all parts of the country. These
apprentices remain for a term of at least three years, and perform
all sorts of personal services for their masters throughout this
time.

There are surgeons, doctors of medicine and oculists, but
no good dentists. Rich men send for Gungawa specialists from
all parts of the country, and if on the doctor's arrival he says he
can do nothing to help the patient, he is given his expenses and
a small fee, but if he effects a cure he is paid very liberally.

GUPA.

The Gupa are located in Lapai Emirate, Niger Province,
where they have a population of 7,500.

They are administered by a judicial council presided over
by a head-man, who is responsible to the Emir.

Their principal occupations are agriculture and weaving.

It has been said that they are an off-set of the Gwari, but
others maintain that they speak the Ganagana language.

They use the same weapons, i.e., bows and poisoned arrows
and hand-knives with blades from eight to ten inches long.

GURAWA.

The Gurawa are a small tribe, some 570 in number, of hill-
pagans, who are situated in scattered hamlets in the western
part of Bauchi Emirate.

They are poor and backward.

u8 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

GURKAWA.

The Gurkawa inhabit an area of eighty square miles in the
northern part of the Ibi Division of Muri Province. Together
with a Haussa settlement they only number some 1,076.

They came originally from Langtang, the country now
occupied by the Yergum, but are distinct from other tribes.

They paid tribute to the Jukon at Wase until 1900 and speak
Jukon as well as Gurkawa.

They have many similar customs to the Jukon, and practise
marriage by exchange.

Their principal god is ' Bussom,"* to whom there is a
temple in the keeping of each village Chief. The principal
festivals are held at the sowing of seed and at the gero harvest.

The villages are scattered and the head-man has little influence,
but the tribal Chief, Tiem, has considerable authority.

GURI.

The Guri, Kahagu, Shaini and Srubu tribes are situated
in the Dan Galadima District in the Southern Division of Zaria
Emirate. They were first administered in 1907, when the Srubu
were described as " cattle raiders and murderers." They are
now settling down and beginning to trade.

They are pagans, but Muhammadanism is penetrating amongst
the Guri.

GWANDARA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. A. Campbell-Irons.
Mr. H. F. Mathews.
Mr. W. Morgan.

Mr. J. C. Sciortino.
Commander B. E. M. Waters
Mr. G. W. Webster.

It has been suggested that the Gwandara belong to the
aboriginal " Haussa '•' tribes, a claim that is so far corroborated
that their language is akin to the non-Arabic rooted Haussa,
and that a Gwandara man can understand Haussa if simple
words are used. The Sarkin Kem states that the Gwandara
were the original inhabitants of Kano, Kano being the name
of their founder, but that when a certain Sarki named Gaiki-
ga-Kuma adopted Islam, at the instance of Shehu Maigili, his
younger brother, Gwandara, refused to change his beliefs and

*The god of the Chamba.

TRIBES. 119

led a section of the people southwards to Gwagwa near Keffi,
and for a long time the Sarkin Gwagwa was regarded as head
of all the Gwandara tribe. Another somewhat similar version
is that the Gwandara lived at Dalla (Kano), until the Sarkin
Kano became a Muhammadan, when they migrated to Zaria
under the leadership of Gwandara Madaiki " Girke na Kuwa."
The Sarkin Zozo, however, told them to go further south, to
Wukari (Muri Province), but they stopped instead at Gwagwa
between Keffi and Abuja. The Sarkin Zozo sent a force against
them and broke them. The larger number fled to the Yeskwa
District, north of Kefn, while others scattered a little further
south close to Karu. Tn Yeskwa District they were again con-
quered by Mohaman Sani of Zaria, who drove them to seek
shelter in the neighbouring Gitata Hills. They were in this
neighbourhood not later than 1700, at which time the Toni
were their talakawa, and it is probable that they were here
much earlier. They claim to have been here prior to the arrival
of the Bassa. Some 1,336 remain in the Yeskwa District, in the
southern part of the Gitata hills, whence their farms extend
close to Bagaji and Ninkoro.

Their huts are built in a circle, connected one with the other
by a corn-bin and approached by one entrance. The living-
rooms are on the outside of the circle, and within are sleeping
apartments. They have intermarried with the Yeskwa and
adopted their customs. These Gwandara owe fealty to the
Sarkin Keffi.

There are some 913 in the Lafia Division, where the towns
are built in large kurumis and are always surrounded by deep
moats and walls.

Other Gwandara are situated East of Abuja, in Gwagwa,
Wosai and Aso, under the Sarkin Abuja, and there are 1,879
in the Karshi District of Jemaa Emirate. These latter
broke off from the main body in Keffi early in the eighteenth
century, as the result of strife between two claimants for the
Chieftainship, all being in what is now called Nassarawa
Province. It is reckoned that 95 per cent, understand the
Haussa language, an evidence of Dalla being their place of
origin, but on the other hand it has been averred that, though
their language is somewhat different, they are akin to the Arago,
who are either of Jukon or Igara stock.

Their dances and religion are similar to those of the Arago,*
but as their customs are described as resembling those both of
the Gwari and the Yeskwa, it seems probable that they have
merely adopted the habits of their neighbours, -and that no
blood connection can be proved thereby.

* Vide pages 26-27.

120

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The tribal marks consist of three lines radiating from
corner of the mouth.

The gods are worshipped in open circular spaces inside groves
approached, as at the town of Riri, through avenues of palms.
A mud temple generally stands at the back and is often con-
nected with the enclosure. The towns are often surrounded
by cotton trees, which probably have some religious significance.

The peoples among whom the Gwandara have settled, par-
ticularly at Abuja, believe that they have the power of turning
themselves into hyenas, and that their persons are always respected
by these beasts.

They are a peaceful people, whose average height is five feet
nine inches.

They practise circumcision.

The men mostly wear Haussa gowns and the women cloths,
though in the wilder districts the women pass a number of
loose strings round the hips, some of which are fastened at the
back, whilst others are brought between the legs and tucked
into the front of the girdle.

A fair quantity of palm-oil is obtained, and flocks of sheep
and goats are kept. Good mats are made, those of six feet by
three feet in size fetch is. 6d. in the market; they take four days
to make. The Gwandara are not great pipe smokers, nor do
they habitually drink to excess.

The Chieftainship passes to a member of the royal family.

A Chief is buried in his house, which is left unoccupied until
it falls down.

GWARI.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. H. Cadman. Mr. C. J. Chaytor.

Capt. T. W. P. Dyer. Mr. H. F. C. Holme.

Mr. C. K. Meek. ' Mr. C. Migeod.

Mr. W. Morgan. Capt. S. C. Taylor.

Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Gwari are a large tribe scattered over Zaria, Niger and
Nassarawa Provinces, some under independent Chiefs, others
owning the suzerainty of Filane Emirs, their respective popu-
lations being approximately 40,000, 41,000, and 70,000 — total
151,000.

It is possible that they are indigenous to Zanfara and the
districts stretching thence eastward to the south part of Zaria
Province, and their religion and customs may be compared
with those of the Bassa, Kamuku and Kamberri, who came from
the same neighbourhood, and who carry loads on their shoulders

TRIBES. 121

instead of on their backs, which is the more usual custom in
Northern Nigeria ; but it is reported from Nassarawa Province
that they claim to have come originally from Bornu, where they
were subservient to the Koro.

A large number of Gwari are spread amongst the Koro through-
out the Koton Karifi and Abuja Districts, where they have been
established prior to 1750 A.D. They outnumber the Koro
by ten to one, but act as their talakawa, which they have done
since time immemorial when, as they say, they were driven
westwards, from Bornu, with the Koro, by the Kanuri. It is
suggested that the Koro are a remnant of the Kororofawa.

An important sub-section are the Gwari Gangan, a very
dark race, who likewise came from the East and who speak a
dialect of the Gwari language. Over 2,000 of them settled in
the Kujeh District, under the Gade.

Another important sub-section are the Gwari Yamma, who
also claim to have come originally from the East.

They are to be found in the Abuja and Koton Karifi Districts,
and amongst the Hills of Pai (3,500), Waku (2,750), Kujeh (2,250),
and eastwards. They are more backward than the Gwari proper,
who term them Gwari Kunu, Kunu meaning ' black," and
though they speak the same language the dialect is hardly com-
prehensible. Many words are said to be similar to Nupe. They
acknowledge the superiority of those Gade and Gwari Gangan
who occupy the same districts.

Those that remain in the west of Zaria show a more backward
disposition than their brethren in the Niger Province, but they
are fast giving up their pagan beliefs for Muhammadanism.
They are under the Emir of Zaria.

Those who are in the Niger Province are only separated
from their Zaria brethren by an arbitrary division. Their dis-
tribution is from Kwongoma in the north, down the east half
of the province to Paiko and Lapai in the south.

All speak the Gwari language, but the dialects in these various
districts are so different as to be scarcely intelligible. Haussa
is, however, generally understood, and the children are taught
it. One authority asserts that there are eight main dialects
in the Niger Province alone, the difference being chiefly in
pronunciation, i.e., (a) Paiko; (b) Gum ; (c) Fuka, Gini, Kuta,
Gussoro ; (d) Galadima Kogo, Birnin Gwari ; (e) Akusu, Kwongo,
Jimu, Guna, Gunagu; (/) Kundu, Dada, Modigi, Wuteri, Kongon-
legi ; (g) Bankogi, Pei, Beji, Bugi, Dagga ; (h) Maikonkelli,
Bosso, Minna. Another authority groups them into five principal
dialects, leaving a as above, but uniting b, c, and d under the
title Gwari Kutawa, in which Zumba is also included, e and h
are united under Gwari Kwange, i.e., Bosso and Maikonkelli,
Gwari Manta spoken at Manta, and Gwari Giari spoken at Kungu,
complete the list.

122 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The tribal marks vary with the district. Maikonkelli and
Bosso are alike in having three cuts on each temple and four
on each cheek. In Fuka Gini there are two deep cuts between
the ears and corners of the mouth, with three small stripes above
each pair; but, generally speaking, they can no longer be said
to form the test of a man's family or dialect.

The marks of the Gwarin Waiki, and the Gwari of Allawa,
Galadima Kogo, Kushaka, and of the southern division of
Zaria Province, are distinct from those of the Kuta and Southern
Gwari, being a modification of the markings of the Katsinawa
Laka,* i.e., six to nine cuts on the cheek, reaching from ear
to chin, which in turn seems to have affinities with those of the
Gobirawa.

The first Gwari to enter the Kuta District were two brothers,
hunters from the Abuja vicinage, who settled in Guni District.
Their hunting camp at Zumba gradually evolved to the dimen-
sions of a township and the younger brother Baduma became
village-head. Dali, the present Chief, is the seventh in
succession to him.

Kuta itself was founded during Baduma's reign by one
Bodo, and the present Sarki, Bayanzu, who has jurisdiction
over the whole district> is the ninth in succession to him.

He rules over 9,967 Gwari, with the assistance of a council
of seven men, i.e., the Maidaiki (the most important member),
Galadima, Wombai, Dame-Dame, Makama, Sarkin Fada, and
Dan Galadima. There are also two councils called ' Hill '
and ' Plain," being respectively nine and ten in number, but
their functions are not clearly defined and are of very secondary
importance.

In old days the only taxation raised was Gaisua, which
consisted of a small payment in mats and corn.

At that time the Gwari followed the Haussa Sarkin Zaria
and when he was driven out by the Filane continued their
allegiance to him at Abuja. He accorded the existing Sarki of
that area (i.e., from Gurara to the Kaduna) the title of Sarkin
Yamma.

Kuta, Zumba, Gussoro, Guni and Dangunu followed Abuja
separately, but were left to maintain their independence against
the Filane by their own exertions, and the towns, which for
defensive purposes were situated at the tops of the hills, were
extensively fortified by stone walls. Kuta itself is built on
and around a hill of considerable proportions, and is surrounded
by a wall five and a half miles in circumference.

Though never conquered the Gwari population suffered a
terrible decrease owing to the Filane raids. Birnin Gwari in the
north was founded by the grandfather of the present Sarki about

* Vide Kamuku.

TRIBES. 123

a hundred years ago. He came from Katsina and obtained
a great influence over the neighbouring Gwari, which was presently
increased by the arrival of emigrants from Kano, Katsina and
Zaria. The population is now mixed, for there are a number of
Haussa (including Maguzawa) settlements. In fact the Gwari
language is only spoken by a few old people. There are two
eastern sub-districts of Birnin Gwari with a population of 3,000.
One of these, Gwari Waiki, is under a Chief of an old Gwari
dynasty (the Gwarin Waiki claim to be of the original and still
pure stock). In appearance they are big, coarse, dirty and dark
with square features. The men shave their heads entirely,
and the women wear their hair high on the forehead.

There are further in the Kwongoma Division two independent
districts under Gwari Sarkis — Allawa and Kushaka.

Kushaka claims to be the oldest of the northern Gwari states,
having been founded early in the eighteenth century, if not
before. Despite its present poverty and lack of power the Chiefs
of Allawa, Kwongoma and Galadiman Kogo acknowledge the
precedence of Sarkin Kushaka, whilst Sarkin Kushariki greets
him as an equal.

The original founders came from Manta on the north bank
of the Kaduna, which, before its destruction by Na Gwamache,
was a powerful Gwari town. They found a Kamuku
(Ngwoi) town already established in the hills, and were
probably given leave to settle, on agreeing to acknowledge
their supremacy. To this day it is the privilege of the
Bugamma (Chief) of the Kamuku village to settle the
date before which no member of the community may gather
a locust-bean, and though the Ngwoi town has now shrunk
to one small ungwa no new Sarkin Kushaka can be installed
without the consent primarily of the head-man (Bugamma=
Ungwama) and high priest (Kashemma), and secondarily of
the remaining Sarakuna and Fadawaof the Ngwoi. The selection
is first made by the Galadima, Sarkin Gwari, and Wombai,
and is then ratified by the Ngwoi as described above. After
this a general assembly of the Sarakuna and Elders is convened,
at which the Yan Sarakuna are also present, but even they are
kept in ignorance of the choice which has been made. The
Galadima, Sarkin Gwari and Wombai then walk up and down
the assembly as in pretended search, passing and repassing the
chosen candidate seven times, and refraining from looking at
or directing their attention to him. Then at a given sign the
dogarai and others seize him and place him on the skin that
has been spread in the Sarki's empty seat.

Before the Kontagora wars Kushaka could put 3,000 horsemen
into the field, but they were subjected to thirteen, or some sav
sixteen raids, seven of which were successful, resulting in the

124 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

sack of the town twice by Umoru na Gwamache and five times
by Ibrahim Sarkin Sudan.

The rocky hills which encircle the town on three sides rendered
artificial defences unnecessary, except at the few points that
were scaleable. These were fortified by a succession of loose
stone walls. On the side that lay open towards the plain the
town was defended by a succession of walls and ditches, up to five
in number. The citadel (ungwar fada) has alone survived.

Amongst the Zaria Gwari there are two different customs
as to the succession of Chiefs. By one method it passes to the
son, or failing him the younger brother of the late Chief ; by
the other system it alternates between two families, but in neither
case does a Chief inherit until a full year has elapsed after his
predecessor's death. After this period a feast is held which
lasts for eight days. On the last day the head wife of the late
Chief is produced and bathed. She is then clothed in the deceased's
trousers and robes and dons his sword. The people, who have
all assembled to see her come out from the house, shout out
that the Chief is not dead but has come back, and all the men
salute her before dispersing. That same day the late Chief's
eldest son is hidden away for seven days, whilst a robe is made
for him out of nine pieces of cloth, and a cap. These are then
taken to his house, where four young girls are massaging him.
The townsmen reassemble and bring a ram, a he-goat, fowls
and beer, with which they enter his house. These animals are
slaughtered with the knife of the late Chief, and after it is sprinkled
with blood they say ' Oh knife, behold thy husband" (desig-
nating the late Chief's son), 'may his town be prosperous,
we marry thee to him, do thou give him prosperity for the sake
of his parents and forefathers. May he rule the village well."
The elders then inform the district head who has been chosen,
and he obtains a robe, '" rawani," cap and sandals, and confirms
the appointment, the ceremony being concluded by seven days'
feasting.

In one village (Ligari) the acting head held the title of Miji
Dadi.

On meeting a superior a Gwari will kneel down and sprinkle
dust on his head, while he touches his forehead several times with
the palm of his hand. On formal occasions a heap of ashes would
be provided in place of dust, which would be sprinkled in the
same way before the man advanced to make his salute. After
making his greeting he would return to the ashes and repeat
the procedure two more times.

All these districts are administered by a council of Chiefs
and Elders, under the Chairmanship of a head-man who has,
however, no independent authority. In the Emirates he
responsible to the Emir.

TRIBES. 125

The social organisation is in families, all of whom live to-
gether in one ward where each man has his own house.

Before the advent of the Filane there is no evidence as to
what taxation existed, probably only Gaisua as in Kuta, but
subsequently Gando and Jangali were commonly collected,
and a Gaisua of varying amounts from different districts.
For instance, the people of Bosso paid fifty slaves annually,
the average value being 200,000 cowries a head.

The administration of law varies considerably according to
districts, but it was customary for the head-man to judge all
cases in the presence of the Sarakuna, and a fine of cowries and
goats, which usually formed part of the sentence, was divided
amongst the court. Serious crime was brought before the
suzerain.

A murderer in Bosso and in Kuta invariably fled and was not
pursued, but his compound, with all its occupants and all his
goods, were confiscated — half were given to the family of the
victim, a quarter to the head-man and a quarter to the elders.
The relatives of a murderer could condone their share in the
offence by immediately bringing a goat and cow to the head-man,
which were divided amongst the Elders. The murderer himself
fled.

A murderess was sent back to her father and remained outside
the township.

If a stranger committed a murder the aggrieved villager
killed any member of the murderer's community.

Fourteen years was the age when a boy became responsible
for his own crimes.

At Fuka the suzerain habitually awarded slavery in punish-
ment for all serious crime. Were a foreigner to commit theft
he was invariably killed. In Gini he was, however,, sold into
slavery.

In Bosso and Kuta a thief was obliged to make full restitution,
in addition to the court fee of two cows or two hundred cowries.

For assault a man was fined one cow or a hundred cowries.

Anyone abroad at night and failing to answer to a challenge
was shot. Women and boys under ten years of age were not
tried, their relatives being held responsible. The matter was
usually settled with the head-man.

In Abuja small offences were dealt with by the village or
district head, but cases of crime had to be appealed to Sarkin
Abuja, who held both the criminal and his family to ransom for
theft and adultery. A murderer was punished by death.

The Gwari Yamma punished murder and theft alike by
death, manslaughter by compensation, and rape by a fine
of 20,000 to 100,000 cowries.

In Kuta all land is owned by the community, and every
village has its well-known boundaries, be they in the bush or

126 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

in cultivated land. Disputes over village boundaries are settled
by the District Chief in council, and disputes over farm boundaries
by the village head-man and his elders.

The village head-man has power to make a grant of any
land within his boundary not already granted to someone else.
The man to whom the grant is made will pay one bundle of
guinea-corn the first year. Land so granted cannot be taken
away again and is held by the grantee in perpetuity, but it
cannot be alienated except by voluntary resignation to the
village head-man.

Farm lands permanently deserted, i.e., not merely resting,
automatically revert to the village head-man.

A man can raise money on the growing produce of his farm,
but the mortgage of any land, whether farm or otherwise, is not
known.

A grant of land obtained from the village head-man within
the village for building purposes is also a permanent grant. If,
however, there is a debt on the house, i.e., in default of payment,
the builder can enter and occupy it if he so wishes. The house
can be redeemed at any time by the grantee of the land or his
successors.

All trees are the property of the occupant of the land on
which they grow. Trees in open spaces are the property of the
head-man of the village, who holds them as he does the unoccu-
pied bush, on behalf of the community at large, and trees in
the market are similarly the property of the Sarkin Kasua.

Dorowa, Dunia, Kadainya,* and other bearing, or good
shade trees, may not be cut in the bush. Other trees are free.

Rivers and streams belong 'to the owners of the land on
either bank, but anyone can draw water. Fish are the property
of the owners of the streams. Streams in unoccupied bush and
water lying in fadamas are public property, and anyone can
fish in them. Strangers, however, may only fish with the per-
mission of the head-man in whose territory the water is, and
a present of six to ten fish is made at the commencement of
the fishing. Filane get permission to graze their cattle from
the village head-man, and make a present of a sheep or a small
cow according to the size of the herd.

In the case of damage to crops, if the damage is not made
good by the herdsmen, the dispute is settled by the village head-
man and his council. The same principle prevails throughout
all the Gwari Districts, i.e., that:—

Land is communal, and the rights of occupancy are granted
by the head-man of the district. Though trees on the farm are
the property of the occupier, a foreigner has no right to the
enjoyment of dorowa trees. Dorowa in the bush are communal.

* Locust-bean ; Spondias Lutea ; Shea-butter.

TRIBES. 127

All people who take up land at Abuja have to own the Sarki
as their Chief and pay him a tax, whereas it is customary else-
where for the occupant of a farm to pay the tax to his own village
Chief and only give Gaisua to the local Chief. Elsewhere in
Nassarawa a stranger is only allowed to cultivate land until
such time as the natives of that township require it.

In Birnin Gwari the head of the family obtains a right of
occupancy from the Sarki, and all the family work on that farm,
though younger sons and dependents each have little farms of
their own.

When no longer occupied the ground reverts to the tribe.

Generally speaking the right of occupancy passes to the
eldest son, brother, or father in the order named. Failing them
the value of the crops is given to the mother, or amongst the
Gwarin Haussa to the elderly widow.

The mother holds property in trust for a minor. Unreal
property is divided amongst the sons and daughters in the
proportions of two to one by the Gwari Haussa, or, where there
is no issue the estate is administered by the Alkali (formerly by
the Sarki), who pays an eighth of its value to the widow, and
something to the Mallams for their help.

Elsewhere it is the custom for the next-of-kin in the male
line to inherit, provision being made for the younger children
at the discretion of the Sarki and elders.

These practices are subject to slight modifications according
to the locality. At Abuja, for instance, a right of occupancy
passes on a man's death to his eldest son or nearest male heir—
if he has none the value of the crops, but not the land, goes to his
nearest female descendant. Private property is divided between
the brother and eldest son ; the daughter also has a share.

Amongst the Gwari Yamma, on the other hand, the farm
par-ses with all property to the eldest surviving brother, failing
him to the son, the heir in either case acknowledging and paying
all debts.

In Abuja, however, it is the eldest son who inherits, the
younger sons receiving small portions, whilst the widows pass
ito the deceased's younger brother. In Kuta the land is divided
amongst the sons.

Should any case of dispute arise the family settle it. Failing
sons, brothers inherit in seniority ; failing brothers, nephews
inherit according to age and irrespective of the status of their
fathers. If nephews are of equal age then the son of the eldest
brother of the deceased will inherit.

Land can descend to a female if she has no brothers, but she
must be married, or of marriageable age, otherwise it will pass
to the next male heir. Thus a woman cannot inherit per se.

There is no payment in the nature of a death duty. There
is no power of disposition over land. If a man leaves a wife and

128 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

offspring real property will be divided amongst them in varying
shares, but the proportion of these shares is not fixed, and any
case of dispute is settled by the family. The eldest son will
take priority if necessary, but if the sons' shares can be divided
equally they are so divided.

The widows pass to the brother of their deceased husband,
but are at liberty to marry any man they choose.

There is no power of disposition over personal property
except the ordinary power of gift during lifetime.

Wells are the property of the digger and pass to his heirs.

In Kushaka the eldest son inherits everything, including his
father's widows, failing him the younger brother inherits—
never an elder brother — failing him the property is divided
amongst the widows and children.

The Gwari excel in hunting, but they are principally an
agricultural people.

Land is not allowed to lie fallow until completely exhausted.
The ordinary rotation of crops being dawa or gcro, followed
by cotton, ground-nuts or tamba. In the Niger Province
it is reckoned that the land will remain productive from seven
to ten years, or if Filane cattle pasture there for thirty or forty
years.

Grain is stored in sheaves and sprinkled with ashes to preserve
it from insects and kept in rumbus from seven to eight feet high—
the Gwari Waiki add a layer of sticks and mud at the top — it
lasts in good condition for four or five years. A considerable
quantity is used for brewing native beer.

Tobacco is raised in every village and is extensively smoked.

The women do a fair amount of farm work, except in Kuta,
where this is not the custom. They make pottery for local use
and the men make mats and bags of woven palm-leaves. They
also grow, dye and weave a little cotton.

Both sexes wear a single cloth. The men wrap it round the
body and throw one end over the shoulder, though sometimes
a goat-skin is used instead. The women pass it round the chest
under the arms whence it hangs to the knee. The children go
naked.

Where there is much intercourse with Muhammadans the use
of the gown is creeping in, but in the houses it is restricted to
men of position. The townships consist of clusters of mushroom
like huts, which are generally perched on hills or in thick kurmi
for defensive purposes.

A large township is divided into well-defined quarters, in each
of which there is a common house where corn is ground. The
wives of the Chief, however, have their own dakin nikka in his
compound. Each man has his own cluster of huts, one of which
serves as fowl-house, another as stables, another for guests,
three or four for corn stores, besides the ordinary living and

TRIBES. 129

sleeping huts, one of each for each of his wives; they are ap-
proachable from outside by one entrance only, that leading
through his own apartment. In the sleeping- rooms there is
commonly a raised mud platform about twelve to eighteen
inches high, on which a tortoise and other emblems of good are
traced. The beds of the women are protected by a screen of
clay, into which one or two nimbus are built for storing clothes
and other personalities. The floors are sometimes laid with
broken shards. For the most part the huts are small and are
built very close together, with peculiarly thin walls (some two
or three inches thick only), through holes in which the filth from
the compounds is drained into the paths outside.

The townships are sometimes entrenched behind stone dykes—
for the Gwari were harried by the raids of N'gwamache from
Kontagora, and their mounted forces practically destroyed,
so that the inhabitants of the plains were forced to seek safety
in the hills. The military manoeuvre favoured by the Gwari is
an enveloping movement either down the hill-sides, or kurumis.

The ordinary weapons are bows and barbed and poisoned
arrows, hatchets, knives, and a few spears.

Marriage is arranged when the girl is about three or four
years, of age. From that period, till it is consummated some
nine years later, the suitor, together with his young friends, comes
and works on his father-in-law's farm for several days during
each month of the sowing and harvesting seasons, and gives
his future mother-in-law a calabash of acha, another of dawa,
and 400 cowries every year.

At the time of the marriage he gives the bride's mother 1,000
cowries and her father a pot of gia, after which the girl is stained
with red dye from the Majigi tree (camwood), and becomes his
wife without further ceremony- — unless it be, as at Fuka, eating
their first meal out of the same calabash. The husband and
wife habitually eat together when they are first married if no
strangers are present, but as their children grow up the boys
eat with their father, and girls with their mother.

The custom in Zaria (Magaji Jisambo) is very similar.

A suitor offers the parents of the girl he wishes to marry
a present of 400 cowries; if they accept it the engagement is
recognised, though the marriage is not consummated till the
girl is of marriageable age, when the groom gives a further present
of 2,200 cowries and twelve bundles of straw to the girl's father,
and two and a half bundles of guinea-corn to her rnother. A
feast is given in conclusion of the ceremony, and the next wet
season the groom, together with four or five of his friends, works
on his father-in-law's farm for a period of from two to four days.

A woman can leave her husband for another man on repay-
ment of the marriage dower.

130 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

In Nassarawa young men work on their father's farms un1
they marry, which is not usually under the age of seventeen.
During the period of courtship the suitor works on his future
father-in-law's farm and makes certain payments, which are
returned if the girl subsequently refuses him. Marriage between
members of the same village is not allowed ( Jangella) . Seduction is
punished by a heavy fine, the girl is boycotted and the man is
forced to marry her. When a Gwari Yamma suit'or first proposes
he gives the girl's father 20,000 cowries, as well as doing work on
his farm. As the1 time of marriage approaches he pays I2;ooo
cowries, whereupon the back and arms of the girl are marked
in signification of her change of estate, and before the ceremony
is concluded the groom gives a further present of 20,000 cowries,
forty bundles of guinea-corn and three cloths.

On the eve of the wedding-day he gives the beggars alms.
Intermarriage between members of the same family is not
permitted.

The marriage customs in Abuja are somewhat different.
There the suitor gives an initial present to the girl's father of
three cloths, 10,000 cowries and two chickens, after which he
tills his farm, together with ten to fifteen young friends, to
whatever extent is required for the next four or five years. A
man for the first time builds himself a separate house on his
marriage. When the bride is of marriageable age the groom
provides two chickens, which are sacrificed by her father in
order that she may prove prolific, and for five days a fdast is
given to those young men who helped the suitor in his courtship
labours. A cut is made on the back of the bride's calf to
signify her change of estate.

Absolute purity is expected of her before marriage, but
if a year passes without her proving fertile she goes to another
man, or men, in a different village. Any children she may have
by them belong to her husband, and on his death she returns
to his house for three months, and is then obliged to marry his
brother, if only for three days, before she may return to her
previous abode, and any subsequent children she may bear belong
to him, her legal husband.

At Kuta, on the other hand, the suitor makes his advances
direct to the girl, on whom no constraint is put. If she allows
him to court her he proceeds to work on her father's farm, together
with a company of his friends. This is the first indication that
the father receives; he does not speak to his new assistants, but
on his return home asks his daughter which is her suitor. A
room is subsequently set aside in her father's house where the
young man may come by day to pay his court. Other people
may or may not be present at these interviews. In the rare
cases where immorality results, the man has his house broken up
and the girl is driven from the village.

TRIBES. 131

A girl retains her liberty to break, off the engagement, but
in that case her next suitor is obliged to work on the first suitor's
farm instead of on her father V. If all goes well, the suitor, on
the girl arriving at marriageable age, gives her father 2,000 cowries,
a large calabash of beaten grain and chicken, and the wedding-
day is fixed. When it comes one of his family brings the girl's
father a large pot of beer and returns with the bride. On the
following morning she returns to her people to participate in
the only ceremony which takes place, the destruction of the
aforementioned chicken. Her father, accompanied by all the
male members of the family, takes it into his temple, and, after
offering a prayer to his ancestors, kills the fowl and sprinkles
its blood on the stones, sticks, or mud which form the shrine.
Beer and food are also offered at the shrine, and the chicken
is then cooked and divided, each member of the family receiving
a fragment, and a bit is reserved for the groom which the bride
carries back to him.

This ceremony only applies to the marriage of virgins.

It was the custom of the Gwarin Waike for a suitor to arrange
an elopement with the girl, which was carried out on the occasion
of 'some feast when her father was drunk. The young husband
would presently return 'with presents to propitiate him, or even
work on the farm. He was liable to three attempts on the part
of other young men to carry off his bride, but if these were suc-
cessfully resisted she was recognised as his wife.

A somewhat similar practice prevails in the Kushaka District
where marriage is by capture, whether of virgin, wife, or widow,
though as a general rule, the bride's parents connive at the
proceeding. After the deed is done the groom gives his wife
1,200 cowries, and her parents 800 cowries, i.e., 400 for the Uban
aure (father of the marriage), 400 for ' takalmi ' (shoes).
If the girl was a virgin he gives a pile of cut firewood in addition.

There is no ceremonial divorce.

Women might leave their husbands for another man without
penalty, but if the co-respondent entered the compound of
the ex-husband he was liable to be killed.

In Kuta it is customary for the woman, prior to her desertion,
to sweep out her husband's house. She takes young children
with her, but as soon as they are old enough to do without her
they must return to their father.

When the birth of a child is imminent the father goes out
hunting and returns with an antelope or buffalo, the hide of
which is cleaned from its hair and boiled to a jelly, which, three
days after the birth, is eaten by the assembled guests. If he
be a man of importance, and the child is his first-born son, he
usually makes a substantial present to the mother. (Kuta.)

132 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The birth of twins* js considered a fortunate event and is
celebrated in one of two ways. By the first both father and
mother get three goats, kill them, and mix their blood with
clay, with which they make a miniature corn-bin that is fixed
in the floor of the outer chamber, through which entrance to
the compound is obtained. A small opening is left in the centre,
through which the guinea-corn, millet flour, and beans with
which the bin is stocked are passed. On either side of the bin
is a small receptacle dedicated each to a child, in which a small
quantity of food is placed. The food, both in these receptacles
and in the bin itself, is renewed every year, when three rams
and fowls are killed, whether or not either or both of the twins
are still alive. A similar structure is made on the top of the
old one for each successive birth of twins, if they are of the same
mother. By the second system a stone is placed as a connecting
link between the mother's compound and a corn-bin, and is
surmounted with a clay chest. Two openings'1 are made in it,
one above the other, the lower one for the eldest, the upper one
for the younger of the twins. A small receptacle is made for each
child on the ledge above, which is generally protected by a
loose covering of straw. After the food stuffs are put inside
a goat is killed and its blood poured over the structure.
The animal is then skinned and cooked in a pot with
the blood of two fowls, salt and guinea-corn. The flesh is
taken out and the gravy, with the addition of locust beans
and iboru (millet), is made into soup. The entrails of
the two fowls have been cooked, and beer prepared. The
whole village assemble, and, in their presence, the goat's
flesh, fowl's entrails, tuo, soup and beer are given to
the infants (that is to say put in the above-mentioned
receptacles), that they may bring prosperity to their mother,
to their father, to their mother's family, and to all the village.
The remainder of the food is divided amongst the guests. At
every succeeding harvest, the old offerings are replaced from
the new crop.

An infant is given the name of one of its forebears by its
eldest paternal aunt. In the case of her absence the midwife
names the child (Bosso and Kuta) . In naming it a seer sometimes
holds a string, on which a tortoise-shell is threaded. Names are
then called, and when the shell slides down the string the name
then called is adopted (Fuka).

In Gini and Maikonkelli it is named by the mother.

In Nassarawa the paternal relatives assemble on the fifth
day after birth, when the infant is taken outside the house for
the first time and named. The child is suckled for two years

* Magaji Jisambo, Zaria.

TRIBES. 133

and seven months, or by Gwarin Waike for three years, during
which time the mother lives apart from her husband.

Circumcision is performed in the seventh year, but in Nas-
sarawa Province this is not the practice.

The Gwari are a musical race, who habitually work to the
accompaniment of music. Besides drums, horns, and guitars,
they have a big stringed instrument something like a 'cello,
and inserted in the neck of each is an iron with rings which
rattle as they play. They have songs for each occupation,
sowing, harvesting, etc., when they sing in four distinct parts.
The Gwarin Waiki, especially, are noted dancers and musicians,
and they have been heard to sing something closely resembling
a Gregorian chant.

The dead are buried in a diagonal position and clothes and
money are placed on the grave. These subsequently become the
property of the drummers who perform at the funeral feast
and dance. The depth of the grave is, roughly speaking, the
height of a man. Beer is periodically poured on the grave as
a libation to the dead.

In Fuka the grave is surrounded by a circle of stones with
an upright stone in the centre, where offerings are periodically
made.

A corpse is buried on the day of death, but in the case of
an old man burial takes place on the second day, when a feast
is given. A cock is killed and the blood mixed with honey and
millet flour — this is placed beside the stone which marks the
position of his head, a second stone being placed at his feet.
A prayer is offered to him for crops, children and success in
hunting.

The entrance to the tomb is generally outside the compound,
but the actual resting place of the body inside. There is no
particular ceremony at the grave, but a goat is killed afterwards
for the funeral feast. If the deceased has many sons-in-law,
each brings a goat and a cloth and the feast continues for several
days.

In some districts* the wake is not held till seven days after
death, when all the people collect and dance and sing to the
accompaniment of drumming. Goats and fowls are killed and
eaten and much beer is consumed for two days. There is no
festival on the death of a young person, and no food is placed
on his grave, though mourning is observed for two days.

In the case of a Chief a small mud house with a thatched
roof is built over the tomb, a small opening being left, through
which the food can be passed. These monuments are placed all
about the village and even at the entrance to huts. In the
Galadima District (Nassarawa) there is a general shrine common

* Magaji Jisambo, Zaria.

134 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

to all successive Chiefs. Eight days after death a wake is hel
The Chief is considered lucky if he dies in his own village. When
a Chief dies a bullock is killed and the blood poured over hi -3
grave. The flesh is then eaten and much beer drunk — a ceremony
that must be observed before a new Chief is appointed.

In Kuta District an official called Sarkin Bisso is appointed
by the Chief. His duties are to dress the corpse and carry
out the funeral, in which he is supported by a number of subor-
dinates. The family of the deceased pay for these services in
accordance with their wealth.

The corpse of an important man is dressed in a gown and
turban, etc., while a poor man is shrouded in a cloth.

As it is necessary that all the members of the family should
be present, the funeral has sometimes to be delayed for several
days. In such cases the body is preserved by being laid between
two large fires, while the limbs are continually chafed and rubbed.

The grave consists of a circular pit some five feet in depth
and three and a half feet in diameter at the dome, widening out
at the base to the size of a small hut. A grave is dug at the
side of this hut and consists of a sort of trough between two
mud walls some two feet on either side of it. The body is laid
on its side with the hands between the legs, the head to the
east and the feet to the west. Stones are then laid across the
supporting walls and plastered over with mud. The entrance
to the vault is also sealed. After the interment there is a feast
and beer-drinking orgy at the house of the deceased, which lasts
for five days. Women who die as the result of abortion, or in
child-birth; infants who are still-born, or who die at birth; and
those who die of small-pox or of some disease of malign origin,
are carried outside the town for burial in a simple grave. (Kuta.)

The Gwari believe that their ancestors are born again into
some subsequent generation, and they believe in the influence
of the dead on the welfare of the living, and therefore make
propitiatory offerings and prayer? . For the same reason they
cling to their old abodes, i.e., the belief that the spirits of the
dead will not be propitious to their welfare if they desert the
graves of their ancestors.

Each man worships the spirit of his grandfather, hence
the rejoicing at the death of an old man, who is now able to
protect the interests of his grandchildren in the spirit world, of
which Maigirro is the earthly director and representative or priest.
Each spirit is worshipped in a shrine in the bush, and just before
the rains the priest calls upon them to aid the town in the coming
year, particularly against smallpox. Women may be present
at this festival.

Women have distinctive cults as apart from the men, but
all are generally known as ' Maleka." Five tsafi are practised
in Birnin Gwari : (i) Maigirro, the principles of which have

TRIBES. 135

just been described ; (2) Karuma ; (4) Allah Bungo (by the
Gwarin Waiki only) ; (5) Bori.

Mai-dawa is worshipped in every home, a sandy corner
being devoted to him in each house, where libations and sacrifices
are made to him by all the members of the household. He
punishes neglect, but otherwise brings good fortune and is the
spirit of the dance. His emblems are a miniature iron bow and
arrow, an axe, pot and calabash.

Karuma is the god of youth, courage and strength, and
his votaries are young men only. At the end of each dry season
the youths assemble beneath a big tree in the bush, at the base
of which they pour gia and then run home without looking behind
them, under penalty of losing good fortune. They have a leader
in deeds of daring — Sarkin Karuma.

Allah Bungo=Allah of the wall, is a spirit to whom the
Gwarin Waiki appeal when they have had ill-luck in
the farm, hunting, or in lack of children — the latter obviously
affecting the Maigirro worship. Mai-Kunkuru, the priest
of this order, declares the trouble to be the result of neglect
and orders sacrifice to Allah Bungo, whose altar consists
of a mud pocket in the wall of the house. Into this the blood
of a cock, together with guinea-corn flour is poured, and some
of the fowls' feathers are plastered on the altar. The god's
forgiveness is asked and his good offices besought in the name
of the man's grandparents, male and female.

Women may not appeal direct, but only through the agency
of their husbands.

(a) Bori includes many superstitions, one of which is practised
by the women, and results in a state of hypnotism induced
by drinking a certain medicine, and is helpful in disease-
it is attributed to the good offices of a number of spirits.
It is common to many tribes.

(b) Another is casting an evil spell over some enemy. A
speckled pullet is brought to the priest of that Bori who,
after receiving a fee, sacrifices it, performs incantations
and calls down vengeance on the enemy and his family.
The circumstance is known to them, and unless peace is
made the accused man often falls ill and dies.

Ordeal, in the form of Gwaska, was given by the Sarkin
Gwaska — if innocent, the man vomited and the complainant's
property was held forfeit; if guilty, he died, and his family
was sent to the Zaria slave market. This has been abandoned
for another form. The suspected party must now pass
across ashes at the threshold of the complainant's dan-
daki = Maigirro shrine. They believe sickness would result
had the man a lie on his conscience.

Certain animals, such as the crocodile, python, bush cow,
are regarded as sacred in certain towns, and are always associated

136 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

with the spirits of the dead. Baobabs or other large trees are
worshipped, in common with certain natural objects, such as
a big rock, or deep river. They are probably regarded as emblems
of spirits.

As an illustration of the sanctity of natural objects there is,
at Esse, in the Paiko District, a large rocky hill behind the
town, which the inhabitants regard as their Chief, and the head-
man is not allowed to usurp this rank. As it is the right of the
Chief alone to have the big drum beaten within the town, this
also is forbidden to the head-man, lest the Hill-Chief, whose drums
are thunder, should think his right were being usurped. The
grandfather of the present Galadima — head-man— was drunk
one evening, and ordered the big drum to be sounded, that all
might know he was not only Galadima but Chief. It was done,
but that night there was a great thunderstorm, and when the
people came to the head-man's house next morning he was
lying dead on the threshold.

In Kuta the supreme god is known as Sheshu or Soko, but
as he is too great to take an active interest in their affairs they
do not worship him, but devote themselves to the propitiation of
Maijiro who can, if mischievously disposed, prevent crops from
fructifying, bring disease, and cause persons to be bewitched.
All important rites are carried out at night, when no woman
may be present. Were one to see Maijiro, death or barrenness
would result.

A festival is regularly observed at the sowing and again at
the reaping season. The priest— ' Fatauchi " —officiates in cere-
monial garb, robed in a kilt of flowing grass, his body smeared
with clay. Women may not be present, and were one to see
the priest thus accoutred she would die, unless the crime were
confessed, beer brought to the priest, and absolution obtained.
When the Chief eats the first-fruits of the crop he practises tsafi,
so that sickness may not fall upon his town. In the case of an
epidemic the priest assumes his official robe and cries out, " Eh'eu,
sickness, go, leave our village, that the village may find health,"
and when fowls have been killed and beer brought, he says,
"The village has found health, sickness has been driven away
and has gone ; anyone who is ill come and health will be given
him." When the people have saluted him and thanked him
for driving away sickness, he dismisses them and goes home.

There is a temple in each village, which is usually situated
in a kurmi on the outskirts of the township. The outside wall
is frequently ornamented with different colours and shells.
Inside there is a mud screen, ornamented with shells, porcupine
quills and facsimiles of animals in clay, such as a crocodile.
The priest's robe, the drum of death and a small drum hang from
the roof, and horns, tortoise-shells, and a sling, wherewith to
carry the religious properties, are also kept there.

TRIBES. 137

The chief religious festival of the Kushaka Gwari is " Amomo."
ft is celebrated for four days at the sowing time, and again after
the guinea-corn harvest. It is confined to men, and the ' Ba-
dakka ' (or Maigirro) presides over the ceremonies. A minor
festival, Raima, inaugurates the burning of the grass. lya
(or the eldest Yan Sarki) makes ' fura," which is taken to
a spot on the hill behind the Sarki's compound, where a libation
is made and a he-goat killed. The flesh is eaten by those
participating in this ceremony.

They have a sacred sword, which passes from Sarki to Sarki,
and which is never seen by any but the reigning Sarki and the
Sarkin Lau (the guardian of the sword). It is kept hidden in
a special hut within the Chief's compound and is consulted on
important occasions — as at Allawa and Birnin Gwari. Oath
is taken on these swords (takobin Sarki) or on the sun, and
their aid may be invoked in a recognised formula.

Kushariki and Kwongoma possess corresponding weapons,
the former a sword, the latter a knife, which is worn on the arm.
These are worn on all ceremonial occasions.

The people are very reticent on the subject.

In Nassarawa the customs are interwoven with those of
the Koro, as are probably their religious beliefs.

A god named ' Shekohi" is worshipped in some parts,
but in Abuja (Berden Sarki), and in Jangella ' Mama ' is
the principal god.

The temple is a grove called ' Dawiya-akun," where goats,
sheep, and dogs are sacrificed at times of festival, or by individuals
in thanksgiving, when much beer is consumed. In Abuja, as
at Kuta, the priest dons a kilt of grass and represents the god
on these occasions, dancing in a clear space round which he has
lit a fire. Three young men join him as representatives of the
three minor deities of ' Agorebi," ' Kakayi," and " Abwali."
No women are allowed outside their compounds when a festival
takes place.

Ordeal is given in the name of Mama, when the guilty swell
and die.

Each individual male Gwari Yamma worships a personal
god, or guardian spirit, whose shrine is in a special tree in the
kurmi, where offerings of fowls and beer are made. Should
a man fall sick a member of his family goes to the tree of his
spirit and prays for his recovery:

The Gwari believe in an omnipotent god, whose office is
to punish, therefore in times of bad harvest, famine and war,
they make incessant supplication, while in prosperous times
they do not think it necessary to trouble.

Muhammadanism is rapidly advancing, but as much for
social as for religious reasons.

138 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

GWOROM.

A tribe called Gworom are notified from the Ibi Division
of Muri Province.

GWOZUIYI.

Gwozum are notified from Gombe Emirate.

/ NONA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. Ackland. Mr. S. H. P. Vereker.

Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Hona are situated in the Pagan Emirate division of Yola
Province, in a district six hundred square miles in area, to the
north-west of Goila, along the Hawal River on the grassy plains
east of the main Yola-Maiduguri Road. Here they have a popu-
lation of 4,456, with an average of 9.71 to the square mile.

Under their tribal system they were administered by village
chiefs (who, however, had little more authority than the heads of
families), and by an hereditary tribal chief who lived at Gwiyaku.
They came, however, to recognise the Filane Chief of Goila, who
had the right to appoint the district head ; the result was not
altogether satisfactory, and Giyaiyi, a Hona Chief, was appointed
head of the amalgamated Hona-BurraDistricts in 1914. They are
related to the Eastern Lala, and claim to have come from the
west, reaching their present location some four or five generations
ago. They are, however, said to be closely related to their neigh-
bours the Kilba,* as also to the Burra, the languages of the
Burra and Hona being similar, while the numerals of all three are
alike.

They are coming more and more under the influence of the
Filane.

The compounds are situated on the base or slopes of the hills,
at a distance of from four hundred to five hundred yards one from
the other.

Here the people farm, and keep cattle, sheep and goats. They
are keen huntsmen, and are good blacksmiths, the latter being
especially famous for their hard steel knives.

Short swords, small spears, bows and arrows are the tribal
weapons. The men dress in skin loin-cloths, or short gowns
and caps, whilst the women wear iron beads over the lower
abdomen ,f or, when hoeing, a bunch of leaves over their buttocks.
They adorn themselves with strings of beads, and leather or
metal bangles and anklets. Both sexes plait their hair closely,

*The Kilba are of Marghi stock,
f Compare Kilba.

140 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

and when young ornament it with beads or metal at the ends ;
whilst a few men grow long hair, which they gather into a bunch
at the back and smear it with red ochre.

When children first attain the attributes of a grown-up a special
dance is held, and they are initiated to the tribe. After a month's
purification both girls and boys must become betrothed. It is
usual, however, for a girl to be engaged before this. The formula
is for the suitor to bring a calabash of corn or beniseed to the
girl's mother, and, if she accepts, he brings further two pots of
beer, ten hoes, and two calabashes to the girl's father. Hermother
then brews beer, whilst the young man brings some mats where-
with to build a hut in her compound. This he presents to her
on the occas.on of a feast and the betrothal is ratified. Co-habi-
tatioii is allowed before marriage, but should an illegitimate child
arrive, its father pays the young mother's father one pair of
irousers, one cap and one goat, and the couple marry at once.
It is more usual for the groom to bring beer and to ask that the
wedding may take place so soon as the girl reaches marriageable
age. If the permission is granted the groom brings a male friend
with him, and together they take the bride to her new home.
In certain cases the groom, after the betrothal ceremony, is per-
mitted to inhabit the house he has just built, together with his
fiancee, until she becomes enceinte, when a goat is killed, and the
couple go to his village.

In such case the betrothal feast lasts at least two days, and is
an orgy of drinking and dancing. On the second day the groom
dances with his bride on his shoulders, and ere nightfall her
mother paints her with coloured earths.

On the birth of a boy three fowls are killed, on the birth of a
girl two fowls, and are given to the mother to eat. Twins are not
looked upon as extraordinary. Abortion is never procured.
A corpse is dressed in a new gown and trousers, and laid out
for two days, during which time all the friends assemble and
dance and drink. The burial takes place about 4 p.m., when
the body is laid on its left side facing towards the east. The
grave consists of a round hole, to the depth of about four feet,
which is opened out at the base. The grave-digger prostrates
himself on the corpse, embraces it, and covers it with cattle skins,
ere the grave is filled in. The burial ground is on a special hill.
Dancing and drinking continue for the rest of that day and
the next. In the case of a person of importance the people gather
for a similar carouse three days after burial.

The customs for men, women and children are identical,
except that women are buried by their own people in their native
villages.

Widows re-marry some member of the deceased's family.

Debt may go on for generations ; it may be assessed in live-
stock, the natural increase of which also becomes due.

TRIBES. 141

Rolls of native cloth, hoes, and goats, all have a fixed value
for barter purposes.

Slaves are kept and may be obtained (i) by purchase from
other tribes, (2) as payment of debts, (3) criminals, who may be
enslaved for certain crimes', (4) wizards, and sometimes their
whole families), (5) bastards.

The Hona worship their ancestors, and there are traces of
phallic worship.

They believe in the efficacy of a certain small bit of iron,
which is painted red, and is kept covered by a pot. An oath
made with the hand on this pot is binding.

HOSS.

The Hoss are hill pagans, situated in the Bukuru District of
Bauchi Province. They are a branch of the Kibyen.

I DOM A.

AUTHORITIES :
Capt. F. Byng-Hall. Mr. Kay.

The Idoma are located in the south of Bassa Province, their
country cutting westwards into that of the Igara. On the north
they are bounded by the Agatu, to whom the Ata of Ida gave
some land belonging to the Idoma, on the south bank of the
Benue River, but the Agatu subsequently encroached, made
war upon the Idoma, and declared their independence. On the
east, near the towns of Boju and Iga, the Munshi are steadily
penetrating. The Idoma have become closely connected with
these three tribes in whose vicinage they live, and in the various
affected districts are frequently found to have adopted the
customs of their neighbours.

It is, however probable that they were originally one and
the same tribe as the Okpoto, whose customs are similar, despite
the traces of four hundred years of comparative civilisation
through intercourse with the Apa, which the Idoma never enjoyed.

Their language is variously described as closely resembling
that of the Munshi, Okpoto and Agatu. The late Bishop S. A. .
Crowther wrote that a lingua franca was spoken between the
districts of Dama in Southern Nigeria, to Doma and Keana
in Nassarawa (thus embracing the Idoma).

The Idoma have a population of some 37,330.

They were ruled by an hereditary Chief entitled Oni, the
succession passing alternately to the representative of three
or four branches of the original Chief. One line, however,
occasionally waived their right in favour of another, if the can-
didate of that other were indisputably the strongest man. If
it remained in the same family the succession passed to the eldest
son. No Chief had control over the other royal families.

His duties were to appoint officers to proclaim the laws,
enforce orders, supervise the markets and roads, etc. If a procla-
mation were disobeyed armed men were sent to enforce it, and
a certain number of goats from the guilty town were killed as
a punishment . Personal wrongs were avenged by family vendetta .

Elephants and leopards were the Oni's perquisites, and
run-away slaves were brought to him, for whom he gave a reward
of twenty brass rods apiece. The currency being : (i) 20 brass

TRIBES. 143

rods equal to 400 mounds of yams, 14 rods equal to a rumbo of
guinea-corn, 30 rods equal to a rumbo of gero (millet) ; (2)
beads ; and (3) a red dye.

On the death of the Oni Imanu, in 1912 or 1913, each family-
head was made a district head, and a Kanawa man was intro-
duced by the British Government to act as Chief over the whole
tribe.

Both sexes tattoo various patterns on the body, and often
colour themselves red.

The women wrap a single cloth round them, or wear nothing
but a loin-cloth and some beads. Girls dress their hair in two
plaits. Children go naked.

The men wear a cloth, one end of which is thrown over the
shoulder. Their hair is wrought into a single tuft, or plait, and
is ornamented by a snuff spoon. They wear a head-dress very
similar to that worn by the Jukon and Idoma. They carry
long knives, and their weapons are dane-guns and bows and
poisoned arrows. Spears used as lances are peculiar to the
Chiefs of the rear-guard.

A branch of the shea tree has the same significance to the
Idoma as the white flag has to civilised nations.

A man is excluded from the rites of his sex, and is contemned
as a woman until he has obtained an enemy's skull and been
duly initiated as a head-winner.

The victim must belong to some other tribe, but he may be,
and generally is, overcome by treachery. When the head has
been secured all the head-winners assemble at the murderer's
township, where they dance, and for fourteen mornings and
fourteen nights the death-drum is beaten. It is a boat-shaped
drum, hollowed out of solid wood. On the third day a cock is
sacrificed, and on the seventh a ram, which the aspirant must
cut in two at one stroke. Should he fail, a senior completes
his task, but his prowess is then under question, and he must
produce a witness to attest that it was he alone who slew his
enemy, and, on a subsequent occasion, must cleave a ram through
before his initiation is complete. The deed successfully accom-
plished, however, he gives his father the fore-part, his mother
the hind-part of the ram. In the meanwhile the skull has been
kept in a jar bound round with leaves of the shea tree, but on
the fifteenth day it is taken out and filled with beer, in which the
head-winners drink to the health of the new member. He, for
the first time, wears a black and white cloth round his head,
in which are stuck a white cock's and a red " aloko " feather.*

Were these rites not to be observed in their entirety some
dreadful misfortune would overtake the community.

* Compare Nge.

144 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

At times the spirit of a town demands a fresh victim
until the head is procured the village is under a ban, and no
dances may be held by day.

There are many kinds of circular dances of a primitive nature.
There is one in which both sexes participate, when a refrain is
chanted bidding the young man seek the maid. Another is
a sort of ghost-dance, when the performers wear wooden masks,
some of which are painted white. Another, again, is a war-dance,
executed by armed men bearing both dane-guns and bows and
arrows, which they wave over their heads and presently fire
at an imaginary enemy. It is similar to that danced by the
Okpoto, but is wilder and more terrifying.

The musical instruments consist of flutes, two kinds of horns,
and three drums of different pitch. On certain occasions, how-
ever, the human voice is unaccompanied, whilst at processions
bell-shaped pieces of iron are sounded with a stick.

The Idoma practise the usual trades and occupations, such
as those of smiths, potters, weavers, farmers (they have but
little live-stock), and hunters, and in addition they carve wood.

They are celebrated also for their knowledge of medicine.

A patient suffering from snake-bite is laid on paw-paw leaves,
and for fourteen days, until the critical time is passed, is given
no nourishment but ' kunu " mixed with medicine. His
recovery is said to be invariable.

A tourniquet of grass is used for the sting of a scorpion, and
in the case of a black scorpion water from a woman's stool is
administered to the patient. A noise is made the while to drive
out the spirit of the snake or scorpion.

Rheumatism, " chiria," syphilis and consumption are
recognised diseases.

They play two kinds of darra. One may be described as
a combination of draughts and noughts and crosses, which
is played with black and white pegs on a square in the ground.

They never leave their own country, and were a man to be
away for more than a week he would be given up for lost.

A village commonly consists of a compound covering a large
area inhabited by one family only.

The head of the house and his wives each have a hut to
themselves, the daughters live with their mothers, whilst the
remainder of the family are grouped together, the boys in one
hut, and as many as two to four married men with their wives
in another.

One reason for this is to avert the evil consequences of adultery,
for the Idoma believe that if it were to be committed in a house
belonging to the husband, both he and the guilty pair would
die violent deaths, unless the gods could be appeased.

If it were committed in some other person's house his spirit,
would have to be propitiated with rites requiring cotton, grass

TRIBES. 145

and water, whereas if it took place in running water no harm
would attach to others.

It was, however, severely punished, the co-respondent having
to pay a heavy fine or being sold as a slave, and the crime was of
rare occurrence. If the aggrieved husband divorced his wife she
had to return the dower, failing which she was sold as a slave.
A man who seduced his father's wife was tied up in the sun
for anyone to insult or beat, but latterly was merely put in
stocks as a preliminary to his sale as a slave.

All intercourse is forbidden by day, but the evil consequences
attending it could be averted by the sacrifice of a tortoise, or
large rat, and the offering of an egg before a certain broken pot,
which is covered with black and white cloth, and the leaves of
the locust bean and shea trees.

Marriage may be arranged in one of three ways : (i) by
exchange, when a girl of one family is exchanged for the girl
of another family. On these occasions the groom gives his
bride five brass rods and her mother ten ; (2) by dower, when
on betrothal the suitor gives five brass rods to the girl, ten to
her mother that she may buy salt, and thirty-five to her father,
five of which he is supposed to expend on tobacco, ten on kola
nuts, and twenty on acquiring the goodwill of his guardian
spirit. Later on the suitor gives forty rods to his betrothed's
mother and a hundred rods to her father, besides a gown or a
black cloth or, in their stead, an additional twenty rods. Before
the wedding is concluded the bride's father names an additional
fee, which commonly amounts to some four hundred rods, but
if the groom arranges to give personal service the payment is
lessened in proportion. When he receives his wife he gives her
one goat, cloth, beads and shawls. (3) The third system is by
labour, when the suitor works for his future father-in-law for
a period of some eight years. When the wedding is consummated,
however, the groom gives five rods to his bride, ten to her mother,
and twenty to her father, as well as a black cloth.

The above payments are increased should the suitor be
guilty of any of the four following offences : (i) of deserting
his bride for a period of three or more months ; (2) of simulating
illness to escape working foi his father-in-law ; (3) of sitting idle
when his bride's parents are working in the same house ; (4) of
showing any lack of respect to his bride's father, as for instance
by throwing down firewood with a clatter near his house.

A girl has no right of refusal, and if she attempts to rebel is
coerced by being put in the stocks, and by starvation.

Though a woman goes to live with her husband her children
belong to her, and in the event of her or her husband's death
are received back into her family. She is herself at liberty to
return to them, if she so pleases, when her husband takes another
wife.

146 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Otherwise divorce can only be obtained by returning
dower.

Within an hour of its birth a child is given water, in which
the leaves of the " gode " and ' jan yaro " (Hymenocardia
acida) trees have been boiled. Seven days after its birth charms
made from charcoal are bound up in the leaves of the fan-palm
and hung round the infant's neck, round its left ankle, and over
the entrance to the hut, where a fowl is sacrificed and sometimes
a lizard, with an offering of yams and palm-oil.

The mother may not cohabit with her husband for one year
after giving birth to a child, nor may she cook for him for three
months, as to do so would be to doom the child.* Should it
die she must live apart for three months.

At no time may a man eat chicken in company with women.

The Idoma dress their dead to appear as if they were yet
alive, and speak to them, but burial is prompt, for they believe
that were decomposition to precede interment the spirit would
not be able to travel to the outer world. An old person is con-
sulted as to what the funeral arrangements should be, what
sacrifices offered, etc., but it is customary for all the people
to assemble and shout, wail, and fire their guns. Two goats
are killed, one being eaten by the female descendants of the
deceased, the other being sacrificed. Its blood is poured into
the grave, while its liver is cut into four pieces and tossed, like
dice, on to the corpse. The way in which they fall indicates
whether the sacrifice is accepted. Immediately after four kola
nuts are similarly thrown to show whether the spirit is propitiated.
One or two black cloths, a gown and some cowries are buried
with the body, and in the town of Okeyn a calabash and drinking-
bowl are added.

When a man , of importance dies a slave is hung and then
buried at his feet, that he may have someone to tend him, light
his fires, etc.

On the death of a Chief, two slaves had their legs and arms
broken and were put in the grave, one at his feet, the other at
his head. He himself was not buried until the third. day.

The mourners are entertained, sometimes for weeks together,
the cost being defrayed out of the deceased man's estate. There
are special feasts on the eighth and fifteenth days after burial,
to celebrate which the stock, yams and corn, are divided amongst
the male, the cassava, ground-nuts, pepper, etc., amongst the
female, mourners. A three days' drinking bout terminates
the festival.

No one who dies of consumption receives burial, or is mourned.

In Yangedde, when a death occurred, every man had to

* Neither may she prepare food for him during the period of men-
struation.

TRIBES. 147

undergo ordeal to prove that he was not the murderer, but
this sentence has been commuted to drinking the water of a
stream and swearing innocence on pain of death.

The funeral rites ended, the heir takes over the whole estate,
including debts, and declares them in the presence of the next
heirs, to whom he gives any woman* he does not want for himself.
He gives a present of yams and corn to the male followers, and
of condiments or other produce to the women, keeping, as of
sacred right, all the images and charms of the deceased, which
he takes from the corpse immediately after death.

Succession goes in the following order : (i) to the eldest
living son ; (2) to the eldest paternal brother; (3) to the eldest
mattrnal brother ; (4) to the uncle, eldest son of his father's
father ; (5) to the cousin, eldest son of the afore-mentioned ;
(6) to the uncle, eldest son of his father's mother ; (7) to the
cousin, eldest son of the last-named ; (8) to a friend of the house.
In no case can a father inherit from his son, or a woman from
a man.

The religion of the Idoma is evolved from a belief in animism,
which recognises even so intangible a thing as the spirit of a
market, to whom sacrifices of dogs are occasionally made. Spirits
representing various forms of evil, are kept away from the villages
by offerings of food and drink being placed outside in the bush,
so that they have no cause to enter. Each person has a guardian
spirit known as ' Ajebbi," which is represented by an image,
and which will, in course of time, be inherited by a descendant,
in addition to his or her own " Ajebbi."

There are witches and wizards who have the power of assuming
the form of certain animals ; this is called ' Agu," and these
" Agu " skin their prey and wear it, thus enticing fresh victims.

There are charms against everything, but they are liable
to be rendered non-effective by yet more powerful ones.

Muhammadanism is hardly penetrating in a few isolated
cases.

IGARA and OKPOTO.

AUTHORITY: Capt. F. Byng-Hall.

The He — commonly called the Apa — tribe are of unknown
origin. There are divergent theories that they are of Filane
extraction , some still retaining the sharper features andlong pointed
nose of the Filane ; or that they are a branch of Yoruba, which
would account for the similarity of their language (Igara) to
that of the Yoruba ; or that one tribe has intermarried with the

* Presumably this refers to slaves.

148 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

other, either before leaving the neighbourhood of Ibi, or
reaching that of Ida. But whatever their origin, their identity
is now merged in that of the Okpoto, in whose country they
settled at the end of the fifteenth century, and with whom they
intermarried, so that their history and customs must of necessity
be treated together.

The Apa, or Ife, tribe are said to have lived at Apa near
Ibi and to have fled from the Jukons in canoes down the Benue
about 1490 A.D., under their Chief Idoko, accompanied by
many Haussa. They landed in the district now called Agatu,
and were defeated and scattered there by the Jukons, who,
not content with their victory, took to their canoes again and
fought refugee Apas along the banks of the Benue, killing the
Chief of the Apas at the little village of Amagedi, east of Bagana.
One of the chief 's sons, Aiyagba Doko, fled to Auwru market,
and camped there. Omeppa, the head of all Okpotos* who then
occupied the whole of what is now Bassa Province and possessed
great influence in the country of the Igbo,^ went with his people
to meet the strangers. He did not fight with them, but escorted
them to his headquarters at Olaji. The Jukons had continued
their journey down the river and landed near the present town
of Ida, whence they called upon Omeppa to deliver the Apa
people to them. Omeppa called his people together, and,
accompanied by the Apa Chief, attacked the Jukons and drove
them out of Bassa.

The battle was fought on the banks of the river Onashallu,
and the story runs that Aiyagba Doko proceeded up-stream
at night and poisoned the water of the river, so that the Jukon
who drank thereof the next morning were stupefied, and fell
an easy prey to their opponents, he himself killing a large
number with a stick.

He was then installed, at his request, at Ida as head-man.
Omeppa calling him Ata (or father).

At this time the Okpotos were a very backward race ; the
Apas, on the other hand, had a certain civilisation, and Aiyagba
Doko, realising the value of titles, conferred on Omeppa that
of Ashadu (the giver of titles) , an hereditary rank bearing the
privilege of installing a new Ata, and of reigning in his stead
during the interval elapsing between the death and election.
The first titles given were by Omeppa, but on his death and
succession by Negedu, his eldest son, the Ata, divided the country
and conferred further titles without the permission of the Ashadu.
Thus Aiyagba Doko called in his brother, Oguchekor, who had
fled from Auwru with a small following to the country round

* They arc probably of the same race as the Idoma.

f Authority — Ada, a direct descendant of Meppa, and the present right-
ful head of the Okpoto tribe.

TRIBES. 149

Ankpa, together with other Apa who at the same time had
fled towards Iga, and gave them titles under his suzerainty,
sending them back with presents and with escorts of both Apa
and Okpoto. The Chief of Iga, with the title of Onifi, had juris-
diction along the Benue as far as the Munchi border and South
as far as Auwru Market, the present Agatu District also came
under his influence, though not under his control. Oguchekor
received the title of Onu Ankpa, and had jurisdiction over the
countries between Lafia in the west, Auwru Market to the north,
to the Idoma District in the east, and to Atabaka in the south.

The Apa Chief then sent messages to the Okpoto head-men
of lyali, Ogumi, and Oddu, and when they visited him he gave
them Apa women as wives, and titles of Onu to their Districts.
He thus very soon undermined the Okpoto power. He also
sent out Apa men and gave them land and tiljes, but made them
marry Okpoto wives. The descendants of the latter marriages
were called Igara. But the descendants of an Okpoto marriage
with an Apa woman were still called Okpoto. The latter, at
the present time, generally call themselves Igara, but the proper
Igara does not call them so.

Aiyagba Doko carried war into Idoma country east of Ankpa,
and extended his kingdom till his power was recognised on
both sides of the Niger, and as far as the banks of the Kaduna.
Over this country he appointed his slave, Edegi,* to reign,
and he it was who, subsequent to his master's death, fled to
Nupiko and founded the Nupe kingdom.

Stories are current as to the prowess of Aiyagba Doko, who,
it is said, would kill an elephant with the single blow of a stick.
All the Igara were great huntsmen, and regularly paid the Ata
tribute of the skins and half the meat of their kill.

He died in 1505 A.D., leaving three sons, amongst whom
dissension arose as to which should succeed, and for three years
internecine warfare was carried on. At the end of that time,
and through the mediation of the Ashadu, who had hitherto
accepted their presents without conferring the title, it was agreed
that the kingdom, should pass in turn to each one of the sons
and their descendants, but that the then reigning branch of
the family only might live at Ida. The Ashadu was to call
in the rightful heir, and he himself held a post corresponding
to that of Waziri for life, to be filled by appointment made by
the reigning Ata. Thus the succession passed to each of the
three brothers in turn, and then to the son of the eldest. He,
however, died so immediately after his appointment that the
Ashadu called his brother to reign in his place. Both these

* Described as his own son in the History of Niger Province.

150 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

left descendants, and as each were held to have claim
succession, a fourth line was established.

The result of this unfortunate compromise has been a sensible
diminution in the power of the Chiefs, for a future Ata, who
was at liberty to settle in any outlying district, would refuse to
recognise the authority of the district head — a license often taken
by the whole branch of his family.

By the middle of the nineteenth century the Igbira, under
a powerful Chief entitled Anaja, had invaded the Igara and
conquered that territory which lies in the vicinity of Gbebe.
This occurred in the reign of Akuodiba, twelfth Ata, and warfare
continued until, in the reign of Amaga, fourteenth Ata, the
Igbira sustained a severe defeat. The country was, however,
over- run at this time by the Agatu, Idoma, Bassa-komo, and
Nge, who were driven out from the lands they were occupying
north of the Benue by Nupe raiders, in consequence of the great
Filane occupation. The Bassa-Komo came in friendliness,
and were at first given land by the Ata, but on receiving
reinforcements from their own clan, they made war on the Igara
Onu of Igga, and, after six months' fighting, established their
independence. The Ata was hard pressed for means to continue
this constant warfare and, in return for their services, gave fifty
titles to small Chiefs, together with complete independence.

This contributed to the break-up of the kingdom, and when
the British occupied the country they found that there was
little combination under Oboni, but that it was broken up under
a series of small Chiefs, who possessed little authority. It has
recently been placed under the administration of an alien district
head, of Haussa nationality, who has already done much to
consolidate the country (now dead?).

The tribal organisation appears to have been simple.

All land was vested in the office of Ata, and a land tax was
the only tax raised. The Ata might, however, demand produce
or stock, but for the consumption of himself or his family only.
He also received half the meat of game killed in a hunt, and half
the quantity of fish caught.

Chiefs who held their titles from the Ata were subject, in
addition, to a death duty of half their property. These Chiefs
appear to have exercised little authority outside that possessed
as a head of a family. The " family >: included all blood
relations (blood brotherhood* also is recognised), male and female,
with their followers and slaves, and they owe allegiance to the
family head, wherever they may be, rather than to the local

* The bond is formed by putting blood from the wrists of the contracting
parties on to a kola, which they then divide and eat. This done, they are
accounted as twin-brothers and must protect each other to the death. It
rarely takes place between more than two people.

TRIBES. 151

Chief. He possesses absolute power, short of death, and not
infrequently pledges children for debt.

As a rule each family forms a township to itself, one or more,
and all its members are obliged to work upon the farm of their
family head. Cases of dispute are decided by the heads oi
families, and certain of them receive a title from the Ata to try
serious cases, but only where their own families are concerned,
and rulings on these have to be subjected to the Ogbe for con-
firmation.

The Ogbe is Chief Justice of Ida. All important cases are
tried by him and lesser cases may be appealed to him. No
sentence of death may be carried out without his ratification,
though, he in turn, must submit his findings to the Ata. He
is assisted by four judges, who spend their whole time on circuit,
and who decide some cases, but send in the more important
ones to him. Minor Chiefs appear to act as Justices of the Peace.

The Ogbe holds open Court and all visitors act as Jury-
after hearing the evidence each one goes to one side of the Court
or the other, according as to whether he believes the evidence
to be true or false. Where opinion is equally divided, the Ogbe
gives the casting vote. The losing parties pay the costs of the
action.

A conviction of murder is followed by sentence of death,
which may take place in one of three ways. In Ida the criminal
is tightly bound and flung into a pit where he is left to die, in
the country he is bound to a stake and, a rope being passed round
his neck and it, he is slowly strangled. At Ankpa the head is
struck off with a knife.

Assault is punished by assault, and if it has resulted in the
loss of a limb, the culprit is similarly maimed.

Where a man has committed arson, he is himself sold to
defray expenses; if guilty of treason, he is banished; while
a trespasser is driven from his own town.

A thief -has to pay twice the amount stolen, and should he
be a member of the reigning house of Ida, is further disgraced
by being driven through many towns with the stolen goods on
his head.

A man who commits rape on a virgin has to marry the girl
and pay a fine to her father, in addition to working longer upon
his farm than the ordinary four or five years.

An adulterer is sold as a slave, and if he has persuaded the
woman to fly with him and she is not forthcoming, his family are
caught and sold as slaves in lieu of the guilty party. The woman
would always be taken back by her husband.

It sometimes happens that a woman will falsely accuse a
man of adultery with her, and if his innocence is established by
sasswood ordeal, he has the right to sell either the woman herself
or her husband.

152 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The population number some 98,223.

They speak the Igara language, which is said to come from
the Yoruba root, and the Okpoto language, which possibly
belongs to the Jukon family, and has only borrowed a few titles
and salutations from that of the Igara or Apa.

Fowls, sheep, goats, dogs and a very small breed of cow
are kept. A good deal of hunting is done, the method being to
extend in long lines and walk the thick bush. Rubber and
other produce is collected and sold, and the usual industries,
pottery, weaving, etc., practised, as well as brass-work and
particularly good wood-carving.

Much of the country is covered by forest, and the villages
are situated in clearings in its midst. The huts are round or
oblong in shape, and are made either of mud or grass, with
thatched roofs.

Some are stockaded, but there is little combination amongst
the Igara warriors, who, from the cover of the forest, fire their
dane-guns or poisoned arrows at the enemy at their own indi-
vidual pleasure, and double back to reload.

When they meet to discuss terms of peace, the Chiefs of
both sides eat and drink together at once, after which they may
not harm each other.

A man earns great respect from his tribe by taking an enemy's
head. He first gets medicine from a doctor to make him strong,
price two hundred brass rods, and when trouble arises with
another tribe goes and cuts off the head of the first man he meets
with a hatchet. He may not disable the man by any other
method. He brings the head to his house, beats two sticks
together to apprise people of his deed — then takes it to his Chief,
who gives him a cock and a goat. These are killed and the
blood poured over the head. He is henceforth saluted as '" Cha-
chara." They do not form any society or brotherhood.

Any man might take and farm any uncleared land, and though
the land remains the Ata's, the produce belongs to the occupant
—a woman shares this right, but she only inherits failing male
heirs. The right of occupancy, together with succession to all
property, passes, on a man's death to (i) his eldest brother living,
(2) to eldest uncle living, (3) to the eldest son of his eldest uncle.
The heir has to settle all debts, but the claim ceases on the burial
of deceased.

This takes place three days after death. The bereaved family
mourn for fourteen days, during which time they do not shave
their heads, wash, or dress; on the other hand they sing, dance,
cry, and let off guns incessantly throughout this period.

The body of a deceased Chief is preserved for a great number
of years, for he may only be buried by the Ata of that family
which is next in succession to his own on its reaching that line

TRIBES. 153

for the second time, that is to say, a representative of each of
the four royal families must always lie uninterred.

The ceremonial is on a great scale. Twelve slaves were
slain at the wake of the Ata (a custom that prevailed on a lesser
scale for minor Chiefs, nine slaves being sacrificed at the wake
of the Onu of Ankpa), each at the foot of certain trees on the
way to the burial ground, the twelfth being buried alive in the
tomb of the deceased. Since the advent of the British adminis-
tration, the sacrifice of human beings is replaced by that of goats.
The tomb consisted of a vault of circular shape, roofed over with
thatch, exactly resembling an underground hut. The corpse was
laid therein on a bed, together with his spear, some goats' flesh,
and a calabash of beer.

The mourners partake of a feast of beef and beer, and the
ceremonial is concluded by the firing of a dane-gun, to deter the
spirit of the deceased from remaining on earth to trouble the
living, and to speed it on its way to some other world.

Any posthumous child born to a widow of the deceased
Ata or Onu is called Ata or Onu So-and-so, as they believe the
spirit of the dead man has been reincarnated.

The widows do not pass with the other property, but go to
the eldest son of the deceased, who provides his own mother with
a house and marries, or gives in marriage, all the rest.

The first wife is the head one and has many privileges. She
has a house to herself, while subsequent wives are herded four
in a house; she has three women to wait on her, and she details
all their duties to the entire female establishment and reports
any neglect — though it but seldom occurs — to her husband,
who metes out punishment accordingly. There is no limit to
the number of wives or concubines a man may have, and no
difference is made between the offspring.

A woman's duty is to look after the house, fetch water,
cook the food, and take it to her husband at his work, as also
to carry his load to market,

A man will often marry his wife's sister, but marriage is
not permitted between blood relations of closer affinity than
first cousins. The consent of both parties is necessary, but
the suitor begins to work on his future father-in-law's farm
when the girl is but four or five years old. The groom continues
to work for four or five years, by which time his bride, at eight
to ten years old, is marriageable. The suitor then gives her
a loin-cloth and some .bracelets, and her father, money* and
some cloth. There is no further ceremony, but after this divorce
is impossible.

* The currency was originally cowries, then brass rods which, though
still in use, are gradually being superseded by coinage.

154 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Children do not wear clothes, but as they grow up women
wrap a single cloth round them, and men also wear one cloth
passing one end over the shoulder.

The Igara are a superstitious folk, believing in both good
and bad spirits, who are represented by idols. In particular
there is an evil god called Opoku, and a good one named Ojinosi.
The principal god is the god of thunder. The entrance to each
town is furnished with a pole and cross-piece to prevent the
passage of evil, and manifold charms are kept in the houses
to keep away leopards, robbers, and other dangers. There are
also many medicine-men , learned in witchcraft . Muhammadanism
is, however, penetrating.

Men and women each form their own circles, and perform
rather solemn dances to the beating of drums and singing of songs,
an individual occasionally occupying the centre, where he or
she performs a pas-seal.

A war dance is executed by armed men, who advance in
line, led by their head-man, who is armed with a sword, singing
their war songs, beating war-drums and waving dane-guns above
their heads. As the dance gets wilder they fire their guns at
an imaginary enemy, and the head-man dances to the spot where
the supposed enemy has been shot, and pretends to decapitate
him.

These dances are essentially Okpoto and have little or no
similarity to that of the Igara, who dance individually to the
beating of drums, clapping of hands, and singing.

IGBEDE.

The Igbede are not inhabitants of Northern Nigeria, but
their towns are situated so close to the Kabba boundary that
they are frequently to be found in that province.

IGBIRA.

AUTHORITIES.

Capt. F. Byng-Hall. . Mr. F. Dwyer.

Capt. T. W. P. Dyer. Mr. A. H. Groom.

Mr. W. Morgan.

The history of the Igbira is somewhat' confused, but it seems
probable that their ancestors originally occupied territory to
the south of the river Benue, their headquarters being at
Attagara, south of Etobe, in what is now Bassa Province (the
earliest history dates from 1400 A.D.), and that a son of some

TRIBES. 155

early Chief or Ata (father), Ohimi by name, crossed the Benue
and assumed sway over the peoples already in occupation of
that country, that his descendants founded the rival kingdoms
of Egu, now known as Koton Karifi,* and Panda, f whose power
extended from the Niger to the confines of the Mada tribe, and from
the Benue to the foot of the Gwari Hills. Both kingdoms were
in their zenith when Barth visited Haussaland, and Panda
is mentioned by Landar as second only to Timbuctoo and Kukawa
in importance. They were, however, subjected to raids from
the Filane of Nupe in the middle of the nineteenth century,
and a few yeais later were finally conquered and dispersed by
Umuru, first Sarkin Nassarawa.

The Igbira are now distributed along the riverain districts
of Kabba (population 23,254), and inland in the southern division
of Kabba (population 1,120), along the riverain districts of
Bassa (population 8,553), of Niger, where they are generally
known as Bira or Biri (population 7,117), with a further small
group in the neighbourhood of Wushishi, of Nassarawa Emirate
(population 4,728), and of Muri, where they are known under
the Haussa cognomen of Kwotto. The total population is,
therefore, something over 45,000.

Their language is distinct from that of the Igara, though
the late Bishop S. A. Crowther mentions that, together with
the Aragu (Igara), they spoke a lingua franca from Dama in
Southern Nigeria to Doma and Keana in Nassarawa. There is
said to be a large admixture of Arago blood in the Umaisha Igbira.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century a certain number
migrated northwards up the Niger River, settling in the southern
and Agbaja Divisions of Kabba Province, where they are gradually
being absorbed amongst the neighbouring tribes ; Okeni being
the principal town. Some of those who moved inland have
adopted both dialect and customs different to those of their own
race.

There are four principal branches, the Okengwe, Ika, Ihima
and Odabie, all united under a tribal chief, the Atairu, but
each having its own divisional Chief, whose authority is, however,
grudgingly acknowledged. They form the majority in the
Igbira District, which has a population of 40,000.

With the exception of a few towns who sent tribute to the
Filane, the Igbira did not come under Filane supremacy.

One section, under the name of Igara (which is also the
name of their town), has been joined to a group of Edo tribes
nicknamed Kukuruku. They are an indolent people, practising
riverain pursuits.

*See History of Koton-Karifi.
f North of Umaisha.

156 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The headquarters of those in Bassa Province is at Gbebe,
just south of the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers.

They have been placed under a'Kanawa district-head.

Others penetrated up the Benue, settling first north of Umaisha,
where they established supremacy over the Gwari and Bassa,
whence a large branch descended to Koton Karifi.

These people have the reputation of being energetic and
intelligent, but withal heavy drinkers, beer being their staple
nourishment .

Their skulls are broad across the forehead, but taper to the
chin. They are light complexioned, their lips are moderately full,
and their noses are Jewish in formation. They are well built
and fairly tall. The pure-bred Bira refuses to marry a Bassa.

They have no tribal marks, but slightly widen the division
between the two upper front teeth.

Circumcision is practised and is an old custom.

They purchased slaves, but being of a peaceful disposition
made none in war.

Each village Chief ex-officio holds the land in the neighbour-
hood of his township and half-way to the next in trust for the
people, amongst whom he distributes it for cultivation. The
rights of usage of oil-palms and of fishing-pools are also appor-
tioned by the village Chief, but no alien may enjoy the fruits
of trees, even when growing on land which may have been allotted
to him for farming purposes.

The Chief of the Igbira is called " Ohindashi " and he is
chief priest to the one invisible god, " Ihinegba," a beneficent
deity who lives in the sky, whose name denotes rain and whose
voice is the thunder. He gives rain and sunshine, fertility to
crops, herds and women, and also punishes the wicked by sickness.
' Ohindashi," together with the priest-craft, has power over
the unseen world, and over devils, and can call upon them to
punish evil-doers.

Thus a spirit appears to declare whether a man's death was
due to natural causes, and if the decision was in the negative,
proclaims who was the murderer.

Likewise if a witch was found guilty of peculiarly heinous
crimes (ordinarily a witch was merely driven forth from the
community), the Chief would bring him to the men's temple, where
a ghostly figure would appear to preside over the fulfilment of
the sentence, i.e., hacking to death. On the other hand a gor-
geously apparelled personage, symbolic of procreation, would
be visible at times in the women's temple.

There is a temple in " Ohindashi's " palace inhabited by
a spirit to whom the people give money and make sacrifice of
a white fowl or goat, that he may defend their towns and give
them prosperity. They dance and sing until he issues forth,
concealed beneath a long red gown and horned mask.

TRIBES. 157

Each town furthermore has a sacred stone or tree.

There are two principal festivals, held at the yam and at
the guinea-corn harvests. Women bring money and sacrifices,
but have no further part in the ceremony.

No one may sow guinea-corn until " Ohindashi," in virtue
of his office as chief priest, has set the example.

He intercedes with ' Ihinegba " to send rain, and the
ceremonies that accompany the succession of each new Chief
are not completed until rain has fallen. A cap, stool, and
staff are emblems of office.

The succession passes in turn to the representatives of four
families, descendants of the four sons of the first Chief.

In Nassarawa and Niger Provinces the chief god is named
'* Agabi." possibly a dialectical difference only from the Kabba
god " Ihinegba." They also reverence certain inanimate objects,
such as stones and trees, like their more southerly compatriots,
and propitiate the spirits of the dead with libations and sacrifices,
as it is believed that they rule the destiny of the living.

They take oath before " Agabi," by drinking beer from
a calabash which contains an axe-head.

In Bassa Province the Chief, " Anaja," is also high priest.
Outside his house is a sacred tree of great size, beneath which
is a large stone. At the time of the annual yam harvest, a cloth is
bound round the tree and arrows are fired into it. The " Anaja,"
together with the other Chiefs, then offers a sacrifice of goats,
fowls, beer and cooked yams, in honour of their departed ances-
tors, and all partake of the banquet. The next day a similar
rite is performed at the burial place of the dead Chiefs, a large
house which is tended by certain women all the year round, and
which is kept scrupulously clean. There too, the deities are
sometimes represented in material form.

The villages were formerly built on high, steep hills, and
for further safety the smooth rocks were rendered still more
slippery by palm-oil, which was smeared on them in time of
danger.

Dane-guns were used, and bows and barbed arrows.* The
latter were poisoned with a concoction from the bark of twenty trees ,
boiled together with a piece of black cloth taken from the image
of the god of war and hunting. It was particularly efficacious,
causing death in fifteen minutes. The Igbira manoeuvred so
as to fire upwards upon their enemy.

They are now descending from the hills to their plain farms.

Considerable numbers of palm-kernels are collected. Large
hunts are organised, when men go in lines twenty together.
The man who first sights the game whistles a warning and the
chief hunter is always allowed the first shot. They generally

* Ditto Igbira in Bassa.

158 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

take medicine to make themselves invisible to a charging
animal.

The village head-man receives a share of all game killed, and
is further given free labour on his farm, in return for which he
provides the labourers with beer.

In the riverain districts large numbers of men fish and paddle
canoes.

In Bassa Province they are good dyers.

There both sexes habitually clothe themselves in a single
cloth, which the men throw over one shoulder, and which the
women wrap round them beneath the armpits. The inland
Kabba women only wear a loin-cloth.

Their tribal marks consist of three long cuts on either side
of the face, three short cuts under each eye, and three short
cuts on the chin. In Koton Karifi, where their use is dying
out, they are described as ' parallel incisions from temple to
chin."

Sons assist their fathers by working on their farms until,
and even after, their marriage. It is, however, usual for a man
to give his son a separate farm on his marriage, and also to pay
the dower ; formerly (in Nassarawa and Niger) the groom worked
on his future father-in-law's farm for three years, and no further
dower was given. This is still the case in Koton Karifi, but
the groom has to give presents to his bride's parents in addition.
He has also to sacrifice a chicken and make libation of its blood
to his father-in-law's ancestor at the family altar, in the presence
of his bride's father. When this is done he returns to claim
his bride without further ceremony.

No divorce was permitted, and if a woman left her husband
she had to leave the country.

Two different accounts of marriage are recorded from Kabba.
One recognises infant betrothal, when the boy's father supplies
food to the girl's mother until the children are of marriageable
age. The bride's father fixes the dower between the sum of
55. and 155. according to the rank of the contracting parties,
and always including a string of three hundred cowries. A
feast is held on the wedding-day, but the bride may not attend
it. She sits apart in the house of her father-in-law's chief wife,
where a brass bracelet is fastened on to her left wrist, and her
front teeth are filed in serrated edges like a saw. She receives
presents of money, cloth and beads from her father-in-law.

A woman can obtain divorce by returning all the presents
she has received, as well as the dower money. If, however,
her husband refuses to take back the string of three hundred
cowries which he originally gave to her father, he can claim any
children she may subsequently bear.

By the other system the father negotiates a marriage for
his son, and pays a dower of 75. Qd., as well as 240 cowries. The

TRIBES. 159

suitor then offers the girl 6d. If she refuses it the dower money
is refunded and the negotiation broken off, but if she accepts it
they are formally betrothed. The suitor pays her family
two hundred cowries every ten days, and an additional payment
of is. 6d. twice yearly. He also assists in their farm work and
helps at burials. Should he postpone the wedding after the
girl has reached marriageable age, he has to pay four hundred
cowries and 35., and should he break it off altogether nothing is
refunded to him. When the wedding takes place the bride's
parents give her half-a-crown, some yams, and kola nuts, and
a feast is held.

In Koton Karifi a child is named by its father four days
after birth, after he has first consulted his relatives.

In other parts, seven days after the birth of a child, its mother
takes it out of the house, and all her friends assemble, bringing
with them presents of money, beer, food and clothes. The
infant is washed and its head shaved, after which the two grand-
mothers sprinkle its head from a special pot of clean water and
name it. The ceremony ends in a feast, when the guests dance
and sing. The birth of twins was considered very lucky, and
a cow was killed to celebrate the event.

Were an infant born with a tooth on the upper jaw already
cut it was killed, or got rid of, as otherwise one of its parents
would die within a month.

Circumcision is always practised.

In Koton Karifi a goat is sacrificed in honour of the deceased,
and a wake is held. Elsewhere, on the death of a Chieftain,
his sons beat drums and the women sound gongs and cymbals.
The body is washed and wrapped in a large quilt (exclusively
used as a winding sheet) or cloth. The next day a cow or
sheep is sacrificed in the doorway, and the corpse is buried in
the house, as they believe the ground outside is too hot for
the spirit to find repose. The sons scatter cowries from the
house-top and a great feast is held, when quantities of beer are
consumed.

Where the family do not possess sufficient wealth to celebrate
these rites immediately, the body is dried and smoked, and kept
until the necessary riches have been accumulated, these being
contributed to by daughters-in-law as well as sons.

WThen a woman dies, her husband sends a cow or sheep to
her people, with the message that the child they gave him is
dead. They send back firewood, saying ' She is not dead,
warm her with fire." The following day they come with drums
to view the body, returning home again to return with cowries
for distribution from the house-top. They then convey the
body to their own house for burial.

The ceremony may, however, be delayed as described above.

Young children are buried outside the doorway.

160 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Suicides are interred without ceremony, though inside
houses.

Grave-digging is a special craft, of which the members have
a medicine for making the ground soft. They make a hole in
the floor of the house and excavate a tunnel, at the end of which
is a small chamber containing a raised mud bedstead for the
body.

Food is placed on the top of the grave, for the Igbira believe
in a future existence, but not either in a heaven or hell.

Sacrifice is made to the spirits of ancestors, and dreams are
regarded as warnings from the spirit- world.

On the death of the r< Anaja " (Bassa Province) six slaves
were killed and buried with him, whilst another had his arms
and legs broken and was then thrust alive into the grave, where
enough food and water was placed to keep him alive for one
week.

Red is the mourning colour, but widows tie a black thread
round their necks. They wash and shave immediately after
the death has occurred, and for nine months remain inside the
compound.

In Koton Karifi, the brother, and failing him, the son, inherits
everything, and acts guardian to the family, amongst whom it
is customary for him to divide a small portion of the inheritance.
The children always remain with him. Elsewhere the sons
inherit everything, with the exception of their father's widows,
who pass to his brothers. Failing sons, brothers inherit.

Women hold property of their own, which their husbands do
not inherit.

Daughters succeed to their mother's cooking utensils and
water-pots, and have a life interest in beads. In Kabba a man
is succeeded first by his brothers — failing them, by his sons.

Disputes and trials may be settled by ordeal, of which three
tests have been recorded.

1. Medicine is first placed on the tongue of the accused
and he is given a wing-feather of a fowl, which he must pass
through his tongue. If he does so without the feather bending
or breaking his innocence is considered proved.

2. The second test is administered by an hereditary office-
holder, who dwells at Ophira, and is generally administered
to women. Religious rites are first executed and then a rope
is bound round the wrists of the accused. She bends forward and
if the rope tightens she is pronounced guilty, if it drops off,
innocent.

3. A somewhat similar method is practised in Bassa. A
round hole is dug some six inches in depth, into which a coiled
rope is lowered, hidden by a leaf daubed with medicine. A
person accused of theft thrusts his hands down, and if caught
by the rope his guilt is proved.

TRIBES. 161

4. In Niger and Nassarawa the Igbira make use of the ordinary
Gwaska poison ordeal .

There murder and manslaughter, whether the result of
accident or not, are punished by death.

In Koton Karifi a murderer is beheaded. Other serious
crime is punished by slavery. Minor delinquencies are generally
begged off, but on the third repetition the offender is driven from
the town. Juveniles are punished by their fathers.

IYARA.

The lyara are a small tribe inhabiting the neighbourhood
of Lupa in the Kabba Division of Kabba Province.

IYASHI.

AUTHORITY: Mr. G. W. Webster.

The lyashi are now a small and rapidly diminishing tribe
in Nassarawa Province, where they occupy a few scattered
villages on the slopes of the Kibyen Hills.

The women are somewhat superior to the men, a large per-
centage of whom are deformed and undersized, little over four
feet six inches in height. Both sexes file their teeth and the
men go completely nude, whilst the women stain their bodies
with ochre and wear a tassel of string and a bunch of leaves.
They are cannibals and head-hunters.

If a pregnant woman is captured an attempt is made, for
fetish reasons, to remove the child before killing her.

On the day crops are harvested all fires are put out, pots
are cleaned and men wash, a proceeding foreign to their customs
throughout the rest of the year. Besides indications of fire-
worship, their religion shows phallic tendencies.

They are probably akin to the Ayu, Mayir, Ninkada and
Nadu clans, despite the fact that their dialect is slightly different.

The ordinary tribal weapons are bows and wooden-headed
arrows, light spears, short swords, clubs and. axes.

In war time the leaders carry circular shields of white goat-
skin. They wear conical helmets — or morions — to match,
as also a white goat-skin slung over the shoulder. In the event
of a leader falling his insignia is immediately donned by some
other combatant.

Slaves are obtained by capture or by purchase.

Witchcraft is punished by death.

M

JABA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. Y. Kirkpatrick. Mr. H. F. Mathews.

Mr. J. C. Sciortino.

The Jaba occupy the independent district of Kwoi, in the
Jemaa Division of Nassarawa Province, which has an area of
some 100 square miles and a population of 9,932, which includes
two Lungu villages and a Haussa settlement. They also inhabit
the adjoining Maaji District of Zaria Emirate, where, together
with their neighbours the Kaje they number some 2,000.

The Kwoi District is situated on a plateau, in undulating
country, which to the south becomes rugged, whilst to the north
there are thick belts of kurumi. It is watered on the north by
the Gurara river, and there are innumerable streams throughout
the district, which, in the wet season, become considerable
torrents.

The soil on the lower level is of a rich loam, and marshy, but,
though good agriculturists, the Jaba do not take advantage of it
to raise either rice (except in very small quantities) or onions.

They cultivate ginger and collect palm-oil for export purposes.
They weave for local use only, and are keen huntsmen. They
own a considerable amount of stock, though no cattle are kept
south of the Gurara.

Those in Nassarawa are now united under Dogo, the hereditary
Chief of Kwoi, but considerable jealousy is shown by the chiefs of
other townships.

The Jaba came originally from somewhere to the north of
Kachia, in Zaria Province, where they were probably indigenous.

When the Filane overthrew the old Habe dynasty the Jaba fled
south to their present vicinity, but did not escape an overwhelming
slave-raid on the part of Abdu Karimi, Emir of Zaria. They
scattered, but obtained temporary immunity from further raids
by paying regular tribute to Zaria. They were attacked, how-
ever, from time to time, and it was not until 1903 that the Jaba
of Kwoi finally ceased their allegiance, and obtained security
under British rule. They show some affinity to the neighbouring
tribes of Attakka, Kagoro, Kagoma, Kaje, Kaura and Moroa ;
and the women are similarly attired, i.e., a bunch of leaves in
front, and a conical-shaped piece of bamboo behind, the latter

TRIBES. 163

%

being ornamented with threads of beads or brass, which are
attached by liquid rubber.

The girls often wear a small apron of cowries. The Haussa
dress is, however, being adopted by both sexes in the bigger
villages.

They speak a language of their own, but are nearly all con-
versant with Haussa.

Each house has a conical shaped grass-thatched roof, sloping
up at the back to an angle of about 45°. Every hut is divided
into three apartments by arches of mud — the porch, kitchen
and bedroom. In the latter, where the roof reaches its highest
altitude, is built a solid pillar of mud, in which a cavity is hollowed
at the top for the reception of the household treasures. This
room is quite dark, and even in the kitchen artificial light is used
all day, but the porch is light enough to reveal artistic designs
traced on the mud walls and floors by means of different coloured
clays.

On the birth of an infant, both mother and child are washed
with cold water that same day. On the fourth day its mother
takes it outside the house, where, in the presence of the women
of the household, it is named — by its father if a boy, by its mother
if a girl. Twins, however, are not named till the seventh day
after their birth, when the elders of the village come to perform
that duty, and partake of a feast, for which the father provides
a goat and beer.

The first man who sees a newly-born girl has the right to
claim her as his future wife, when he gives her father a ring, a
chicken, or two thousand cowries. He gives her mother a bag
of acha or guinea-corn every year until the child is of marriageable
age, at nine or ten years old. He then presents her father with a
large hoe (value about los.) and six goats. He also sends two cala-
bashes of tuo, to be distributed amongst the girl's relations, in
notification of their impending marriage ; and, after sending
his bride some oil, wherewith to anoint her body, he awaits her
at his house together with his male friends. She is brought to
him at night by the girls of the village, who come dancing and
singing. A feast of tuo is given to all the guests, the men partaking
thereof in one room, the girls in another ; after which they dis-
perse.

Every succeeding year the husband has to pay 2s. to his wife's
father, or his heirs, which ceases only on her death or desertion.

A woman may leave her husband, and even return to him
after a space, without rebuke. She may also, as a girl, refuse to
marry the man to whom she is betrothed, so long as she marries
someone as soon as she is of age, the successful suitor refunding
the dower paid by the rejected man. A man marrying a widow
pays her father 6s. 8d., and there is no further feast or ceremony.
The first wife takes precedence over subsequent ones.

164 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

0

When a death occurs the villagers are informed, and the body
is washed, and anointed with oil by the female relatives, wrapped
in a native mat, and carried outside the town by the elders of the
village on the morning of the following day. The grave-digger,
having first made a round hole of sufficient depth for him to stand
in up to his neck, then makes a tunnel, at right angles to the
bottom of this pit, in which the corpse is laid, a large stone closes
the mouth of the tunnel, and the pit is then filled in and marked
by an upright stone. A Chief, however, is buried in the porch
of his house. His most influential followers are allowed to see
the body, which they afterwards wash and anoint with butter.
It is then wrapped in a white sheet and, after a day's interval, is
lowered into the grave on a native bed, which rests on wooden
supports. On the burial morning the whole village assemble to
the sound of a drum at a place set apart for their lamentations,
and from sunrise to sunset, the men in one body, the women in
another, pace round and round, chanting a certain dirge. Indi-
viduals may drop out for a while, but only to rejoin the procession.
The next day the same ceremony is observed, but, on this occasion,
every neighbouring village sends its representatives.

After a lapse of two months the people again assemble at the
deceased's house, the relatives of both sexes attending with
shaved heads in token of mourning. The heirs provide a great
quantity of beer, on which the men get thoroughly drunk, and
the relatives of the deceased supply a large number of goats and
sheep, which are cooked by the women outside the Magajin
Dodo's house. A voice from within is heard, which is interpreted
as the return of the spirit of the deceased, who salutes his
friends, and thanks them for their gifts. The women thereupon
fly to their houses, while the men remain to devour the meat.
This custom is of so extortionate a nature that the late Sarki
forbade its practice at the town of Kwoi.

The Jaba believe that the souls of the dead can enter the
womb of a living woman and be re-born. Between these two
periods of public mourning the widows are secluded in their
houses and do no work ; the relatives of the deceased bringing
them food. They are entitled to remarry in the fourth month.

The sons, and failing sons the brothers, inherit ; all property
being equally divided between them. Any dispute is settled by
the oldest member of the family. They usually marry the widows,
though a man may not marry his own mother, but a woman is
permitted to marry any other man if she so elects. A man may
leave either part, or the whole of his property, to any male
relative, so long as he does so in the presence of a witness, but
this is of rare occurrence.

A woman cannot inherit.

Children might be pawned for debt, and cases are known
where they were sold to traders in times of scarcity.

TRIBES. 165

JARAWA.

AUTHORITIES :
Numerous Political Officers and Major F. Edgar.

The Jarawa is a large tribe occupying a wide area to the south
of Bauchi city. In all they number probably some ninety to one
hundred thousand people. They are divided up into several
groups, which, while they speak a radically common language,
have each developed separate dialects. This language has several
distinct " clicks " similar to the Bantu languages.* On the whole
the main customs, habits and characteristics of the tribe are
shared by all sections alike.

Those inhabiting the plains, generally speaking, are subject
to the Emir of Bauchi ; those inhabiting the more hilly regions and
rocky fastnesses have either retained or regained their liberty.
The principal town of the former is Bununu Kassa. In all there
are about forty-eight thousand Jarawa subject to Bauchi. There
are a few in the Gombe Emirate. The two principal independent
groups are those of Kanam and Duguri, including Dan and Kan-
tana ; there is another island of independent Jarawa in the Dass
hills. On the northern, eastern and southern slopes of the Shere
and Maigemu hills are found a number of scattered villages of
Hill Jarawa, such as Fobbur, Shere, etc. These differ somewhat
more than other sections from the main tribe. There are a few
Jarawa communities in the Muri Emirate.

The origin of the Jarawa is obscure. There is a theory that
they came originally from Bornu to Dass, bringing with them a
spear which is still worshipped in the Dass temple, and that they
bore the Kanuri tribal marks. The first authentic record is early
in the nineteenth century, when the first Filane Emir of Bauchi,
Yakuba, conquered the district, and exacted a small tribute. In
the reign of his son, however, the Dass people received reinforce-
ments from the other Jarawa, and revolted against the Filane,
securing, and thereafter preserving, their independence. The
present Chief of Bununu Dusi (Dass) is a Jarawa in the direct
line of descent.

Those Jarawa remaining on the plains were forced to submit
to the suzerainty of the Filane, whilst the Duguri and Hill
Jarawa resisted all attempts to subdue them. Many of the former
have adopted the Muhammadan religion, and have intermarried

* Sir Harry Johnston writes that it has an " undoubted resemblance to
the Bantu language, with distinct though distant affinities with the semi-
Bantu languages of the Kaduna district, with those immediately south of
the Central Benue, and with the semi-Bantu languages of the Cross River,
of south-west Togoland and of Senegambia."

i66 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

with the Denawa, Gerawa and Filane. The men used formerly
to wear loin-cloths, or skins, the women bunches of grass, but as
they come into contact with civilisation these are rapidly being
discarded for robes, gowns and cloths.

The following customs, as described by a Jarawa of Mbaro, are
probably applicable to the tribe generally.

Marriage is arranged when the principals are infants, but it
is not consummated till the groom is about twenty-five and the
bride twenty years of age. During the intervening years 2d. or
3d. is paid to the bride's father every two or three months, and
finally five to ten goats. The suitor, together with his friends,
also works upon her father's farm. No ceremony is held when the
bride goes to her husband, but three days later he holds a feast
which lasts from 5 p.m. to dawn.

The young man continues to work upon his father's farm
until he is about thirty years old, and has acquired more wives,
but his hours are only from 6 a.m. to 12 noon, after which he is
at liberty to set about his own affairs.

He has acquired with marriage the right to occupy a farm
of his own and chooses a site which is granted to him, with all its
forest produce, by the village chief ; in return for which he gives
a gaisua (present) of one tobacco head and one fowl. His friends
help him to clear it, and he provides them with drink and they
sing and make merry.

All farm work is done collectively, each man helping his neigh-
bours, under the direction of a Sarkin Muna, who is elected every
year for his knowledge of agriculture. A different man, Sarkin
Kaiya, directs the harvesting operations, and the only reward
these two officials receive is free beer.

Each woman is given her own plot, the produce of which is
entirely at her own disposal, and she, too, appoints a Sarkin Muna
and Sarkin Kaiya, who are, however, always of the male sex.

No crop is individual to one sex.

A slave can hold land, and may work for himself after 2 p.m.
His children are free and inherit all his property, but should he
die without issue his master succeeds. A man will sometimes
free and adopt his slave, or a slave may purchase freedom, but he
cannot do so without his master's consent.

Large numbers of slaves were captured as a result of prowess
in war.

When an attack was contemplated, it was the habit for the
Chief, attended by large numbers of the populace, including
women, to go out with his warriors, and make a gigantic war-
camp about fifty miles away from the town that formed his
principal objective.

On the march the Waziri went first on horseback, accompanied
by his foot-men, armed with bows and arrows, and horsemen,
armed with swords! Knives were also carried. Then came the

TRIBES. 167

Sarkin Yaki* with his men, the Madawakif with his, then the
Sarki and behind the Ajia who had charge of the women, whilst
the Galadima brought up the rear guard.

From that 'camp as their base the Waziri, Sarkin Yaki and
Madawaki would strike at a distance of fifty miles. They would
leave one evening , about 5p.m., and travel swiftly all night , taking
with them only the strongest horses and most active men. They
would rest perhaps for one hour, far enough away from the town
for the neigh of their horses not to be audible and advance again
about 4 a.m. At 5 they would be at the city gates, each Chief
taking a different gate, against which he would launch his footmen.
The horsemen were kept only for cutting off the enemy as they
fled, never for conducting an assault.

If resistance was offered the whole male population of an
age to wear a beard were killed, each combatant carrying back writh
him the heads of his victims, which he laid before the Sarki in
proof of how much booty he had earned. Old women were left,
but young women and children, and all the horses and stock
that the conquerors could carry with them, were brought back
to the Sarki in his camp, their return being almost as swift as their
departure. The news was signalled by beating a small drum
held under one arm.

If the town capitulated all the warriors came forth, broke
their bows, and cast ashes on their heads in token of submission.
Their lives were then spared, but a large tribute of slaves, etc.,
was exacted at the time, and an impost laid on them for each
future year. The person of an emissary approaching with his
hand held open above his head was always respected.

The Dugurawa were not sufficiently powerful to capture many
slaves in warfare, but they made it a habit to waylay foreign
children ; and, on rare occasions, members of their own tribe
were enslaved for habitual theft .

All cases of law were decided by the Chief, who was attended
by the men of the village, who, one by one, as they were called
upon, gave their opinion or asked further questions.

If the accused persisted in asserting his innocence he was
handed over to the Sarkin Tsafi, who first questioned him as man
to man and then as priest , handing him a knife, on which to swear
by licking its blade three times. The minister then took a stick
in his hands, and said, " Even as I take hold of this stick so will
Tsafi take hold of you if you have lied. Should the evil befall
you within three days we shall know that you are the guilty man."
Sometimes the accused fell sick, or was bitten by a snake, or
injured his foot on a stone, in which case the following punish-
ments were habitual.

* Yaki — war.

f Ma-dawaki — master of the horse.

i68

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

A murderer was decapitated by an axe unless his family gave
a girl to the bereaved party, that she might bear them another son.

A murderess was buried alive in the Sarki's compound,*
where she was left to die, for no woman might bo killed.

Assault was punished by fine.

A small offence was not punished, but a thief was fined to
the value of five times the amount he had taken, unless he pleaded
hunger as the cause and could prove destitution, in which case
he was not punished ; if the offence was frequently repeated,
the criminal and all his compound were enslaved.

A person accused of witchcraft was made to swear his inno-
cence, and undergo the ordeal of licking the sharp edge of a
knife, if his tongue were grazed he was considered guilty. Men
noted for their virtue took the condemned wizard to the bush,
where they bound him and threw him into deep water, remaining
on the spot for two days to make sure of his death. If there was
no water to be found they bunu-d him.

A witch was enslaved by the Sarki, but by him only.

Wizards are the offspring of witches, and are much more
numerous, though the evil born in them does not become ap-
parent until they are at least thirty-five to forty years of age.
A wizard can enter into any animal, or may become so tall that
he can reach over the roof of a house, and insert an invisible
spear, with which he touches his enemy, who, next day, falls
sick.

Owls are in attendance on both witches and wizards, and
appear to the victim before his death. The wail of a night-cat is
an omen of death, as is a dog sitting upon a roof.

They believe in djinns, who live both in water and in trees,
more especially in baobab and tamarind trees. They are a very
small, well-clothed people, who possess many fine things with
which they lure children, but the child who sees them dies. The
djinns walk on the roads at midday, so wise people will not go
abroad then. The water djinns occupy still ponds, where the water
is either black or very clear, and rivers.

One day a Duguri woman, three days after giving birth to
a child, went to the river to draw water. A djinn struck her on
the arm, cheek and side, and she fell to the ground distorted,
and has never been able to speak or move normally since, despite
large sums spent upon medicine for her.

Burial takes place immediately after death. The body is
first dressed, cotton being placed in the ears and nostrils, and then
laid in a grave (dug to measure) outside the door of the house,
wood is placed over it, and then leaves of the locust-bean tree,
so that the earth, with which it is subsequently filled in, may not
touch the body. After seven days a goat is killed and eaten,

* Compare Nupe.

TRIBES. 169

after fourteen days beer is drunk, and after one month the whole
family contribute stock and beer, and a big wake is held. The
priest digs the earth away and severs the head from the body,
cleaning it carefully with locust-bean leaves and placing it in a
pot in the village temple. This is only done in the case of a head
of a family, or important person, who, it is believed, can bring
good fortune to the community. The leaves of the locust-bean
are peculiarly sacred, -and the blood of a sacrificed animal is
always sprinkled upon them. A man destroying a locust-bean tree,
without good reason, is fined.

Criminals are not buried at all, but are thrown into the bush.
It is, however, doubtful whether this is invariably the custom,
for some of the hill Jarawa and Dugurawa are cannibals. They
do not eat the bodies of their own dead, but would not hesitate
to devour their neighbours, and therefore an exchange of corpses
is sometimes made.

They say, however, that the taste of human flesh does not
compare with that of an animal.

Lepers, and the victims of small-pox, are buried in the bush,
but the latter must be carried out by men who have formerly
had the disease, and these men must disinfect themselves before
rejoining the community.

They believe that the good are re-born immediately into their
own family, but that the bad are born into some foreign com-
munity, if indeed they ever live again.

If a man dies away from his country the marks of his hands
and knees may be seen by his foreign grave, from which his spirit
emerges to travel quickly and soundlessly to his native home.

Widows and widowers alike mourn for a period varying from
three to twelve months, during which time they wear grass
bracelets, and may not wash, dress their hair, or go out.

The widows pass to their deceased husband's brothers or
family, but they can marry any other man on repayment of their
dower money.

A widower is at liberty to marry his wife's sister, which he
may not do during his wife's lifetime.

The son inherits.

Both hill and plain Jarawa wear the same tribal marks, which
consist of plain vertical lines on the forehead, ornamental lines
on each cheek vertically and ear-holes. Some of .the plain Jarawa
use the cheek markings only, while their hill brethren, at Dan,
use no markings at all. The Mbaro state that the Filane laughed
so much at the showiness of their markings that they changed
them for one vertical line down the centre of the forehead, and
three groups of lines, lightly marked, radiating from each side
of the mouth.

The common method of making fire is to grind together the
dung of lizard, a little pepper, and a pinch of salt. A branch of

170 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

the creeper, Sasarran Kura, is then heated over a fire, and is
broken over the powder, releasing a water with which the powder
is mixed. This is then rubbed on to a piece of metal which is thrust
into the fire until it is red, it is plunged into water, re-coated
with powder, and the process repeated. After this the metal is
ready to produce a strong spark when struck against a stone,
though it is first rubbed on the ground to facilitate its doing so.
Some dried fibre from the silk-cotton tree is placed on the stone,
and immediately ignites and smoulders when the spark is struck,
The following tribes are branches of the Plain Jarawa, speaking
dialects thereof unless otherwise stated, and may be divided into
closely inter-related groups as follows, and into distinct septs.

I. The Ampier, Bogorro and Seiyawa — the latter a prosperous
tribe, some 25,200 in number. They speak a distinct language.
It is probable that the Bogorro are identical with the Seiyawa,
Bogorro being the headquarters of the latter tribe, who
inhabit the neighbourhood of Leri, south-west of Bauchi.

The men are clothed, but the women wear leaves only.

II. The Badara, Barawa or M'barawa, a tribe numbering
some 305 in Bauchi Emirate, and 4,000 in the independent
state of Dass, where they were original settlers (probably off-shoot
of Seiyawa?). Many have become Muhammadans and have
intermarried with Filane and Gerawa. And the Gurumtu, in
the Duguri District. This group speak a different language to
that used by the Jarawa proper.

III. The Gwa and Nyamra.

IV. The Djon and Bayirr, who live in Kanam. They speak
a distinct language similar to that of the Njamb.

Other individual branches are—

The Bankalawa, who inhabit the Dass hills in the south-west
of Bauchi Province (where, together with the Barawa, they were
original settlers) the neighbouring Bauchi Emirate, where they
have a population of some 5,405, and the Duguri District.

Early in the nineteenth century they were conquered by the
Filane, but, after a few years, a number of them regained their
independence.

The Gallambawa, who number some 8,455 in Bauchi Emirate
near the river Gongola, and 50 in Kanam, have also a settlement
in Muri Emirate, though probably this is of a temporary nature,
for no Jarawa will contemplate death away from his home,
however far he may wander. They speak a distinct language
from Jarawa.

The Barta or Bartak number some 2,445. They are situated
in Bauchi Emirate.
The Gar.

The Gyang-gyang.
The Gallamkeau who are near Kanam.

TRIBES. 171

The Badawa, or M'badawa, who adjoin the Dugurawa,
speaking their language though a distinct clan.

The Jaku, who are located east of Bauchi, on the river
Gongola.

The Birrim, a clan of nine hundred souls.

The Bajamawa, or Bajiamawa, who number some 935.

The Bandirri.

The N'jamb, who speak a distinct language, similar to that
of the Bayirr and D'jon.

The Foburawa and Kaiyorawa, who are septs of the Hill
Jarawa. They still live in the Shere and Maigenu hills, but
tender allegiance to the Emir of Bauchi, from whose suzerainty
they at one time attempted revolt. In the Lemme District
they number some twelve thousand.

A legend relates that a man and woman emerged magically
from a hole at Fegwom (near Fobura), and bore children with
supernatural speed, thus originating the Fobura sept. The spot
is still reverenced.

A section of the Foburawa left their birthplace in the early
part of the nineteenth century and migrated to Jos, where they
now inhabit an area of forty-two square miles, with a population
of 760. They have intermarried with their Anaguta and Burrum
neighbours. It has been stated that at the time of this migration
another group from Fobura pressed on past Jos, and settled among
the Chawai pagans at Kwall, with whom they intermarried, thus
forming a tribe which is now known as " Irrigwe."

Perhaps it is as well to mention here that a group, comprised
of the Mashido, Demolo, Garaga, Kantana and Munawa clans,
who live near Kanam, speak a dialect of Jarawa, and wear their
tribal markings, are not of the Jarawa stock (Major F. Edgar).

JEPAL.

The Jepal are situated in the Pankshin District of Bauchi.

They are probably related to the Ankwe, of Chip, but nothing
is recorded of them but that the majority do not practise circum-
cision.

JERIYAWA.

The Jeriyawa are situated in the north of Bauchi Emirate.
Possibly they are of the same tribe as the Jereawa, notified
from Ako, in Gombe, where they number some 1,470. They are
a small community of hill pagans.

172 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

JIMBINAWA.

The Jimbinawa, or Jimbawa, are a small community of pagans,
595 in number, who inhabit the hills of north Bauchi Emirate.
Their headquarters are at Jimbin, in Ganjua.

JUBAWA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. H. Q. Glenny. Mr. F. E. Maltby.

The Jubawa, or Jibawa, are Jukon, formerly inhabitants of
Jibu, on the Benue, who were conquered by the Filane and driven
out in the year 1842.

The District they now occupy is situated to the east of the
Kungana range of mountains, in the Ibi Division of Muri Pro-
vince, and is rich in shea-nut trees. The principal towns are
Beli and Nyeli.

Fresh- water oysters are found in the Gazabu river.

It is under two half- Jukon District headmen, Bunga and
Beli by name.

JUKON or KOROROFAWA.

AUTHORITIES :

Captain U. F. Ruxton. Mr. H. F. C. Holme.

Mr. H. R. Palmer. Captain P. Lonsdale.

The Jukon are stated originally to have inhabited the country
of Yemil, to the east of Mecca. Under the leadership of their
Chief, Agadu, they marched out to make war against the Prophet,
but they met an old man on the way who advised them to abandon
the campaign, and they returned to Yemil.

Muhammad, however, heard of the occurrence, and sent
emissaries to Yemil, bearing a letter, together with presents
of drums and aligatas. The people of Yemil were afraid, now
that they knew the Prophet was aware of their intentions, and
they left their country, marching westwards, until they came
to the country west of Lake Chad, where a number of them
stopped, founding the city of Kukawa. With them Agadu left the
Prophet's letter, and there it is thought to be to this day. This
is a legend of doubtful veracity, however.

Agadu himself travelled on with his followers to the Benue,
where they made their capital at Kororofa, which is situated in

TRIBES. 173

high open land between Wurrio and Bantaji, to the north-east
of Wukari.

Zamka and Yamkele, sons of Agadu, became jealous of their
father's power, and urged him to abdicate in their favour J this
he refused to do, and they left him, travelling to Kufain Pindika,
where Zamka stopped, Yamkele founding Gated, in the same
neighbourhood. Thus was the Pindika Kingdom established,
and their influence became paramount amongst the former in-
habitants, the Tangale, Tera and Bole, who paid tribute to them,
and adopted their religion, with individual exceptions. The Jukon,
were not, however, keen colonists, and the only trace of their
occupation to be found at the present time is at Maru, amongst
the Bolewa. There is a subsequent record of eighteen Chiefs of
the House of Wukari, this house being raided by the Filane Emir
of Gombe, Buba Yero, in 1807, but not finally destroyed until
1841-44, by his son. The family of Puttuk reigned in their
stead from that date to the present day.

The Jukon claim connection with the Wandara, and with the
Wangarawa (Mandingoes) , and, it is further said, the parent
stock, the Kororofawa, came from Sango, south of Lake Chad,
Whatever the relationship between these places may have been,
it is an established fact that Jukon lived in Bornu (and in Bida),
and that the Kanuri lived in Kororofawa, and that there was
constant intercourse between the two. Dr. Barth, however,
mentions that the Jukon laid siege to the capital of Bornu at the
end of the eleventh century.

In 1384 or 1385 it is recorded in the Kano Chronicle that Yaji,
Chief of Kano, made war on the Kororofawa in their own country,
that they fled up the neighbouring hill of Tagara, where they
were besieged for seven months, after which time they paid Yaji
an indemnity of a hundred slaves. In the course of the fourteenth
century the Jukon carried war into Bauchi and Zaria. They ap-
pear to have reached the height of their power at the end of the
sixteenth century, when they marched on Kano,* and laid waste
the country round, though, out of respect to the Mallams, they
refrained from entering the town itself. Towards the end of the
seventeenth century the Kororofawa again marched against
Kano,* penetrating this time into the town itself, and ravaging
Haussaland. About that time they invaded Bornu, but were
repulsed.

Bello, Sarkin Muslumi, writing in the first half of the nine-
teenth century, describes the Kororofa as one of the seven greatest
Kingdoms of the Sudan, possessing all the lower and part of the
middle section of Haussaland — i.e., Kano, Zaria, part of Katsina
and raiding Bornu. It has been said elsewhere that their dominion
extended south to the Cross River and even to the Atlantic.

* Kano Chronicle.

174

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

It is certain that the Kororofawa coming from a District
south of Lake Chad, and advancing through Ibi and Bauchi,
overflowed and conquered all Haussaland, south of Sokoto, and
it is a curious fact that nevertheless they left little trace of this
occupation, either on the customs or racial characteristics of
the inhabitants of the territories they conquered.

The decline of their power must have set in in the eighteenth
century, for when4the Filane advanced into their country at the
time of the Jihad, 1815, the Jukon fled westwards to Kasan
Chiki and the salt regions round Awe. Returning later a remnant
of them built Wukari, a walled town containing a population of
some 2,500, for their capital of Kororofa was destroyed by Burba
of Bakundi — the ruins now being barely traceable.

The Chief of the Jukon, Sarkin Wukari, paid tribute to Bauchi.

It is difficult to form an estimation of the numbers of Jukon
now left, for they are intermixed with the Munshi, Agatu, Turu
and others ; but it is probable that there are some 10,918 in Muri
Province. They are located down the left bank of the Benue
and on the Katsena Allah River, there are a few near Wase, and
some 1,128 over the boundary at Gateri in the Gombe Division
of Bauchi Province, and 41 have been notified from Nassarawa.

The following tribes show some connection with the Jukon :

Offshoots.

Intermarried
with.

Tributary to.

Language or
other connection.

Koro
Dampar.
Kona.
Kamu.

Agatu
Chamba
Dakka.
Tik'r

Bashar.
Mumuye
Yergum.
Ankwe

Gurkawa.
Arago.
Okpoto.

Kutumbawa.

Kam.

Kam.

Ankwe.

Jubawa or
Jibu

Munshi
Turu.

Wurkum.

Tangale.
Arago.

By ancient Jukon law the King, Asum,* was only allowed
to reign for two years, and if during that period he fell ill, or
even sneezed or coughed, he was immediately killed.

The succession passed to any direct descendant of any deceased
King, and on that one amongst them who desired the kingdom

* The following description is taken from Mr. H. R. Palmer's article
contributed to the " African Journal.

TRIBES. 175

devolved the duty of slaying the reigning monarch. He signified
his intention by entering the King's mess, walking round, and
out, after which it was his duty to attack the King at the first
subsequent opportunity. If no such opportunity occurred before
the time of the annual festival, when the King was obliged to go
to the place of sacrifice, the murderer waylaid him, for the attempt
might not be deferred longer. Were the King to overthrow his
assailant another candidate came forward till the deed was accom-
plished.

The royal corpse was carried to the place of sacrifice, where
the internal organs were removed, and four men were set to
guard the body, which was first smeared with butter and salt,
then laid on a bed, beneath which a slow fire was kept burning
for a period of two or three months. At the expiration of that
period the headmen, together with all the members of the royal
family, were summoned thither and the death was formally an-
nounced to them.

The King-slayer was seated on a chair, while the priest,
together with five or six important chiefs were seated on reversed
mortars. The priest then said, " We wish to make a King," and
the senior chief handed him a whip and a cap, saying " Give us
a King." The whip was placed round the candidate's neck, the
cap over the royal head-dress of a long plait coiled on the top of
the head. The candidate then twisted his head sharply, and if
the cap remained on he was confirmed in his succession.

A black dog, ox, goat and fowls were sacrificed at the gate
through which he would pass out, and on making his exit he
stepped over the corpse of his predecessor.

He, together with the Priest and Senior Chief, alone attended
the burial that night, the body being dressed by the priest and
mounted on a horse in front of the King.

The burial vault was excavated beneath the floor of a large,
domed, circular hut, the same size as that of the hut itself. The
roof of the vault was supported by beams and rafters, and
entrance was obtained by means of a ladder through a two-
foot-wide hole in the centre.

Water jars, a washing basin, a finger bowl, apparatus for
making fire, twelve mats, a red cloak, calabash, pipe and tobacco,
and palm wine were laid inside with the corpse. The mouth of
the entrance was covered over and old clothes laid on the roof
of the hut, which was left untouched until it fell in.

The above custom of murdering the King was broken through
by an Asum, named Agadu, who enlisted an Haussa bodyguard
to preserve him from attack, and, under their protection, reigned
for eleven years.

In his administration the Asum was assisted by four principal
officers. His Minister for Foreign Affairs was a Muslim, but the

176 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Jukon were never converted to Muhammadanism, the tendency
being in the opposite direction.

The King's daughter, " Agya," held an official position, and
was queen over all women and slaves, but she might not marry.

Taxation was raised under four heads " Abu-tswen," Haussa
" Abin Kassa," i.e., a tax on town houses paid to the Chief of
the town, every adult male being obliged to own a town house,
the farm dwellings being temporary. In Wukari the tax was
paid in beer made from the first-fruits of the first harvest, which
was drunk at religious festivals. In Akwana the tax was paid
from the first boiling of salt.

(2) " Abu-anajin," Haussa " Gaisua," i.e., a payment made
to the Chief and Sarakuna on acquiring a house, land, etc. These
payments were voluntarily continued as lately as 1913. Perhaps
under the heading of " Gaisua " should be included the payment
to the Asum of a black cloth from every householder whose town
he visited.

(3) " Aweachu," Haussa " Gando," or war-levy, was raised on
every householder or landowner, and was commonly paid either
in black cloth or in salt. The citizens of Wukari were exempted
from this payment because they paid " Abinkassa " direct to
the Asum.

(4) " Gado," a death duty was paid by the families of those
for whom the Chief provided the shroud — that is to say, for all
except the talakawa. This tax has no Jukon name and must
have been of comparatively recent introduction.

Every Jukon had the right of occupation of land for himself
and his heirs for ever. He could pass on his right of occupation
to another Jukon, but only by the King's permission, when he
received payment for the standing crops and clearance of land, etc.
He might leave his farm to some member of his family other than
his heir, but only after stating the reasons for doing so to the
King. The Asum always received Gaisua on the transfer of
lands, but he might not refuse grants of occupancy to any native
capable of this payment.

The reigning " Asum " — Agu or H'Abu by name — or as
he is now styled Sarkin Wukari, observes the traditional close
seclusion ; he will only interview certain sub-chiefs through a
wall or mat. He eats and drinks in absolute solitude, and he may
may not look upon or cross running water.

It is he who now acts as high priest, but formerly, as has
been seen, the offices were distinct. The " Akondu "= chief
priest, is assisted by the " Kuzafi" = King of the Water, who is
believed to have power over water and amphibious animals. The
Kororofa totem is the crocodile, and a certain fish named " ahulla"
may neither be seen or eaten, and some of them similarly respect
the python.

TRIBES. 177

These offices are hereditary to certain families, the succession
passing to the oldest suitable male member. The priests may
marry, but their wives are not allowed to do any work.

The chief divinity is Gion, who is red and black, and is sym-
bolised by an upright pole, to touch which is a binding form of
oath. Miniature images of him are carried by many. He controls
the thunder, and if a criminal cannot be found may summon
lightning to strike him dead. First-fruits are offered, and black
fowls and animals are sacrificed to him by the priests.

Gion has charge of the souls of the dead and application to
see them must be made through him. On the occasion of the
harvest festival, when the palm wine has been brewed, Akondu
summons the souls of the dead. The King provides certain
properties which belong to them, in which Akondu envelops
them, whereupon thirty or forty appear and speak, but are
unintelligible.

Sometimes ancestors visit their descendants at night, and if they
rub their heads with cold water it is a sign of coming prosperity.

Gion has a dog with a head like a lion, a small image of which
is sometimes kept in the house, when palm wine is kept before
it and its head is anointed with blood.

Gion has a son Keji, who is regarded as an intercessor.

A fully dressed wooden figure is commonly placed near the
cornfields to prevent anyone from stealing the soul of the corn
by saying " What a fine field of corn!" When the harvest is
garnered the figure is taken home.

The Jukon believe that each man has a body, a soul, a shadow
and a revenant, but that the lower part of the body and the feet
of this latter are invisible.

They say that there are seven suns, who travel to the west,
where they rest ; and that there are twelve moons, a boy who
waxes and wanes. The moons live in water and go away and rest
and renew youth. The moon travels by day and night, and if
there is an eclipse they think the sun has caught it and beat
drums to make the sun leave go its hold. Sacrifice is made to the
moon if its light falls into the house.

Each star represents a man's soul, and if a meteor is seen they
believe some man is dead and lay their ears to the ground.

They divide the year into thirteen months with eight days
in each week.

When- a man dies the women shave their heads and make
lamentation, and the relatives wear their clothes inside out for
three days. A new doorway is pierced in the hut through which
the body is carried out. A widow prays to the soul of the deceased
on his tomb for the welfare of herself and her children. She may
marry again after a period of one year.

These customs are not observed for a suicide.

178

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

If a number of children of a family die young the heads
the survivors are half shaved, and cotton, with a chain affixed
to it, is tied round their necks to avert the evil.

After the death-duty has been paid the real property is divided
equally between the children. If there are none the brother
inherits, but gives a portion to the wives and a portion to Akondu
that he may call the spirit. Palm wine is poured on the tomb
when a soul is summoned.

Sickness is imputed to the action of an evil spirit, and sacrifice
is made when the aid of ancestors is invoked.

The people have a great knowledge of poisons, of which they
make frequent use.

They are now a decadent race, who farm, keep stock, practise
riverain pursuits, as it may be, in an inferior manner. They still
work the salt pans at Akwana, but have practically ceased weaving
the cloth for which they were once famous.

They have special dances, one performed by women only,
another by mixed sexes, and a third, a war-dance, which lasts
for three days, by horsemen with spears.

KADARA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. T. W. P. Dyer. Mr. A. C. Francis.

Capt. J. M. Fremantle.

The Kadara are situated in the south of Zaria Province,
in the districts of Zana, Wali, Kajuru (population 6,492), and
Maaji, over an area of some 3,000 square miles, where they have
a population of some 8,000, including their off-sets, the Ikolu
(2,000), Kamantam (1,000), and Kuturmi (1,000), who settled
in the Maaji District, circ. 1760 A.D. There is also a small section
at Riban, and a group, numbering some 574, at Fuka in the
Kuta District of the Niger Province.

Little is known of their origin and history, beyond the fact
that they inhabited their present territories some centuries
ago, and the mention of a Beri-beri invasion and conquest of
Kajuru. The town of Kajuru has been inhabited by foreigners—
now termed Haussas — ever since, who offered fealty to the
first Filane Emir of Zaria and paid tribute in Kadara slaves.

The Kadara of Fuka, however, continued to pay tribute to
the Haussa Sarki in Zozo, in his stronghold at Abuja, after he
had been driven out of Zaria by the Filane, and he, in return,
afforded them protection against the Filane raids. Each man
contributed a mat and certain gaisua.

The Kadara are of peaceable disposition and little serious
crime was committed. In every case the criminal was reported
to the Sarkin Abuja, who punished by slavery.

It was the custom for the Kamantam to send a murderer
away from the community to a certain rock, where he was
supplied with food and water every day, but which he was not
allowed to leave for a period varying between a few days and a
month. At the close of that time certain ceremonies were per-
formed— tsafi — and he was allowed to return to his people.

They are good agriculturists and the Kamantam, at all events,
possess a fair quantity of live stock. Fowls are only used for
ceremonial purposes. A large proportion of the Ikolu are black-
smiths, and all Kadara are famous for their mats, which are
woven from the leaf of the wild date palm, and into which a
yellow dye is introduced from the ripe fruit of the Borassus

180 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

or fan-palm. In Fuka they tap rubber trees and trade across
the boundary, but not in Gwari or Koro markets.

In Zaria a certain trade in tobacco is done by Haussa traders.
The Kadara themselves drink and smoke less than the Gwari.

They are great hunters and from time to time organise big
game-drives.

The buildings are of mud, with grass roofs that rise from
the outer porch to the dome over the granary. The entrance
is through a porch laid with shards and oval doorways, three
feet high, that are screened by zana which slide into grooves
in the wall. Within is a long room, then a narrow transverse
passage used as a store, and a square inner room, in the centre
of which is the hearth. Immediately above it, at the height
of four feet from the ground, is the floor of the granary which
is divided into compartments arranged radially round the
vertical chimney, which is the only means of access thereto.*

In Fuka the villages are all situated in dense forests and are
formed by a series of long oblong huts, with open spaces between
them.

The men are clothed, but the women believe clothes to be
prejudicial to child-birth and go naked, except, in the case of
virgins, for a tail-like tassel of string strung with cowries, which
hangs in front. They put large pieces of wood in the lobes of
their ears.

The tribal marks consist of three lines radiating from each
side of the mouth.

They look to the spirits of their ancestors to help them in
this life and to intercede for them in the next.

Each family has a large vault, consisting of a chamber hollowed
out at the bottom of a well. When each fresh burial takes
place, the bones of the previous occupant are collected and laid
aside to make room for the new comer. Food and drink are
offered at the graves of the dead.

The Kadara have a distinctive language, though Haussa is
very generally understood, but in Fuka Gwari is spoken in
addition. The tongue of the Kuturmi is different.

KAGOMA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. D. Cator. Mr. Y. Kirkpatrick.

Mr. H. F. Mathews.

The Kagoma occupy an area of 166 square miles in the Jemaa
Emirate, Nassarawa Province, where they have a population
of some 4,500, men being slightly in preponderance over women.

* Compare Kagoro.

TRIBES. 181

It has been suggested that they formed part of a large group
which migrated from the north-west of Zaria, which includes the
Kagoro, Attakka, Jaba, Kaje, Kaura and Moroa, to whom
they show a certain affinity in language, customs and dress.

They speak a dialect of their own, and the majority know
Haussa also.

Their Chief, ' Dem," pointed out to Osuman, first Emir
of Jemaa, the desirability of the site, and voluntarily paid tribute
to Zaria through Jemaa. Circ. 1859 A-D- they ceased to pay,
and a large proportion of the population were burnt out in caves
in the resulting .punitive expedition. Small raids continued
until 1894, when they were finally subdued by the Filane and
acknowledged the suzerainty of the Emir of Jemaa, to whom the
Kagoma District head is now responsible.

The two acknowledged crimes were murder and theft. A
murderer was required to give a bull to the bereaved family,
whilst a thief was detained until his relatives paid a horse to
the Sarkin Jemaa and two goats to his captors.

They are excellent agriculturists. Boys are given miniature
hoes at the age of three years old.

They are of good physique.

The men wear a triangular shaped leather loin-covering,
or a skin that hangs from the shoulder, and bind their beards
with grass. They carry wooden swords.

Virgins wear an apron of green strings ornamented with
cowries and brass bells. Married women wear a loin-cloth.

Nearly all the villages are situated on the tops of ti e hills,
amongst almost inaccessible rocks. The huts are of mud, sur-
mounted by conical-shaped grass roofs. The interior is divided
into three partitions by means of mud-arches projecting from
the wall.*

A girl may be betrothed before her birth, the fiance undertaking
that should the unborn babe prove to be a boy he will be its
friend all through life. Such an arrangement is, however, of
rare occurrence, the custom being for a girl to be engaged to
the first man who gives her parents a fowl and bespeaks her
after her birth. The suitor further gives her father a hoe or
2,000 cowries every year, until the girl has arrived at marriageable
age at about ten years ; as the marriage day approaches he
gives the bride's father a further present of five chickens.
On the day itself, six of his boy friends enter her parents'
house, where she is hidden amongst the women, find and capture
her, and take her to one of the groom's female relations. They
return at night, give the custodian a chicken and take the bride
to the groom's house, where he is awaiting her with throe male
friends who proceed to address the young pair on the duties

* Vide Jaba, p. 163.

182 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

of marriage before leaving them alone together. The following
morning the groom's mother gives a feast to the inmates of her
own house, and a month later the bride's mother sends two
calabashes of tuo to her son-in-law's house, whence he distributes
them to his friends and to the elders of the village as proof that
the marriage has taken place.

When a man marries a second time the above formula is
omitted. He gives the girl's parents a hoe and 4,000 cowries,
after which the girl goer, to him of her own accord, but if she
delays doing so for more than a year after the dower is paid
he can claim it back.

Desertion is considered no crime, and if a woman leaves her
husband soon after the marriage, the dower is refunded to him
by his wife's parents, but if she has remained with him for
four or five years he has no claim. Her new husband pays her
parents a hoe and 4,000 cowries.

The difficulties that have arisen from this laxity of morals
are met by the following device.

" As far as this district is concerned the idea of forming a
Dodo ' society originally started in the village of Agabi,
a number of years ago. Two men were bewailing the fact that
their wives were constantly running away from them and that
their children were getting out of hand. They put their heads
together to seek a remedy.

' Eventually they took a gourd from the ' Kukan Chikki '
tree, and after scraping it hollow, placed some kind of parchment
over its mouth. In the middle of the night this was blown with
terrifying effect (the noise is very like that produced by a comb
and piece of paper). The women were very frightened and hid
themselves. They were subsequently told this was the voice
of the ' Dodo '- — a mythical spirit well known in Haussaland—
rebuking them for their misdeeds. The women all promised
atonement.

' The news of the Agabi ' Dodo ' soon spread and people
came in from the neighbouring villages, curious to hear all about
it. Men were let into the secret, but had to swear under penalty
of death never to tell their women or children the real origin
of this new-found power over them.

' The ' Dodo ' soon became universal in every village,
and each had its own particular ' kurmi,' where ' Dodo '
gatherings took place. This tended to still further impress and
mystify the women. Only married men were eligible for election,
and not until they had been married for two or three years.

" As a rule, initiation into the ' Dodo ' society was reserved
until such time as there were some ten or twenty young married
men ready to be elected. Their wives were informed of the
impending ceremony, and on the appointed day had to cook
goats or chickens provided by the candidates. The cooked

TRIBES. 183

meat was left at the respective houses, and all the members
of the society, followedb3/the candidates, proceeded to the dreaded
kurmi. The candidates were collected in the middle of the
kurmi, surrounded by the rest and, as a preliminary, savagely
Hogged. Not unnaturally, shrieks rent the air to which the
elected all added their own voices, so that the medley of sound
penetrated to the village beyond and terrified the women and
children. When the tumult had died down, the candidates were
made to lie down in the kurmi, still surrounded by the others.
Each in turn was made to raise his head and was asked by the
head of his family if he had seen the ' Dodo.' As a rule the
belaboured youth was too frightened to answer. The questioner
then produced the gourd, blew on it, and said, ' I, myself, am
the " Dodo." He would then hand the gourd to the youth and
bid him blow it, saying, ' Now you are the ' Dodo." This
procedure was gone through with each candidate in turn. They
were then told that the whole society was really a conspiracy
to keep their women folk in subjection, that they had only
been flogged to heighten the illusion, and were instructed to
do the same to future candidates. Finally each candidate had
to take a solemn oath under pain of death that he would never
reveal the secret. The initiation was then over.

' The newly elected then went back to their houses to get the
prepared meat, which was ostensibly for the ' Dodo,' but
was in reality eaten by the men in the kurmi, who, if they could
not eat it all, were obliged to leave the remainder in the kurmi,
as the ' Dodo ' was said to have a voracious appetite. A
dance was afterwards held outside the kurmi in which both
sexes took part.

' No woman dared to approach the kurmi. If she had done
so, she would have been caught and killed. During the initiation
ceremony it was patrolled by sentries outside.

' That the oath binding the society together is no light one
is shown by the following incident.

" Some years ago a newly-elected member managed to convey
some of the ' Dodo's ' meat out of the kurmi, and was asked
by his wife where he got it. A man overheard this conversation
and got the wretched youth back into the Kurmi, where he was
instantly beaten to death and buried. The women were told
' Dodo ' had swallowed him. The men all pretended to lament
his fate, and told the women to bring plenty of water and they
would give it to ' Dodo ' to drink, on the chance that he would
vomit the youth up again. All day the women brought water
to the edge of the kurmi, where the men took it from them, and,
retreating into the kurmi, simply poured it away. In the
evening they told the women it was no good. ' Dodo ' refused
to bring the youth up !

184 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

" Each candidate on election is given a gourd, but as it was
foreseen that indiscriminate blowing would soon familiarise
the women with the ' Dodo's ' voice, no one is permitted to
blow the gourd without the Magajin Dodo's consent.

' Each village has its ' Dodo ' head-man, known as the
Magajin Dodo. He is the supreme domestic authority and no
woman, not even his wife, is allowed to enter what is designated
as his ' Dodo ' room. The office is hereditary and as a rule
descends from father to son. The Magajin Dodo always wears
a goat-skin slung across his back. He is naturally an object
of much awe to the women folk, who endeavour to propitiate
him with frequent gifts of ' gia,' so that the venerable gentleman
is often to be encountered in a hopelessly drunken condition.
It is to him that husbands appeal when their wives turn
refractory, and a visit from the dreaded ' Dodo ' invariably
produces the desired effect. When the Magaji visits a disobedient
wife, he is always accompanied by one of his four subordinates,
called Magadda in Kagoma. The visit is prearranged and
the husband plays the part of a willing accomplice in the ensuing
farce.

' The approaching visit of the ' Dodo ' is announced to
the husband by a messenger sent on in front for that purpose.
The husband professes to be very frightened and advises his
wives to fly and hide in the nearest refuge. (This is so that they
shall not be far away when wanted.) On the arrival of the ' Dodo '
the erring wife is sent for. Should she refuse to come, the
' Dodo ' approaches her hiding-place, and addresses his
warning ; the uncouth sounds made on the gourd being solemnly
translated to her by the subordinate who acts as interpreter
throughout. A warning is generally sufficient, but should the
wife transgress again the ' Dodo ' will order her to be beaten.

' To further impress these simple and credulous women with
his powers, the Magajin Dodo will sit outside his house and carry
on a conversation with the ' Dodo ' who is inside. This is
done, of course, by hiding a man inside the house who makes
the necessary sounds on the gourd."*

There is no limit to the number of wives that may be kept,
and the first takes precedence over the rest. They are not allowed
to eat meat, or much salt, lest they should become fat and therefore
unprolific.

On the day that a woman gives birth to a child both she
and it are bathed in cold water. Two days later the family-head,
i.e., the eldest male member of the family, names the child,
of whichever sex it be, except in the case of twins, who are named
two months after birth by the oldest man in the village. On

* Mr. H. F. Mathews.

TRIBES. 185

the day that they begin to walk their father invites the whole
village to a beer orgy.

The ceremonies that take place upon death are identical
with those practised by the Jaba. A Kagoma widow, however,
only mourns for one month and can marry again in the second.
Under no circumstances can a woman inherit.

They believe that a departed spirit can return to earth as
a shooting star and re-enter upon a fresh sphere of human
existence.

Sons inherit the whole property, but the younger brother
of the deceased has the first choice of the widows. Failing
sons, brothers inherit.

They believe in an all-powerful god.

KAGORO.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. H. F. Mathews. Major Tremearne.

The Kagoro have a population approaching some 8,500
in number and occupy an area of about no square miles in the
Jemaa Division, on the northern and western faces of a ridge
of mountains, known as Kagoro, which runs from Bauchi into
Nassarawa.

Most of the towns are built at the foot of these hills, where
the land is very fertile and large crops of corn, principally maiwa,
which is almost exclusively used for drink, and beans are raised.
The beans are the property of the women and are grown on
trellises, like vines, and form the principal food of the people.
Manure from fowls, and goat-dung and ashes are used. Cattle
are not kept and there are no markets.

In old days the Kagoro lived underground and went to their
farms through underground tunnels, owing, they say, to the
place being over-run with wild beasts. The villages are now
surrounded with high cactus hedges, which grow to a height
of from twelve to fifteen feet. In most cases each compound
and each field is encircled by one of these. At the entrance the
hedges overlap on the principle of a swivel-ring for keys. The
walls of the huts are of mud and the roofs of thatch, which latter
are renewed every year after the harvest. Each woman has
her own house, which is accessible through one, or sometimes
two, doors, two and a half to three feet in height. The entrance
commonly leads into a low narrow verandah, but sometimes
straight into a sort of hall which runs along the whole width
of the house, and is used for storing pots, etc. A feature of
the doorways is that each one is double and in between each is

186 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

a hollow groove where a mat or shield might be fixed. Within
the hall is a bigger apartment, with a mud shelf over the inner
doorway, and with a low wooden bed of palm fronds or bamboo
on either side — one for the wife, the other for her family. The
inner walls are only some three or four feet high and are either
made of red mud or mud blackened with charcoal. Sticks or
horns are stuck in them as pegs and the women use low wooden
stools. Another double doorway leads to an inner chamber,
which is much higher and contains a mud granary on little legs.
There is a circular passage way round this, which is sometimes
ceilinged and above which is an attic. The granary is always
to the south and the roof is supported by bamboo poles; an
egg or bottle is commonly put at the apex for luck. From the
outside the huts appear to be round in shape, with the addition
of the low oblong verandah roof. The floors, and sometimes
the whole compound, are trampled hard, and bits of shard or
even cowries are added for ornament. Outside the entrance
palm logs, some six feet in length, are let into the ground perpen-
dicularly, and are used as palaver centres.

The Kagoro are small in stature, the men slim and well built,
the women ungainly. As a race they are debased by excessive
drinking. Their heads are somewhat conical in shape, as infants'
heads are massaged to prevent their becoming broad, like those
of load-carriers whom they despise.

Women have their heads shaved from the time they are six
years old, and at the age of seven or eight their lips are pierced
for the reception of small wooden plugs about one inch in diameter
and three-quarters of an inch in depth. These are, however, not
universally worn. Young girls wear a loose girdle of native
string, which is exchanged for a bunch of leaves in front and
a thick stem of plaited palm fibre with a broad base behind,
hung from two strings. This is a symbol of marriage, though
very old women may discard it in favour of leaves. Widows
are obliged to exchange it for leaves during the period of mourning,
which lasts from ten to sixty days, when they must also allow
their hair to grow and plaster their bodies with red earth and
grease.

Beads and horse-hair are made into necklaces, beads and
beans into finger- rings. Open brass bracelets and ear-rings
of blue glass beads, string or sticks, are worn by both sexes,
the latter only in a man's left ear. Old women sometimes wear
an iron band round the calf of the leg, while men wear light
iron chains round their necks and waists, especially when they
are courting.

Both sexes smear their bodies with red earth, and for feasts
men habitually coat their legs with it to the knee, while women
add a black stripe an inch wide from forehead to navel, and some-
times an additional narrow line on both sides. These lines may

TRIBES. 187

be divided into three, but otherwise there is no variation. The
pigment used is from the unripe kernel of the gaude (Gardenia
thumbergia}. The face is, moreover, ornamented with beads,
tin or coloured earth. They seldom wash, if ever. Men wear
triangular tanned leather loin-coverings, or a skin which hangs
from one shoulder to the back of the knee, the front legs being
tied together loosely so that its owner may easily shift it to
protect the exposed side of his body. This is usually made
of goat-skin on which the hair is left. Hats made of plaited
palm- fibres are also frequently worn. A cape made of palm
leaves is used by both sexes as a protection against rain. None
but Chiefs under Government wear cloth, and these have Haussa
tobes.

Youths generally shave their heads, except for a broad ridge
of hair from the forehead to the nape of the neck. No shaving
is done during harvest time, but at other seasons the men from
time to time shave off their moustaches, but usually wear a
beard.

The tribal marks are the same lor both sexes and are inflicted
at certain epochs in their lives — the boys have their foreheads
scanned when they are able to hoe. A girl has her chest and
back marked on reaching marriageable age, and her forehead
when she goes to her husband. In old days the marks consisted
of irregular cuts on the forehead only, but two generations ago
a skilful Katab operator invented a pattern which has been
adopted by Kagoro, Attaka, Moroa arid Kajii, as well as by
his own people. It consists of numerous short perpendicular
cuts along the forehead from ear to ear, and thirteen or more
long slanting lines on each cheek from ear to chin. The incisions
are painted with soot.

The customs of the above-mentioned neighbouring tribes
have many points of similarity, and the language of the Kagoro
is similar to that of the Attakka and Moroa, and resembles that
of the Katab and Kajji. Haussa is spoken by a few individuals
only.

It has been suggested that, in common with the Attakka,
the Kagoro own Bauchi as their country of origin, that a long
while ago they migrated to Nimbia — in South Nassarawa — and
thence to their present location. In matters of dress, tribal
marks, architecture, customs and language they show, however,
obvious affinity to the Katab and Kajji tribes in the north-west,
who trace their migrations from the north.

They have always retained their independence, though
they suffered defeats at the hands of the Kajji and from the
Filane, of Jemaa. They would, however, probably have been
conquered by the latter had not a Filane mallam foreseen in
a drearn that whoever should subjugate them would die.

i88 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The Kagoro are fine warriors and from boyhood upwards
practise games of war, throwing stones, taking cover, wrestling,
scouting, etc. Before the commencement of a war a general
is appointed, and if they have entered into alliance with others
the originating tribe takes command. Scouts are used and a
reserve is kept, and if they are driven out from a town they
smash the hives so that the bees may settle on the invaders.

Boulders are rolled down from the hills, slings and stones,
knives, wooden clubs and bows and arrows are all used in warfare.
These latter have iron heads with flanges, and the shafts are
so notched that each warrior cart recognise his own arrow. It
is said that they did not know the use of bows and arrows before
their migration, and that they only learnt to use arrow-poison
from the Attakka at the end of the nineteenth century. Stockades
are unknown. Round hide and fibre shields are used for defensive
purposes.

When about to enter upon a treaty of peace each party
constructs a broom of grass, similar to that used for lighting
fires, so that the foe may be exposed if treachery at night is
contemplated. The principals then advance to the boundary,
each bringing with him a he-goat, the throat of which is cut and
the blood smeared on a certain tree or stone, over which three
incantations have already been uttered. The heads and skins
are set aside for the benefit of the respective high-priests, and
the rest of the meat is divided lengthwise, one half of each goat
being eaten by the opposing forces, who are seated at some
distance from one another. They then separate, each party
being accompanied by three hostages, whose persons are regarded
as sacred.

The elders of the tribe selected as Chief one of their royal blood,
subject to the British Resident's approval, that is to say since
1905, when the first British expedition marched against them.
Prior to the British occupation they had once appealed to the
Sarkin Jemaa as an impartial authority to settle a dispute con-
cerning the appointment of their Chief, but with that exception
conducted their own affairs through councils of heads of families,
who composed the courts and advised the Chief. Until the
beginning of the nineteenth century they had no Chief, but
at that time the Kaje inflicted a severe defeat upon them and
exacted an annual tribute of two slaves. The elders each gave
a child from his family in rotation, until a man named Gundong
said that if he were made Chief he would provide the tribute.
He then struck a cotton tree, from which a young man and maiden
magically issued, and he founded the dynasty of Kagoro Kings.
It is related that the tree withered on the day of his death.

However that may be, the Kaje did not long receive their
tribute, but every year subjected the defaulters to a slave raid.
From, this time the Kagoro themselves took to slave-raiding

TRIBES. 189

and head-hunting, and no man of the tribe is fully accredited
until he has taken a human head; that of a monkey, hartebeeste,
or one or two kinds of bok are accepted as a substitute.

Slaves were treated as members of the family, whether
they were captured in war or given for four years service in
payment of a debt. The former only were liable to be sold.
The average prices given were, for an old woman, 8,000 cowries
= 45. ; for an old man, 10,000 cowries = 55. ; for a virgin,
16,000 cowries = 8s. ; for a young man, 20,000 cowries = ios.,
prices which compare unfavourably with those which horses
would command, i.e., 100,000 cowries = 503., or even bulls,
20,000 cowries = ios.

It is the duty of the elders to settle boundaries, but an
interloper is only punished, divinely, by failure of crops. Private
quarrels are settled by vendetta, and the only crimes for which
communal punishment is meted out are those against religion.
These are punished by stoning to death — black magic by choking.
The high priest, or ' Meakwap," is in fact more powerful
than the Chief, and it is he who regulates and administers trial
by ordeal. It takes the form of a calabash of poison ; the innocent
vomits and is saved, the guilty dies.

The ordinary form of oath is for a man to hold ashes, or
corn, in his hand, and pray either that if he lies he may become
as white as the ashes, or be killed by the next corn he eats. They
say that in old times they were not so wicked, and observed many
laws.

The Kagoro have no theory as to the origin of man, but
they have heard of a great flood.

They believe that all souls survive and become ghosts, but
that they may be reborn in the body of a descendant, male or
female, when they live once more as ordinary mortals. The
ghosts are thought to inhabit the sacred groves and hills, that
they have no houses, but retain their voice and appearance,
and ride, hunt, and fight as of old. They are always hungry
and thirsty, and their descendants offer them food and drink,
for neglect would be followed by punishment. They are con-
stantly consulted, particularly about war and hunting, by the
elders, who spend three days in the sacred grove, when quantities
of gia is drunk.

They are also propitiated when a compound is built on fresh
ground. The father of the family first chooses the site and places
stones where the granaries are to be, the blood of a fowl is then
spilt and leaves of the 'nok " tree (for luck), are buried on
the chosen spot. The big men come and gia is poured over the
site three times, and three incantations are made to invoke the
aid of the ancestors^ and of those dead who might be buried in
the vicinity. A drinking bout follows. Likewise when land
is first farmed an offering of gia is made and when the corn is

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

ripening a fowl is sacrificed and its blood, together with the
leaves of the ' Karran-Kwoi " and " tongwa," is put in a
hole in the centre of the farm.

The spirits are subject to Gwaza, the supreme and beneficent
god who helps the living against evil ghosts. In drought the
people pray to him for rain, facing first to the south, and then
to the other points of the compass. The priests kill a fowl and
place its blood, with a few of its feathers, on a stone two feet
high in the sacred grove (at times some of its flesh is added),
gia is then thrown three times on each corner of the stone and
three incantations are spoken. Gwaza is believed to consume
the offering and the petition is always granted.

When the new moon rises the people pray to Gwaza for health
and luck, and rejoice, but on this occasion no beer is drunk.
They believe that the sun is a ball of fire, which falls into the
water at night and becomes extinguished, but that it travels
back to the east at night, at a higher level, and gets fresh fire
from the supreme god. If a tree or house is set on fire by lightning
the people must put out their old fires and kindle them afresh
from this heavenly source.

The Kagoro believe that there is a stream dividing life from
death, and that when a man falls sick his soul leaves his body
and journeys to this stream, where the spirits of the dead, who
are assembled on the further shore, decide whether he may
cross the bridge. Sometimes the decision is so long delayed that
the spirit shrinks, and when it returns to the body has lost its
full command. A first husband and wife will always come to
the brink of the stream to greet the other, and both parents will
come to welcome an unmarried child.

The soul leaves the body during sleep, as is proved both by
dreams and by the fact that a person suddenly awakened has
not full command of his faculties, which shows that the soul
has not had time to return to the body. It is possible that the
wandering soul may be caught and beaten, or its bowels or
liver taken to a magic cave in the grove by the souls of evil
men, who devour it. These evil souls glow like fire, which light
is visible to the priests alone. When summoned to the injured
man the priest calls out several names and the afflicted recognises
that of his tormentor, who is summoned and shut into a room
where a fire is burning, on which pepper is thrown, and there he
is left until he promises restitution. If he fails to keep his promise
he is sold as a slave, or choked.

No inanimate object has a soul, but the souls of animals may
be born into the children of their slayer — it is doubtful, however,
whether they can leave the living body.

Women and children are not allowed near the sacred groves,
nor may they speak of spirits under penalty of death.

TRIBES. 191

When they are about ten years old boys are initiated in
these mysteries. They are first shaved, greased and beaten,
and are then taken to the sacred grove, but they may not yet
drink with the men. They leave the grove and dance all night,
and dancing and drinking goes on for another seven days, when
they return to their houses, but they may not speak to a woman
till another seven days have elapsed.

They do not marry until they are sixteen or eighteen years
of age, their brides being three or four years younger. The
procedure is for the suitor to give the girl's father from four
to ten thousand cowries when he proposes. If he is accepted he
adds one hoe, one goat, one dog and the flesh of another goat
to the gift — an average example which varies according to the
wealth of the contracting parties. Beer is prepared by his people,
and taken on the wedding day to the bride's house, where drinking
goes on for from one to ten days. On the first day the mother
takes her daughter to the young man's house for a brief visit, ard
receives a complimentary present of 2,000 cowries or a hoe — later
he comes to her house — and on the second day he takes his
wife to his own house where she remains. There is intermarriage
between certain tribes, i.e., the Attakka, Moroa, Kaje and Katab,
but a Kagoro man will prefer a maiden of his own or of the Attakka
tribe, because the others refuse to clear grass for the farms.
A virgin may only marry during the wet season, after the seed
has been sown. At the end of the millet farming she puts on
her married woman's costume and her husband celebrates the
occasion by killing a dog and eating its head, liver, entrails and
legs, while he gives the neck to those that helped him in courtship,
and the remainder to his father-in-law. The blood of slaughtered
beasts is always eaten, cooked with fat. If the wife is considered
satisfactory her husband gives her mother another present. A
girl has the right of refusal and can obtain a divorce, subject
to her father's consent, for he retains the legal power to persuade
her to go back to her husband, to leave him, or to marry her
to someone else. He also has the right of possession over her
children, unless her husband redeems them by payment of three
goats each. This practice has been put down by the British
Government.

Children are suckled for two or three years. Boys are named
by their father and are circumcised, a very old custom. If
a child proves unsound before it is about four years old, or some-
times later, it is thought to be a snake and may be thrown into
water. Twins are considered very lucky.

A man's first wife has authority over subsequent wives and
may even beat them, a right so fully recognised that, if these
latter forget themselves so far as to retaliate, their parents give
her beer. The women all eat together, helping themselves with
their right hands, for men alone are allowed the use of spoons.

192 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Guinea-fowl and francolin are not eaten, nor may women eat
dogs or fowls, though these restrictions do not apply to old
women. Rats, mice, and bats are made into soup and eaten
with the ashes of guinea-corn or millet, which is sometimes used
in place of salt. The favourite drink besides gia is honey and
millet, and palm wine.

The pith of wild paw-paw is used to heal wounds, and a
hot iron is applied to an aching tooth to make it come out easily.
No amputations are performed.

When a death occurs women wail and horns are blown. The
corpse is wrapped in a new mat of plaited palm leaves, and men
carry it to the grave amid shouting, blowing and drumming,
while the women and children remain indoors. The Chief Priest
wishes the spirit of the dead and the bereaved family well, and
the body is lowered into a grave shaped like a prayer-board,
either close to the porch of the house if the dead had had children,
or outside under the shelter of the wall.

Males are laid on their right, females on their left, sides,
with faces towards the sacred grove. Sticks are placed over
the mouth of the grave and are plastered with clay. Branches
of shea and lunn trees are intertwined and placed on the grave,
and a pole bearing the family skulls is set up. A goat, or in
the case of a poor man a fowl, is killed, and the flesh divided
amongst the relatives, whose presence is required. In old days
on the death of a big man, people were killed at the funeral that
their spirits might accompany his. The skulls were left on the
grave till the flesh was gone, when they were added to the family
trophies.

After seven days the bereaved relatives make beer, and four
days later a pot of it is brought to the grave, on which fresh shea
and lunn branches are laid, and the most important elder present
pours some over the grave, saying mystic words the while,
three several times. A goat or fowl is again killed and the blood
poured over the branches. The flesh is cooked and eaten, and the
beer drunk by the men, who sit round in a circle. The remainder
of the beer is consumed in the sacred grove, the women and
children drinking in their own houses, while a perpetual sound
of horns and drumming is maintained.

On the occasion of the first harvest after a burial, gia and
acha flour and water ar^ poured over the grave and another
drinking festival held. Subsequently if anyone dreams of the
dead beer must be similarly obtained.

A grown-up man inherits his father's house, and such wives
as his father's brothers may not care to take. In the event of
the sons being children the deceased's eldest brother manages
the property for them.

TRIBES. 193

KAIBI.

The Kaibi inhabit the western part of the Guri Smbu hills,
in the Sarkin Kauru District, southern division of Zaria Province,
together with their neighbours the Rishua, Ruruma, and Rumaya
(Dan Galadima District) , each of whom speak their own language
or dialect.

They are all pagans, but a few of the Rumaya have become
converts to Islam.

They were first administered in 1907 and are described as
backward peoples.

The only notes concerning them refer to the Kaibi.

Betrothals are made when the principals are children. It
is customary for the girl to sow corn and rice and carry them
when harvested to her suitor.

The marriage is celebrated when the couple have attained
puberty.

A man accused of murder was conducted to the tsafi place
outside the town, and asked whether he could swear his innocence
by the great god Kashiri, on an arrow, in the following terms.
' I swear by Kashiri that this is the truth. If I lie may this
arrow kill me. When I shoot may the arrow turn backwards
from my bow and pierce my body and kill me."

KAJE.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. D. Cator. Mr. H. F. Mathews.

Capt. J. M. Fremantle. Major Tremearne.
Mr. Y. Kirkpatrick. Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Kaje or Kajji, occupy an area of some 166 square miles
in the Jemaa Emirate of Nassarawa Province, where they number
some 6,000, men being in preponderance over women, and the
Maaji District of Zaria Emirate, where, together with the Jaba,
they number some 2,000.

They have a tradition that they once lived on a big river,
and that they took part in a general migration from West to
East, though Zaria is mentioned vaguely as their place of origin.

They show affinity to the Katab, Kagoro, Moroa and Attakka
tribes, though at one time they conducted successful warfare
against the Kagoro. Those still living in Zaria Province state
that many groups broke off from the main body.

Though they are closely allied to and irftermarry with the
Attakka their languages are distinct. They all speak Haussa.

194 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Their first acquaintance with the Filane was when some
settlers of that race came to their country at Kachicharri and
paid certain irregular tribute of cattle to the Kaje.

At the outbreak of the Jihad, however, they were invaded
by the Filane who came and settled near Mount Daroro. The
Kaje decided to wipe them all out, but the plot was betrayed
by the Filane concubine of Sarkin Indema and her compatriots
escaped. She, herself, suffered condign punishment, being
thrown into a hole which was filled up with stones and she was
thus buried alive.

When the Filane settled at Jemaa in the same neighbourhood,
the Kaje again tried to turn them out, circ. 1812 A.D., but were
ultimately defeated — some of them fled into Zaria Province,
and the main body to Sanga, south-east of Jemaa.

The Kaje were situated on both sides of the Zaria-Nassarawa
boundary when the Filane Emir of Zaria, Abdul Karimi, circ.
1835 A.D., sent a force against them at their principal town
of Kurmin Bi, to exact tribute. An arrangement was come to,
but circ. 1849 Mohman Sani, then Emir of Zaria, led a punitive
expedition against them and told the southern section to follow
the Sarkin Jemaa, since which time they have had no recognised
tribal Chief. In 1858 they were again recalcitrant and
Audu, Emir of Zaria, finally broke them. Since 1870 the Jemaa
Kaje have been ruled, nominally at least, by Jekada from Jemaa,
and in 1912 they were induced to acknowledge the practical
suzerainty of the Sarkin Jemaa and accepted, as district head,
Liman Umoru, a Filane of Jemaa.

In old days each village was governed by a council of elders
and an hereditary village Chief. This office was, however,
usually vacated after a few years, the Chief nominating the
most capable member of his family to be his successor and himself
retiring to a seat on the council. An office bearer called Tagama
(Magajin Mutua) judged all disputes and apportioned farm-lands,
to which the occupant and his heirs had exclusive right so
long as the land was cultivated. It was not uncommon, however,
for the occupant to lease his land, practically as a matter of
goodwill, for he only received a pot of beer, which lease was
terminable by either party after the dawa harvest ; no woman
might hold land.

There was a regular system of punishment of crime, but
there were only three legal offences : Theft from a storehouse,
murder and adultery. The two latter were alike punishable by
death or by banishment.

A thief's family paid a horse to the village head, who was
the judge in all judicial affairs.

A murderer was expelled from the village for two years;
he was sent first to Kurmin Bi, thence to Sakwot, thence to
Fadan Kagoma, where he worked on the Kagoma farms. He

TRIBES. 195

was then allowed to return to his village on giving an expiatory
feast to the Elders, but might neither eat nor drink with other
men for the rest of his life.

In a case of adultery the injured man could demand the
death of both the guilty parties, otherwise they were banished
for life, being treated as dogs and fed with scraps out of broken
vessels until they were drummed out of the place by old women.
Oath was taken by jumping forwards and backwards over
a sword, an arrow, a skull, and the leaf of the male shea-butter
tree,

Inheritance was to the male heirs in the following order :
Sons, brothers, nephews, grand-children — failing these to the
Chief. It was, however, common for a man to give his property
away in his life-time, when he became a pensioner to the recipient.
A brother or son inherited the deceased's widows, but with
that exception a man might not marry the widow of any member
of his clan.

In appearance the Kaje is slim and of fair physique, he is
well built, but his extreme drunkenness has left a mark on the
skull formation.

The men wear a short gown or leather loin-cloth and the
youths plait their hair and ornament it with beads. The women
shave their heads and wear a leather string round the waist
to which is attached a wide cone with a wooden base. That
of a Chief's daughter is bound with copper wire and the base
is adorned with beads — the poorer women bind it with bamboo.
When working on their farms this is discarded and the married
women each morning pluck a wisp of vetch, some two feet long,
and tuck it under the waist-belt leaving six inches hanging in
front, while the long end is pulled back between the thighs so
that it sticks out like a tail. Girls wear a small apron of cowrie
shells. In Zaria the women wear wooden plugs in their upper
and lower lips.

They are excellent farmers and breeders of livestock. They
manure the ground with dung from goats and fowls, and ashes.
They are keen hunters (possessing a few horses), and are expert
highway robbers, but they respect any property left on the road
if a leaf of the male shea-butter tree has been placed upon it.

Their arms are the bow and arrow.

They live in compounds surrounded by high cactus hedges.
The house and granary is in one, the former being entered through
a low narrow verandah, which leads into a sort of hall, where
pots are stored, and which runs along the whole width of the house.
Within this is a bigger sleeping apartment, and within again
a circular passage sometimes roofed with an attic above, enclosing
the corn-bin. Between each room is a double doorway two
and a half to three feet in height, in the grooves of which a mat
or shield could be placed. The houses are of mud and the roofs

196 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

are thatched, sloping up at the back to an angle of forty-five
degrees. A house is not re-occupied after the death either of
its owner or of his wife.

The family system is patriarchal, and the head of a house
has absolute jurisdiction over it? members.

They worship their ancestors and observe various fetish.
The chief priest lives at Kurmin Bi, and the second one to him
at Bunkua, but each group shares a common place of worship.
Muhammadanism is penetrating amongst them. They are
head-hunters.

A girl is betrothed at the age of seven, when the suitor gives
her father three chickens and is. Later on he again gives a
hoe, a goat and ios.; and on the wedding day, when she is about
ten years old, pays a final contribution of four chickens.

A bag of cowries and two hoes are also an ordinary dower.

A form of capture of the bride is sometimes gone through,
but the girl cannot be detained against her will, and the groom
returns to give her father the customary presents. Ordinarily
her parents take the bride to the groom's house, where
he cuts up a goat and distributes its flesh amongst his guests,
who then retire. The bride is not allowed the right of refusal,
but no steps are taken against her if she leaves her husband.
The man to whom she goes pays a further dowry to her parents.
Marriage can be terminated on the repayment of all moneys given.
Consanguinity is an absolute bar. If a woman has already had
a child, one horse is the price paid for her. Her first three
children belong to her father, but can be redeemed by their
own father for a bag of cowries and two goats each. Children
are an acknowledged currency, a child of four years old does
not command more than one goat.

A mother and her new-born child are washed in cold water
on the day of its birth. On the fourth day the mother takes
her infant outside the house, where it is named in the presence
of the women of the household. The father names a boy, the
mother a girl, but the elders of the village perform that function
in the case of twins. They assemble for the purpose on the
seventh day and partake of a feast, for which the father provides
a goat and beer.

When a death occurs, women wail and horns are blown. The
corpse is wrapped in a new mat of plaited palm-leaves and men
carry it to the grave amid shouting, blowing and drumming,
while the women and children remain indoors. The chief priest
wishes the spirit of the dead and the bereaved family well , and
the body is lowered into a grave shaped like a prayer board,
either close to the porch of the house if the deceased had had
children, otherwise outside under the shelter of the wall. The
corpse is laid on its back, a man's face being turned towards the

TRIBES. 197

east, a woman's towards the west. A round stone covers the
cavity. Goats and fowls are sacrificed on the death of a male.

They believe that the souls of the dead can enter the womb
of a living woman and be re-born.

The Kaje are great dancers. Some of their dances are very
intricate, the performers forming inner and outer circles, taking
three steps forward and one step back, some wheeling to the
right, others to the left, others crawling beneath the arms of
the rest and threading their way in and out. The musicians
stand within the inner circle. The instruments consist of drums
and antelope horns with a side embouchure. These horns are
some two or three feet long and are joined on to gourds eight
to twelve inches in length. The band performs solos and concerted
music. The older women dance singly, often carrying their
babes, but the younger women and men catch hold of each
other in rows of four. These festivities often end in a free fight.

KAKANDA.

AUTHORITIES :
Capt. F. Byng-Hall. Capt. H. L. Norton-Traill.

The Kakanda are located along the River Niger, from
Bassa Province (where they are sometimes called Akanda, the
initial " K " being dropped), as far north as Budon in the Agbaja
Division of Kabba Province, where they number some 1,793,
and across the river in the Lapai Emirate, Niger Province, where
they number some 4,500. There are also a few (about 41)
in Nassarawa.

It has been claimed that they are of Nupe stock and speak
a dialect of Nupe, but other authorities state that they are
totally distinct and speak a different language.

The Nupe say, however, that they have always lived together.

The Kakanda of Kabba state that they broke off from the
main body of their tribe * owing to a dispute as to succession,
very early in the nineteenth century, that under the leader-
ship of Iskapa and his brothers they left their tribal lands in the
neighbourhood of Abinsi, then under the Jukon of Wukari, and
travelled down the River Benue, and up the Niger to the
neighbourhood of Budon, which town was founded by Iskapa
after he had first paid a visit of ceremony to his relative, the
Ata of Ida, under whose suzerainty he settled. The Chiefs of
Budonf continued to pay tribute to Ida until the country was

* Possibly the Afo.

t All Kakanda were originally under Budon.

198 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

conquered by Masaba of Nupe, about which time the Kakanda
of Gori and Karege, and probably of Lapai, broke off from
Budon, each paying independent tribute to Bida.

The Kakanda tribal marks are identical with those of the
Afo, consisting originally of two deep cuts on each side of the
face from the temples to the corners of the mouth, and more
recently of two cuts from the bridge of the nose to the cheeks,
the side marks having been abandoned.

The Kakanda in Lapai are, and have always been, a trading
people and no fighters, but elsewhere they are a riverain people,
whose speciality is fishing and canoeing.

It is recorded from Bassa Province that the majority are
pagans, using images in their worship, and being possessed by
a profound belief in witchcraft.

Muhammadanism is, however, rapidly spreading amongst
them.

In Lapai likewise they were originally pagans, but have
mostly adopted the Muhammadan religion.

Men and women alike wear a single cloth, which the latter
wrap round them, whilst the former throw one end over the
shoulder.

Bows and poisoned arrows are the tribal weapons.

They are administered by a Kanawa Sarki, who was intro-
duced by the British Government.

KALERI.

The Kaleri are pagans inhabiting the Bukuru District
Bauchi Province. They have a population of 7,000.

KAMBERRI.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. H. F. Backwell. Mr. J. C. O. Clarke.

Mr. G. C. Gerahty. Major W. Hamilton-Browne.

The Kamberri spread over Kontagora Province from Koton-
koro in the east to the banks of the Niger River, and northwards
to Lafagu on the southern boundary of Sokoto Province.

In the Sakaba Division there are some 2,646. A small number
have settled in Muri Emirate, and (276) in the Lafia Emirate
of Nassarawa Province. ,

The term Kambari (Kam = man ; Kambari = a Berber)
is frequently applied : (a) to persons of Berber origin born in
the west ; (b) to persons coming from any country formerly

TRIBES. 199

under the domination of Bornu (thus the Yoruba speak of all
northerners as Gambari) ; (c) to those wearing tribal marks
peculiar to Bornu and known as berri-berri.

Hence a confusion arises between off-shoots of the pagan tribe
of Kamberri (themselves possibly of Bornu origin, they are said
to be related to the Atsifawa or Sef), and the Beri-beri proper.
Thus the Kamberin beri-beri in Sokoto Province (Gummi, Zokwa
town in Gando Division, Sokoto town, etc.), are entirely different
from the Kamberri. Their ancestors came from Bornu and
were inhabitants of Marabu prior to its conquest by the Sarkin
Katsina na Yamma in the beginning of the nineteenth century.
They abandoned their tribal customs for those of the Katsina
Habe.

There are 350 ' Kambarawa " notified from the Bauchi
Emirate, pagans inhabiting the plains, who according
to the Alkalin Gombe, are the same tribe as the Kamberri—
another section of whom is to be found between Womba and
Jemaa in Yola Province and are Haussa speaking.

It seems probable that they were formerly slaves of Rabeh.

They are pagans and observe their principal festival on the
occasion of the harvest, when a black he-goat, two white
chickens, a red cock, and a brown hen are taken to the top of
Dutchin Marabou, where they are killed and eaten. On the
following Friday the people assemble in the town and kill a
goat, the flesh of which they eat, and then bury the bones,
together with those of the previous sacrifice which have been
piled together in readiness, beneath a certain big stone.

They have no religious observance for birth, marriage or
death.

Their tribal marks consist either of sixteen to seventeen
thin lines in five rows one beneath the other on the left cheek
and in six rows on the right ; or in five rows consisting on the
left cheek of eleven lines by the mouth with two more rows of
eleven above that, and fourteen and fifteen respectively above
them; and on the right cheek twelve lines by the mouth, above
which is a row of eleven, then thirteen, twelve and eleven, and
in addition one line down the centre of the forehead to between
the eyebrows.

There is also a mention of ' Kambarawan Borgu " in Kon-
tagora itself, whose origin is said to be Kanuri. Whether or
not they are connected with the Kamberri is unknown.

It is probable that the Kamberri are descendants of the
Atsifawa and Katsinawa tribes and they still preserve a close
connection with the Katsinawa.

A section of these people came to Bussa about 1800 A.D., and,
though said to be Kanuri by origin, appear to be closely allied
with the Bussawa. They are pagans.

20O NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The Lopawa are closely allied to the Kamberri in Bi
They are pagans and farmers.

It is suggested that the Kamberri come from the highlands
between the south of Zaria and north of the Niger Province, from the
same neighbourhood as the Bassa and Kamuku, while another
version has it that they came from the Katsina country. The
two theories are not incompatible, for the Kamuku themselves
came from the state of Katsina. They are akin to the Dukawa.

The tribal marks give little guidance, as they vary considerably
and are now very generally abandoned by the men. Amongst
some Kamberri they consist of three cuts on the cheeks, on the
upper arm and on the forearm and breast, whilst from the Ngaski
District one of the original forms is three faint lines arching
across the forehead, and eight lines on each side of the mouth;
these are worn alike by male and female, and the teeth are filed.

The Kamberri have a distinct language, which bears a re-
semblance in its numerals to that of the Dakkakarri, Atsifawa,
and Bangawa, though the higher numbers appear to be a corrup-
tion of Haussa. Haussa is universally known.

In common with the aforementioned tribes the people carry
loads on their shoulders rather than on their heads as is the more
usual practice in Northern Nigeria.

Also in common with the Bassa and Kamuku many
Kamberri worship the god ' Mai-gero," but here again the
practice is not invariable. Amongst the Kamberri of Ngaski
District each town has its peculiar god.

In Machupa town eleven gods are worshipped, of whom
" Shende " is the principal — " Makoshi Maishende " is the
priest. The shrine is a silk cotton tree standing in a clearing
amidst a dense, thorn-enclosed thicket, to which there is but
one narrow entrance. Here a feast is held annually after the
gero is cut, which is attended by both sexes, though the women
sit at some little distance from the shrine. Every family-head
brings a fowl and some gia. The priest holds the fowl's neck
between the first and second fingers of his left hand and prays
for general prosperity, particularly invoking the god's aid in
hunting and farming (as is done with every other god), if the
fowl flaps its wings it is taken as a sign that the prayer is heard
and its throat is then cut, and its flesh stewed and eaten by all
present. The gia is also drunk. Oath is not taken on Shendi
or any other god but one Karnburra.

" Kukweye " is also worshipped in Machupa. A feast, with
similar rites to those described above, is celebrated annually
by the priest Kagodde of Machupa just before the farming
operations commence.

The god Lata is worshipped, with the same ritual as above,
at an annual feast held when the guinea-corn begins to ripen.
The priest, " " Dadi of Machupa," intercedes for good crops,

TRIBES. 201

for success in hunting, and a numerous progeny. The shrine
is in a thorn-encircled clump of nettle trees (Celtis integrifolia) .

Kabeari is worshipped every March (the beginning of the
tornado season), when the priest, ' Maraiya," officiates. The
shrine is a silk cotton tree.

Kayakalua is worshipped in March in a thicket enclosing
nettle trees inside the walls of the town. ' Mawanni ' is his
priest.

The feast of Makuhum is celebrated annually in March
by his priest, ' Kagundarri," in a thorn-enclosed grove of
nettle trees.

Bashiku is also worshipped in March in a small house in
Machupa, the feast being celebrated by the priest Gajeri.

' Kako " and ' Magalla " have festivals in March, cele-
brated by their respective priests ' Umoru " and ' Kabori."
On these occasions the intercession of deceased relatives is in-
voked.

' Saipa " has a festival but once in every three years, which
is held in March, when the priest, " Chegbeddi," officiates.

' Kamburra " is the only god by whom oaths are sworn.
On these occasions a white cock and gia are brought to the priest,
' Mai- Kamburra," who kills and cooks the fowl and gives some
of the meat and gia to the swearer, who dies in a few days if
he has spoken a lie. Kamberri gather from all parts of Ngaski
District to Kamburra's shrine, which is a nettle tree at Kwanga
in Foke Island.

In addition to the above gods each compound has its own
tsafi, and the people unite to celebrate the various feasts of each
compound. The women are present, but sit apart, and both
sexes drink to excess.

The Kamberri believe in an after-life, where the good will
be rewarded and the wicked punished.* The spirits of the dead
all go to a place called ' Ukushi," and a woman will rejoin
her first husband in the spirit world.

They also believe in demons and witchcraft, and when a
death occurs sometimes attribute it to supernatural causes.
The body is then carried by the members of the bereaved family,
who believe that its feet will guide them to the door of the murderer.
When this is so, and the dead feet push open the door, the village
head confiscates the property and enslaves all the members
of the guilty family, with the exception of one son. Muham-
madanism is, however, fast penetrating.

The Kamberri were a powerful tribe until about 1840 A.D.,
when the Yauri, together with a Filane from Gando, conquered
them. It is doubtful how far they were a cohesive body before
this time, though the records of Ngaski (or Majinga) mention

* Compare Dukawa.

202 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

that it was in the reign of the sixteenth Chief that the Filane
Jihad spread to Kont agora. That Agwarra was the original
capital, but that a dispute arose as to the sarotaship and that,
with the aid of the Yauri, one section founded the town of Ngaski,
and thus these two cities became rival centres.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century a similar dispute
broke out in Yauri, which resulted in war between Machupa
and Ngaski, in which the Kamberri were involved and were thus
further weakened. When the fighting was nearly at an end,
Ibrahima, the present Sarkin Sudan, before his succession, joined
the conflict and captured the Kamberri of Machupa and neigh-
bourhood, selling them into slavery and thus depopulating
the country.

The Kamberri are a prolific race, of fine physique — the
men averaging some five feet nine inches in height, the women
five feet seven inches.

The men wear a skin or loin-cloth, except at dances when
grown men wear gowns and burnouses, and youths red cloth
over one shoulder and sword-cords over each shoulder, in addition
to small red loin-cloths. The women likewise wear loin-cloths,
though those in Arigidda wear nothing but a bunch of leaves.
Blue beads, or guinea-corn stalks dyed red, are worn through
the ears and nostrils, and a small white stone through the lower
lip. Both sexes put Kolle in their eyes and shave their heads,
though the latter fashion is dying out.

All events have dances connected with them, when the
women sing, in praise of the fair, warriors, hunters, or dancers
as is appropriate. Special instruments accompany each of
these — for instance a drum called tulu is beaten at the
' Ugunu " dance, which takes place two weeks before the
heavy farm work commences — usually in May.

A long horn is blown at the " Malungo " dance, which is
held after work on the gero farms is finished and before that
on the yams begins.

There is a youths' dance, " Masanga," or hoe dance, when
two different kinds of drum, the " kalango " and " gunga '
are beaten and an instrument called '" rawan garma." The
young men wear a cap with ostrich feathers, and many iron
leg-lets.

Another dance, the " Wasambiri," to the accompaniment
of the drum (kalango), is a sort of rag-time, and the ' Lekko "
is a wedding dance where the bride is carried about by young
men in jingling leg-lets, to the beat of the drum (tubu).

Another musical instrument is a whistle made out of guinea-
corn stalk.

At these dances, as indeed at all times, a great deal
of gia is drunk. The rich people also drink " bezo," a compound

TRIBES. 203

of rice and honey, and ' bami " made from the fermented
juice of the oil, fan .and ' tukurua " palms.

The Kamberri are diligent farmers, the principal crops raised
being guinea-corn, millet, maize, tubers, gwaza, some cassava
and rice, all of which belong to the men; the women grow beans
and yakua. Tobacco is raised, which is both smoked and inhaled.

They use well-carved stools and mud bedsteads, beneath
which fires are lighted. The tribe practise no craft; they have,
however, newly acquired the art of weaving, but not of dyeing.
They have considerable knowledge of medicine, probably gained
from their Gungawa and Borgawa neighbours. Cupping is
practised.

They play a game called " Kabula," which resembles hockey,
though there is no off-side. The fruit of the dum palm is used
as a ball.

They were hunters and warriors. When accoutred for war
the elders wore padded shirts, but the young men had no pro-
tection. The weapons consisted of knives, two kinds of battle-
axes, and bows and arrows. A stiff grass was used for the shafts
of the arrows, which were tippe.d with wrought iron and poisoned
with strophanthus, or with a solution of bark from the uduri
tree which is poured on to tuo that has already gone bad.

If a child was born with teeth, water was poured into its
mouth until it died. Ordinarily the mother, after the birth
of an infant, is given tuo to eat, soup made with the leaves
of the doka tree (Berlina acuminata) , cinders, meat and fish,
but no salt. On the fourth day the baby is shown to its relations,
and its grandfather on the male side names it — if its birth co-
incides with the feast of a god it is frequently called after him,
or if a girl after a market-place if she has been born at the time
a market was being held. After the naming the grandmother,
on the male side, shows the infant boy a miniature bow and
three arrows, praying that he may grow up to be a good hunter.
These, together with the sweepings from the birth-room, are
then carried to the cross- roads, and a feast is given to all the
relatives.

There is no circumcision.

When a youth falls in love he gets his' father to call on the
girl's parents, which he does in the early morning. If the match
is agreed to the engagement is announced, and the suitor comes
with his young friends to drink a pot of beer made by the girl's
mother, each one leaving some money at the bottom. This
rite is repeated every fortnight, 6d. or is. being given each time.
They also work on the prospective father-in-law's farms, if
only for one day in the year, throughout the time of the engage-
ment, which ordinarily lasts for from five to seven years. Each
young man in his turn receives the assistance of his fellows in
his courtship. If the match is broken off the money must be

204 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

returned. The girl may express her wish to break it off but she
has no right to do so ; on the other hand if after marriage she
leaves her husband she is not held to be disgraced, and he has
no claim on the dower.

When the wedding day comes the bride's parents provide
the household goods, the pots and pans, etc., and her trousseau,
which as has been seen mainly consists of ornaments. The
pair then live together for four days, during which time they
may eat and drink nothing but beer and sweetmeats (the usual
diet includes frogs, snakes, dogs, etc.) On the fourth day a
feast is given, and the bride, arrayed in all her finery, red being
the preponderating colour, is carried round the market-place
on the shoulders of her girl friends. The groom and his friends,
dressed in gowns and burnouses, meet there, and they all drink,
dance and merry-make all day. The bride is usually fourteen
or fifteen years old when the wedding takes place.

A widow passes to her husband's brothers according to
their seniority, but if they do not choose to marry her she may
return to her own people and marry whom she pleases. Her
own property, i.e., crops, passes on her death to her husband.
A man's property goes to his sons, to his father, brothers, uncles
on the male side, half-brothers, or intimate friends — each class
totally debarring that beneath it.

If the sons are children their father's eldest brother acts
as trustee and guardian.

Bodies are buried in the houses, with the head to the south
and the feet to the north — the grave is built over with sticks
from the bark cloth tree, to which is added ' bunu " —the
ground is then " debbe." A stone is let in and beer is poured
on the grave both on the day of burial and forty days
afterwards. The huts continue in use.

KAMU.

AUTHORITY : Mr. T. F. Carlyle.

The Kamu are an off-shoot of the Jukon of Pindika, who left
the Gwona (Gateri) neighbourhood and defeated the inhabitants
of Kamu, a town in the south-east of the Gombe Division of
Bauchi Province, adopting their language, which is distinct from
that of any other in the neighbourhood. They continued to
pay tribute to Pindika until the Filane overthrew the Jukon,
when the Kamu became independent.

Their tribal marks are identical with those of the Tera,*
i.e., one deep line from the centre of the forehead to the tip

* They are also worn by the Awok women.

TRIBES. 205

of the nose, three horizontal lines on the cheek, two diagonal
lines from the corner of the nose, and a quantity of lines from
the top of the head to the jaw-bone.

If three or four children of one mother die she will not allow
her next born to be marked, but, if it survives, the marking custom
is renewed on its successors.

There is a tribe of the name of " Kam," in the Lau Division
of Muri Province, who are also descended from the Jukon,
but probably the similarity of name is a coincidence — see Chamba,
page 80.

KAMUKU.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. J. F. Fitzpatrick. Major W. Hamilton-Browne.
Mr. C. K. Meek. Mr. G. L. Monk.

Mr. S. E. M. Stobart.

The Kamuku inhabit the western district of Kwongoma
in the Niger Province and the adjoining country of Kotonkoro,
an eastern district of Kontagora, where they number some 3,500.
In the former division there is a group of over 6,000 in the Makan-
gara Independent District, and others under the independent
Chief of Kusheriki. There is a further group at Tegina, and
another in the two western sub-districts of Birnin Gwari, num-
bering in all some 25,000 people. Kamkawa are notified from
Wushishi Emirate.

There is no tribal tradition as to their origin, but the inhabi-
tants of Kuki claim to have come from Zaria town, in times
prior to the Jihad, on account of a dispute as to succession.
The people of Kankangi, Tereboggo, Kunungaya, Kabango
and Kurishi on the other hand claim to have come from Kotoro-
koshi (Sokoto), and the natives of Kurigi from Kebbi, having
been driven south by the wars of Dan Mari in the time of Gobir
supremacy.

It is suggested that they came originally from the neighbour-
hood of Katsina, and it seems probable that they are one of the
original ' Haussa tribes." The Kamuku are on friendly
terms with the Maguzawa and with the men of Zaria. The
Kamuku of Kwongoma bear the Katsinawa tribal marks,
i.e., six to nine cuts on the cheek, reaching from ear to
chin.* In Kotonkoro, however, the number has been reduced
from four to six by some, while others have the same
marks as the Bassa, i.e., two short cuts on each temple

* Compare Gwari, p. 122.

206 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

and two long cuts reaching from the temples to the corners
the mouth. The Makangara have no tribal marks.

The later history of the Kamukus is clear enough. Those
of Makangara have always preserved a sturdy independence,
but the majority of the eastern Kamukus shared the fortunes
first (to some extent) of Kusheriki, and later of Birnin Gwari.
Prior to this they came, no doubt, under the sway of Kwiambana.
The south-eastern towns of Kuki, Dawaikin Bassa, and Kunun-
gaya followed Kusheriki until they were wrested from Kusheriki
by Ali of Birnin Gwari, in whose kingdom were already included
(since the days of Gwarin Waiki, 1800 A.D.) the majority of
the eastern Kamukus. In Ali's time (1838-1882) there was a
general revolt of the Kamukus from Birnin Gwari. With the
assistance of Kotonkoro, Kwiambana, and Zanfara, they were
able to resist the Sarkin Gwari for five or six years, but were
finally overcome by Same, Madawaikin Gwari, in the vicinity
of Bugai.

A new danger now threatened (1864), which was destined
to unite Kamukus and Gwaris. Nagwamachi had settled at
Kontagora and begun his annual slave raids into Kamuku country.
The process of devastation was continued by Ibrahim, the present
Emir of Kontagora. The Makangara and the men of Kuki
alone offered a successful resistance, but the rest of the Kamuku
tribe was decimated. After the sacking of Birnin Gwari by
Sarikin Sudan in 1895 the Kamuku carried their tribute annually
to Kontagora until Ibrahim himself came under the control
of the British.

The Kamuku show affinity to the Kamberri and Dukawa,
who probably originated from the same country.

There are two closely connected groups, the Kamuku, Ura
and Ngwoi, and the Baushi, Bassa, and Pongo. The Kamuku
and Baushi are probably the original languages of the two groups,
which have little connection with each other but that their
numerals are in common. Within the groups, though this may date
from the Katsina supremacy over Birnin Gwari, they can make
themselves understood by each other. The customs and beliefs
of the Ura and Ngwoi are identical with those of the Kamuku
tribe, and will not, therefore, be treated apart. Both are situated
in the Kwongoma Division, to which district the Ura claim
to be indigenous and to have been there long prior to the Kamuku.
The Ngwoi, in the Kagora neighbourhood, came south from
Zaria Province. The Haussa language is commonly known.

In appearance the Kamuku have light skins, long narrow
eyes and high cheek-bones. They keep their heads shaved
except for a ridge of hair down the centre of the scalp. They
are not a clean people, and go some five days without washing.

The men commonly wear a leather loin-cloth, or tasselled
leather apron and a goat-skin hung from the shoulder, or a

TRIBES. 207

cloth wrapped round the body and thrown over one shoulder.
They have straw hats with large crowns that fit the head, and
they carry a tasselled leather pouch over the left shoulder.
The old men have long light staves, those of the sarakuna being
forked at the top. The Muhammadan gown is gradually re-
placing the native dress. Women wear a single cloth round the
chest and under the arms, while girls wear the same beneath the
breast, and small children go naked.

They live in closely built compounds of round huts, and
have regular meeting places where the men smoke and chat
in the evenings. They are agriculturists in a small way. They
thresh their grain before storing it, but much of it is used for
beer, especially in the southern districts, where they are also
inveterate smokers.

The Makangara Kamuku live in the north-west of the Niger
Province on the Kontagora boundary. It is a mountainous
district and the towns are perched on almost inaccessible hills,
which are surrounded with two, and sometimes three, stone walls,
for purposes .of defence. All the hill-side is terraced and
utilised, for the Makangara are industrious farmers, but the
principal crops are raised in the plain lands, where, however,
there are no villages. These plain lands were (until recently
when they were included in the Niger Province) under Konta-
gora, and the Makangara farmer used to pay gaisua for the
land he farmed to Kontagora — though maintaining complete
independence. A river separates the hill and plain lands, and
the Makangara threw stone causeways across the stream to
overcome the difficulty of transit. These causeways are from
four to ten feet wide and some are V-shaped, with the apex
pointing down stream, while one or two upright pillars mark
their position at high water. These have existed since the middle
of the nineteenth century.

This area of seventy square miles is inhabited by a population
of 6,246, men preponderating over women. A possible explana-
tion is to be found in the fact that the women carry heavy
loads up the precipitous rocks and that they suffer many accidents.

Two theories are advanced as to the meaning of Makangara,

one that it was a nickname signifying, as it does in Haussa,

' undefeated," the other that it is a Kamuku expression for

' people who never leave towns." Whichever is correct, the

various clans who are known as Makangara are, for the most

part, of Kamuku stock, but they speak of themselves by the

name of their clan or village.

It seems probable that the oldest settlers were Achipawa,
members of which tribe still inhabit the vicinity of Sakaba in
Kontagora Province, though the people know of no connection
with each other.

208 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

In the central Makangara hills also Achipanchi is spol
and Achipanchi customs observed, though it is probable that
these early comers were followed by an influx of Kamuku. The
Kamuku language is, as remarked above, universally known.

The people inhabiting the Western hills claim to be indigenous
and belong to the Ureggi, Sangamuku and Oroggo clans, together
with one Unchinda village. Unlike most other natives it is
their custom to shake hands on meeting.* The Tochippo (Achi-
pawa) came from Kontagora, and the rest of the Unchinda
clan from the direction of Zaria. The Unchinda do not generally
intermarry with other sections and their customs differ somewhat.

The sections and clans in the Makangara District are as follows :
(i) Ugwama section, embracing Sangamuku and Unchinda
clans ; (2) Ureggi section, embracing Oroggo and Ureggi clans ;
(3) Kashira section, embracing Tochippo (Achipansa) and
Unchinda clans ; (4) Tunguna section containing Unchinda
clan.

As is the case with all Kamuku, each section, clan and village
has its head-man, who is supported by a council of elders without
whom he is powerless, the most important position being held
by the chief priests of the two principal religious cults. Rank
is practically confined to priests and to those who have dis-
tinguished themselves in war. The councils, however, are
rarely concerned in any legal case , for crimes and torts are generally
settled between the kin groups of the individuals concerned,
the kin group of the offender being responsible for his appearance.
Should they fail to come to an agreement trial by ordeal is resorted
to. The case is laid before the Ugwam Meunni (Sarkin Gwaska),
the official who regulates trial 'by ordeal, who receives a fee
of a he-goat and a white cock, and if the accused persists that
he is innocent they all repair to the Meunni house, where the
Ugwam sacrifices the cock. The challenger places his foot upon
it and invokes death upon himself if he has brought a lying
charge. The respondent swears his innocence and drinks a
poisoned draught, after which he runs about till he vomits,
or is dead within the hour. Whichever wins the test receives
all the belongings of the vanquished party, whose wives and
children are sold into slavery — almost always to non-Kamuku.
The only other case for which a Kamuku may be enslaved is
for debt. In the Birnin Gwari Districts this form of ordeal has
been abandoned for another. The accused has to cross ashes at the
threshold of the complainant's dandaki, i.e., Mai-girro shrine.
Were he to have a lie on his conscience, sickness would result.
Ordeal is also practised for cases of witchcraft. A witch is
almost invariably of the female sex, and, if she survives the
test, is always driven from the village.

* A coast habit.

TRIBES. 209

In Tegina and Koriga there is no system of ordeal.

One of the principal duties of the Council is to decide
on the day for locust-bean picking — this is settled at a meeting
of section head-men, who inform the village head-men, who
tell their communities. Should anyone pick the beans before
this general permission is granted he is fined sixteen sheep,
which are killed and eaten on the spot by the village Sarkuna.

The Makangara are orthodox Kamuku in their beliefs, and
practise the " Aseun " and ' Mahoga " cults. The Chief
priest of " Aseun " is the most important, he is called " Gulabe "
or " Sarkin Maigiron Aseun," and celebrates annually a
great religious feast, which lasts from three to seven days. He
represents a spirit in search of food, and the ceremonies consist
of feasting and drinking gia (native beer) , which must be brewed
by the men of the village on the previous day. Dancing, piping,
and singing accompany the celebration, but drums may not
be sounded. The " Gulabe " passes from village to village
and should a stranger or a woman meet him, a fine of sheep
or goats and a dog is imposed. These are killed and the flesh
mixed, cooked, and eaten at the Maigiro house by all the f casters.
Nothing must be left, or taken away. Before returning home,
each man must go to the bathing place and wash. An oath
taken on the Gulabe is regarded with great awe and is now
adopted in the Native Courts. It always includes the swallowing
of ashes. In Koriga oath is made on the spirit Maigiro. It
is administered in the temple when a fowl is sacrificed.

A somewhat similar festival is held annually by the chief
priest of the Mahoga cult, who is known as the " Gwaja " or
' Ugwam Mahog." Drums may be used at the Mahoga feast.
The Kamuku of Kotonkoro worship a minor spirit, ' Ilga,"*
to whom they pray for children, for health, and for success,
in hunting. His festival takes place when the guinea-corn is
three feet high, when the Chief Priest, accompanied by the
elders, makes sacrifice to him. On their return to the town,
feasting and drinking take place for two days, throughout
which time no one may leave the place.

In the Birnin Gwari Districts, besides Aseun and Maidawa,
' Karuma," the god of youth, courage and strength, is worshipped
by young men. They are his votaries and at the end of each
dry season they assemble beneath a big tree in the bush at the
base of which they pour gia and then run home, without looking
behind them under penalty of losing good fortune. They appoint
a leader in deeds of daring who is known as Sarkin Karuma.

There are lesser priests, who bear this same title of Ugwam
Mahog, who set spells, though the use of these is gradually
dying out. An applicant brings the Ugwam Mahog a fee of a

* Compare Dukawa.

210 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

he-goat, cock, and a small hoe. The animal is sacrificed at
night, and eaten by the priest, his friends, and the invoker, and
a recognised ritual is gone through. The applicant then returns
home, but takes care to pass the house of his enemy, which he
either points out to the spirits, or from the thatched roof of
which he draws a straw. He may not stop, speak, or look to
right or left till he is in his own home once more. If his enmity
is just misfortune attends his foe, but if not the evil recoils
upon himself. If the victim can persuade the offended party to
take him to the Ugwam Mahog, when a ceremony is gone through,
the curse may be removed, but a large present has to be given
first. These Bori include many superstitions, one of which
is practised by the women and results in a state of hypnotism
induced by drinking a certain medicine, and is helpful in disease.
It is attributed to the good offices of a number of spirits.

Another is the power of rain-making, which is attributed
to the town of Mazuba (Makangara.)

To foretell the future, peas are shaken up in a tortoise-shell
and then gathered into the right or left hand. They are counted
out and according as to whether an odd or even number remains
in the hand a mark is made in the ground. This process is repeated
eight times and a meaning come to according to the combination.
This appears a somewhat similar system to the ordinary sand
divination practised by the Mallams of Birnin Gwari.

Besides Aseun and Mahoga each individual has his own cult.
Each man has a small sacred hut outside, each woman a hut
inside, the compound. Horns and skulls of animals, a miniature
bow, arrow and axe made entirely of iron, a pot and a calabash
are his emblems. The tutelary spirits worshipped here are
known as Maidawa, and rheumatism, paralysis, and some forms
of madness are attributed to neglect of these. They punish
neglect, but otherwise bring good fortune. They are the spirits
of the dance. The blood of a cock, and dawa, are commonly
offered, together with a prayer which runs as follows: ' In
the name of our brethren that lie buried in the ground, by their
loving kindness, grant unto us health and prosperity. And
so do we bring you water to quench your thirst. May our wives
bring us children and may we go forth to farm. Grant us corn
in abundance through the graciousness of the Maigiro, may
they vouchsafe unto us happiness and may they drive far away
any mischief-making spirits, and bring only to our town those
that are well disposed." In Tegina alone there is no private
" Maidawa " cult.

Certain families in Koriga possess these personal hereditary
cults, which are distinct for males and for females, and that pass
only from eldest son to eldest son, and from eldest daughter
to eldest daughter. There is a special ' Maidawa " with its
own shrine for twins.

TRIBES. 211

It seems probable that there is some sort of ancestor worship,
for, on rare occasions and in reference to some particular trouble
or object, a sacrificial feast of a goat and a cock is held by the
sons to their dead father's spirit. This course usually follows
on the advice of the Ugwam Mahog, or on a warning dream
to some member of the household, a woman being the usual
recipient.

In certain villages crocodiles are tabu, in other places certain
individuals may not kill or eat leopards, others may not kill or
eat python — a food which is much appreciated by others of
the clan. Certain forms of lunacy are ascribed to having killed
the animal in which the sufferer's Maidawa was incarnated.
These "are always associated with the spirits of the dead. Night-
jar are tabu to all the inhabitants of Kushenki town, python
to all blacksmiths in that neighbourhood, leopard, bushcow,
etc., to other hamlets or ungwas. Certain inanimate objects
are regarded as sacred in different localities, though they vary
greatly; it is usually some tree or rock, and here sacrifices are
made. Both leopard and python are tabu in Koriga. The
sacred leopard of the town lives on a rocky hill behind the Sarki's
compound.

The Unchinda clan have a special cult in connection with
a hill named Dutsin Mainono, the upper half of which is shaped
like a woman. Men make annual sacrifice there at the beginning
of the rains. There is a legend that the women used to leave
their babies at the foot of the hill, while they fetched wood
and water, for they would always find them quiet and happy
on their return. One day a mother came back earlier than usual
and saw a crone playing with the children, but she herself was
seen and the old dame picked up her child and dashed it on the
rocks and killed it. If ever a child was left there after that date,
the same fate befel it.

In war the Kamuku fight mainly on the defensive. Their
aim is always to occupy the hill-tops and slopes of narrow valleys
where they lie in ambush.

Their weapons are bows and arrows, long-headed, narrow-
faced axes, and knives.

For hunting and fishing they use light single-barbed spears.
Each man hunts by himself, except for the cane-rat (Kusun
Keauro, or gebuji), Then they surround a fadama and fire
the grass, killing the game with spears or arrows.

The riverain Makangara practise three methods of fishing :—

(1) They drain shallow pools and catch the fish by hand.

(2) They block ordinary pools and shoot the fish with arrows,
spear them, or catch them in hand bag-nets.

(3) They poison deep pools, either with cactus (Kiaranna),
makuba, maigimfa (a giant purple vetch), or karia (Adinia
Bignonia specie) . Basket traps are often built into the dams .

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Other occupations practised are rough tanning, rope making,
basket and hat making, the smithying of arrowheads and thumb-
rings for bowmen, weaving, and the manufacture of pottery.
Till recently this was the only export and it is well done — big
water-pots and burial pots, and bowls for the long Kamuku
pipes are the specialities, and the township of Taberma is par-
ticularly famed for its pipe-bowls.

Amongst the Makangara marriage is by exchange, or, as
is now more usual, the suitor gives a bull and a cow to the parents
of the bride, and corn and cowries which are divided amongst
her family. The cowries are a recent innovation, for live-stock
used to be the only currency, and the dwarf hump-less short-horn
type of cattle which are owned by the Makangara are used
mainly as bride-price. They are not milked, nor are they killed
for meat. When the bride is to go to her suitor's house he kills
and cooks a goat whole to make a feast for her relatives, and
it must be consumed ere they separate.

A man may repudiate marriage, and if so the bull and cow
are returned to him. Amongst the Kirembwa group a woman
also may repudiate marriage, but another bull, cow, and a
number of sheep and goats have to be paid to the man, and
until this debt is paid off the woman may not marry again.
Wife-lending is practised, and a childless woman is frequently
lent to her husband's brother or son. It is a recognised custom
for a man to present the husband with a chicken, for sacrifice,
and to ask the loan of his wife — if he is of a certain status the
request may not be refused.

Amongst the Ngwoi and in Ushama (Tochippo clan) marriag
is also by exchange. There all the sons belong to the father,
all the girls to the mother, but the father has a right to redeem
his daughter in order to effect a marriage for himself.

In the Birnin Gwari Districts the suitor pleads his cau
for three days with his prospective father-in-law and, if successful,
he brings a present of guinea-corn and works on his father-in-law's
farm, when required, for some ten years. When the girl reaches
marriageable age her suitor brings a cow, bull, or sheep, and goat,
chickens and much guinea-corn. The girl has, however, the
right of refusal, in which case all his gifts are returned. No
divorce is permitted, but, if a couple are^ unhappy together
the husband may give his wife to his younger brother.

In Kotonkoro the custom is somewhat different. When
boy reaches wrestling age his father gives presents to the parents
of the selected bride, and if these are accepted the relations
are summoned and the presents divided between them. The
groom helps his father-in-law on his farm for seven years, during
which time he has his own hut in his father-in-law's compound,
with access to his bride. They remain with her people until
her first child can crawl. She then goes to her husband's house,

TRIBES. 213

which is made the occasion of a great feast to his people. In
the case of unfaithfulness before marriage the lover pays a fine.
Divorce can be procured, when all presents must be refunded.

In Kwongoma the suitor works on his prospective father-in-
law's farm, and when his six to eight-year-old fiancee reaches
marriageable age he gives a further present, of which firewood
usually forms a principal part. In Kusheriki it is usually three
cattle and three goats.

Divorce by repudiation is practised.

In Birnin Gwari, when the birth of a child is imminent,
the father goes out hunting and returns with an antelope or
buffalo, the hide of which is cleaned from its hair and boiled
to a jelly, which, three days after the birth, is eaten by the
assembled guests.

The child is suckled for three years, during which time the
mother lives apart from her husband.

In Kotonkoro if a child was born with teeth, water was poured
into its mouth till it died.

Circumcision is recognised and a ceremony, called ' Bugi-
amma," is held in connection with it, but at very irregular
intervals, for there was once a lapse of eighty years in its celebration.
The operation is now generally performed seven days after birth.

The Makangara have similar burial customs to the other
Kamuku. The body is placed in a sitting position inside a large
earthenware pot, which is covered by a smaller pot, inverted,
in the bowl of which a hole is pierced. These are sunk into
the ground on the tops, or on the slopes, of hills. This custom
is gradually giving place to diagonal burial. In some townships
a cock is killed and its blood sprinkled on the body, its flesh
being eaten afterwards by the mourners, at the bathing-place.

Amongst the Makangara an adult son inherits from his
father, receiving the wives (whom he marries) as well as the
goods. If he is a minor his father's brother becomes his guardian
and inherits in his stead, but on his uncle's death the property
passes to him. In certain cases the man whom his mother marries
acts as would an uncle, but he is always a relative of the dead
man. Where there are no sons a man's brother succeeds.
Amongst the Kamuku generally it is the practice for a man's
brother to succeed — failing brothers, sons. In Kotonkoro it all
goes to the family-head, who divides the private property between
the children, male and female. If there are no male relatives
the real estate lapses to the village head. Should the inheritor
be very young the widows may live with whom they please,
but, though they exercise this right, their offspring belongs
to the heir all the same.

The Makangara and Kamuku of Kwongoma practise blood-
brothership between whole villages, a tie which is inviolable
and is binding on succeeding generations. It is not confined

214 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

to the Kamuku alone, but they enter into it with the kindred
tribes of Bassa, Baushi, Ngwoi and Ura. The entire male popu-
lation of the villages concerned meet together, each bringing
a sheep and goat which are killed and cut up ; blood is then taken
from the forearm of a boy of each township and smeared upon
every piece of meat, which is then rubbed in ashes and given
to and eaten by the men of the other village. * It is followed by
a feast and drinking bout, which is repeated the following year
at the other village.

The Kamuku of Koriga do not practise blood-brotherhood,
but they went through some ceremony of shaving with the
people of Kwongoma which effected identical relations.

KANAKURU, or DERA and JERA.

AUTHORITIES :
Major F. Edgar. Mr. G. W. Webster,

' Kanakuru " is said to be nothing more than a nickname
given by the Haussa to the tribes of Dera and Jera, and was
derived from their ordinary salutation, ' Kanaku " —peace
to you. They did, however, at one time reside at a place called
Kanaku in the Shari District of what is now Gombe Emirate.
It has been so generally adopted that the customs of the tribes
may fitly be described under their joint heading.

Their origin is uncertain, but it is probable that they came
from North Gombe, and they claim to have been the original
possessors of what is now Gombe Emirate, and to be connected
with the ' Jeia " (Jere or Jarawa ?), of Bauchi Province.

Their language is connected with that of the Tera* and Waja,
and shows a certain kinship to Haussa.

The Dera Chief, Mijibauna, enjoys the rank of Arnado Shellen,
with jurisdiction, as district-head, over the Jera, Longuda,
and Yungur tribes.

Their present location is on the banks of the Gongola and
Hawal Rivers, with headquarters at Shillem to the west of
Yola Province.

The land is very fertile and produces a good yield of shea-nuts,
gum, and gutta. Farm lands are apportioned amongst the
people by the village Chiefs. It is also good for pasturage and
the Kitijen Filane graze large herds there, their position being
virtually that of serfs to the Kanakuru.

Horses are bred and are ridden bare-backed. In times of
war their riders carry spears, and don riding-boots that have

* The Tera were their neighbours at Kanaku.

TRIBES. 215

an extension above the knee to act as shield to the upper part
of the leg. Horsemen and footmen alike protect their bodies
with wrappings of cloth, and the latter carry leather shields.
Swords and bows and arrows are used as well as spears.

In times of peace the men wear a short gown, or leather
apron, reaching to the knee. The women wear a bunch of leaves,
or a loin-cloth which may be discarded altogether.

They live in tiny huts which are grouped in rows inside the
compounds.

Each wife has her own farm and grain store.

Girls are betrothed as children. A suitor gives his promised
bride a roll of cloth and a loin-cloth, which she wears once; and,
in the course of the engagement, twenty more cloths. When
the marriage-day comes he gives the priest at Shellen the beard
of a bull. He then throws two cloths into his bride's house and
brings her away, giving her one more loin-cloth.

The Chief may have five hundred wives, and many men
have thirty or forty.

They are a very moral race, despite the fact that they are
habitually drunk by 10 a.m., and very polite. Should one man
fail to salute another he is fined the equivalent value of io/-

Great wakes are celebrated, when dancing is carried on
for a week or ten days.

The principal deity of the Jera is " Buma," their first Chief,
who mysteriously vanished into space from a couch in the council
room. The Dera worship their ancestor Yangu, who, it is sug-
gested, may likewise have been ancestor to the Yungur tribe.
' Kurah," the chief priest, resides at Shellen.

It is possible that the Gaanda tribe (Lala group) are an
off-shoot of the Jera.

KANEMBU and their off-shoots the JETKOS, IYIAGUMI, TUBU

and IY10BBER.

AUTHORITY : Mr. P. A. Benton.

It is probable that the Kanembu were established in the
country of Kanem before the advent of the Kanuri in the
thirteenth century, and though of Hamitic origin were, therefore,
a different migration. In M. Tilho's book in a passage on the
Tubu, he describes how Tuba Lauel came from Hindustani
by Syria, Baghdad, Egypt, and Medina, to Mecca, together
with four thousand priests, and how he received tribute every-
where until he came to Mecca, to which he consequently laid
siege. He subsequently repented — hence his name " Tub "
repent — and retired to Yemen. Forty years later Muhamad
declared himself, and Tuba Lauel became his devout disciple.

216 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

One of his descendants went to the north and ultimately
Stamboul, another east to Kan em, where he made himself an
enormous kingdom. They fought with the Tuaregs and with
the So, by whom they were at first defeated, but ultimately
received their permission to settle peaceably amongst them.
They have not, however, spread westwards from the vicinage
of Lake Chad. They came into frequent collision with
the Wadaians, by whom they were gradually driven westwards,
and about a hundred years ago some of them were driven to
seek shelter on the islands of Lake Chad with the Buduma, an
offshoot of the Kanembu family, who had broken off from the
main body between the tenth and sixteenth centuries. These
Kanembu paid a tax of corn to each Guria Buduma householder
in exchange for their land.

Early in the nineteeenth century the Kanembu were brought
by Sheikh Laminu into Bornu proper, and from that time have
intermarried with the Kanuri, till they are now considered
to be of a common stock, and are reckoned as Kanuri for census
returns.

They maintain a brisk trade with the Buduma for natron.
They breed stock, fish, weave, dye and make pottery and grass
pots, etc.

The men wear ragged robes and caps, the women cloths.
The former shave and the latter wear their hair in a fringe of
tight plaits round the head.

The ordinary weapons are spears, bows and arrows, and
daggers, and occasionally swords are also used.

They are of the Muhammadan religion.

Succession is to the children, who divide the property equally
after the eldest son has first subtracted a tenth part of its value.

The consent of a girl has to be obtained before marriage is
consummated; the dower is from three goats or sheep upwards,
according to the wealth of the contracting parties.

The Kanembu .intermarry with the Kanuri, but not with
the Manga, who are still older inhabitants of the country. The
two principal clans are Sugurti and Kubei. The Shehu is a
member of the latter family.

1. The Buduma are descended from the Kanembu. Other
off-shoots are the

2. Jetkos, a Muhammadan people in the Geidam Division
of the Shehurite. They were Kanembu herdsmen who migrated
from the country east of Lake Chad.

3. The Tubu, who are also of the Muslim religion, who have
settled in the Shehurite in the Geidam Division.

4. The Magumi, who came from Yemen with the descendant
of Tuba Lauel, to whom they were subject.

5. The Mobber, who were probably serfs of the Tubu, whom
they followed from Yemen to Komadugu, where they remained,

TRIBES. 217

>

Bosso being their headquarters. Nachtigal writes that they
were of mixed Kanembu-Sos, or Kanembu-Bedde stock.

They now inhabit the banks of the Yo River and recognise
the Shehu of Bornu. They are a Muhammadan people and
number some 5,000. They fish, breed stock, and make ropes.

Their arms are spears, bows and arrows.

KANNA.

Kanna are notified from Gombe Emirate in Bauchi Province,
and from the Lau District of Muri Province.

KANTANA.

AUTHORITY : Major F. Edgar.

Kantana is situated in the Kanam District. It is closely
connected with superstitions, the site having been granted
by a mythical personage named Kundom, who came out of
a hole in the rocks, went to the top of the cliff and lit a fire.
Seeing the fire people came about him and found that he spoke
Jaranchi and had a tail. They besought and obtained his permission
to cut it off. His descendants became the Chiefs of Kundom
(a cave) , and the inhabitants swear by him up to the present
time. It is said that long ago four lads entered the cave and
found two old men therein smoking tobacco. These old men
chased them out and demanded gifts that the boys might con-
tinue to live happily. Two gave them their elder brothers and
two refused to give them anything. All four fell ill of small-pox,
and the two who had refused gifts died, as well as the two elder
brothers who had been mentioned. From that time the mouth
of the cave has been covered with a zana mat, and no native
will enter.

A kind of pepper was said to grow at the foot of the cliff,
and if any man tasted it his mouth was eaten away, but the
plant died out circ. 1895 a.d.

There is said to be a second entrance to this cave at Kantana.

The Kantana clan wear similar tribal markings to the Jarawa.

KANURI.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. P. A. Benton. Mr. H. Vischer.

In the opinion of Nachtigal the Kanuri are a mixed race
of Arab, Hamitic, Kanembu, Tubu, and indigenous negro tribes,

218 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

It was the opinion of Barth that the Kanuri were a distinct
race.

A Kamberi Beri-beri of Sokoto* says :—
' Sarki Ifrikasu first brought the Beri-beri people from the
land of Shem into the west. He built the city of Ifrikiyata.
Shamriru was one of the principal rulers. He was also known
as Samarkand. Sarki Tubau Lawal was also. one of their principal
rulers. H^ conquered the whole country.

' Sarki Tubau Ansadi was also one of their principal rulers.
His name properly was Asadu, and he was also known as
Abakariba. His was the greatest kingdom of them all. He
first decorated the Kaaba at Mecca with woven hangings. It
was in his reign that the people known as Kamberi Beri-beri
emigrated."

To quote from native information collected by the late Boyd
Alexander, j- ' the Kanuri are supposed to have come from
Yemen to Fezzan and then penetrated into the Sahara by way
of Shirhit.

" In the thirteenth century they founded the capital of their
Empire at Birni, the ruins of which are still extant, on the right
bank of the Yo River, and a two days' march to the east of
Geidam. When considering the distribution of the races in
Bornu at the present day, there seems to be no doubt that the
Birni dynasty spread over the western and southern portions
of Bornu, and to within five days of Kano, subjugating and
intermarrying with the following tribes ; Ghamerhgu, Mandara,
Kotoko, Marragi, Baliwa and Manga. All these tribes paid
tribute to the Kanuri. It is quite probable that the Manga were
the forerunners of the Kanuri race, and settled in the country
before those who founded Birni.

" Then in the country lying near the western shores of Lake
Chad we find several local races of a different element, who,
to my mind, mark the extreme western distribution of the
Kanembu race, with Kanem as the proper centre. They are
the Tubu (Yo River), Mobber (south bank Yo), Kurio, and
Kwoyam. According to native information which I have obtained
from true descendants of the Birni people, the above races were
in the land before the founding of the Birni capital, and there-'
fore are a separate element from the Kanuri. Besides, the
method of hair-dressing with the women of these races is entirely
different from that of the Kanuri, and consists in the hair being
trained in a long curtain-like fringe all round the head, identical
with the Kanembu method. Also we find that these races speak
Kanuri imperfectly.

* Collected by Mr. E. J. Arnett.

f " Boyd Alexander's Last Journey."

TRIBES. 219

" When the Fulani raid under Usman from the west attacked
Birni in the reign of the Kanuri King, Maiarri, the ancient capital
of the Kanuri, was sacked and destroyed with great bloodshed,
and the remnant of the inhabitants fled to Gashagar, where,
according to report, they stayed for seven days, afterwards
going south to Mongonnu, in the neighbourhood of which town
they made a settlement. At the same time the Kanembu Mallam,
Laminu, led a crusade from Kanern into Bornu against the
Fulani. For some time he sat down at Ngornu, but was eventually
driven from there, and, penetrating into Bornu, attacked the
Fulani and drove them out from Birni, just forty days after
the occupation of the capital by the latter. After this event
Laminu founded and built Kukawa. During his reign the
remnants of the Kanuri from Birni came under his protection,
and they built for themselves the town of Ghamberu, near
Kukawa, where they remained until it was broken by Rabeh.

" With the settling of Laminu at Kukawa the true Kanembu
element was introduced into Bornu, and except for intermarriage,
which took place between them and the Birni remnants, the
Kanembu must be looked upon as a separate element from
the original Kanuri."

The term Kanuri is colloquially applied both to Kanuri
offshoots proper and to Kanembu offshoots, which are all in-
cluded in the estimated population of 450,000 residing in Bornu
Province. The Kanuri have spread over most parts of the
protectorate, where the Haussa name, Beri-beri, is in common
use.*

There are some 28,000 in the Gombe Emirate, and 780 in
the Hill Districts of Bauchi Province.

They are distributed thoughout the province of Kano, with
the exception of the Emirates of Messau and Dambam.

There are 760 reported from the divisions of Nassarawa
and Keffi in Nassarawa Province.

They are scattered over Niger and Sokoto Provinces,
and are found in the Yola Emirate, as also in Ilorin town.

They are of the Tejani sect of Muhammadanism and observe
the Koranic law. As a race they are, however, superstitious
and have great dread of witchcraft and the evil eye.

A warrant to proceed had to be obtained in a civil action,
for the sum of one dollar (Maria Theresa). The currency con-
sisted of cowries, Maria Theresa dollars (recently declared illegal),
and English coinage. If the plaintiff could produce no witnesses,
the case was decided on the defendant's oath. Loan was recog-
nised, the usurer receiving interest at the rate of 20 per cent,
on three months and 40 per cent, for six months. Succession

* See Kamberri (Kam — man, Kambari — a Berber).

220 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

was by Koranic law, an illegitimate child having no rigl
inheritance.

A murderer was decapitated and a thief hung, but blood-
money amounting to 550 dollars was generally accepted — one
tenth of the sum going to the Shehu and Mallams of the Court.
If the guilty party were an Ajia or Katchella, a pot was attached
to his neck and he was thrown into the river at Gumsei (Margawa
District), by the Shehu's order.

A man committing adultery was awarded fifty lashes, a
woman was liable to be flogged and divorced, when she forfeited
all claim to her dower money. Rape was punished by flogging
and a fine, and marriage after seduction was enforced.

Complete freedom is allowed before marriage, which takes
place at an early age.

In the first place the suitor gets a friend to arrange the match
with the father of his elected bride, and a sum is agreed upon
as initial payment — perhaps ten dollars. The friend returns
again to arrange a dower which will be paid to the woman on
her husband's decease, or, in the event of his divorcing her, or
should she predecease him, half the sum agreed upon is paid
to her nearest relative. Immediately before the wedding the
suitor sends a present of three dollars to the bride, a gown to
her father, a small sum of money to her mother, and some present
to her sister. On the marriage-day his father-in-law sends him
a horse, ten gowns, a quantity of grain, cooked food, pots,
slaves, money and a cow to start the new establishment, these
being taken in procession to his house earlier in the day, the
bride following later, on horseback, completely covered. As
she reaches the threshold she clings to the gate-post, until the
groom makes her a gift ; in the compound she refuses to loosen
her cloak, and again to speak, until the groom has bought her
compliance; and he makes a final present of ten dollars. These
rites vary, of course, with the status of the parties concerned.

A religious ceremony is performed at the bride's house, in
presence of mutual friends.

Marital obligations are that the man must provide his wife
with a house, clothing, and food, and that the woman must
cook for him.

In the bigger towns there are a few rectangular mud houses,
with one or even two storeys, surrounded by mud walls. The
ordinary type is a round hut, of mud — sometimes covered with
grass — with steep grass roofs, in circular compounds enclosed
with zana matting.

The men wear tobes or burnouses, and in time of war, lifidi
(padded cotton), beneath their gowns, and a thick stuff helmet
with small plates of mail. Some chain armour was also worn.
Rabeh's soldiers wore a uniform of wide trousers, surmounted

TRIBES. 221

by a wide gown on which three shield-shaped pieces of coloured
cloth were sewn, and a fez. The ordinary arm is the spear.

The women wear cloths and do their hair in a number of
close plaits, which radiate from the crown outwards into thickly
frizzed ends. It is often powdered with cinnamon, which gives
it a brownish colour. They stain their teeth and put a coral
bead or stud of metal into one nostril.

The tribal marks are variously ten to twelve parallel lines
from the temples to the level of the mouth (Bauchi) ; seven lines on
the right cheek with six lines above ; ten lines on the left cheek
with ten lines above, and one zara (Sokoto).

Relationship is counted through both sexes, and the second-
name is usually that of the man's father, or of the woman's
mother.

Slaves were kept, and were habitually given land to farm
for their own profit by their masters, and they were permitted
to hire land and sell produce on their own account. On Fridays
and Sundays they could do as they pleased, but on other days
were obliged to work for their masters. Household slaves
ordinarily conducted trade arrangements on behalf of their
masters, and kept a considerable percentage of the profit on
sales for their own benefit.

The head-man acts as trustee for the unoccupied lands of
his district, and directs what bush may be cleared, for which
he receives a small present. The right of occupancy — subject
to certain conditions — passes to the heirs : first to the sons,
failing them to the father. It can be held by women.

When the first rains fall grass and wood are collected and
burnt on the farm, and the surface of the ground is lightly broken.
When the earth becomes moist the farmer sows his crops; millet
and guinea-corn are generally grown, and maize in the vicinity
of Lake Chad. Cotton, indigo, beniseed, beans and ground-nuts
are widely distributed. Towards the end of the rains masakwa
is planted on the black cotton soil — melons, tomatos and onions
are cultivated in irrigated gardens. When the rains finish the millet
and (in the dry season) masakwa are harvested and left to dry on the
ground. Later on they are threshed by the women in the fields
in wooden mortars. The grain is then stored in big holes that are
lined with corn-stalks and ashes against white ants, where it may
be kept for a period of two years or more. A little wheat and
barley is grown in December and Januar}'. Manure is little
used except in the irrigated gardens.

It is reported from Kano Province that the Kanuri, as farmers,
are far in advance of the Filane, but are inferior to the Haussawa.

In Yola Province they market garden a little, but are other-
wise employed as riders and middlemen to the salt and potash
trade. They collect scent from the pith of certain trees and from
lichen, but above all they are dyers, a trade which they practically

222 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

monopolise wherever they settle. They also excel as weave
Barth tells how gunpowder was made in the country, and the
blacksmiths even ventured on casting cannon. Locally made
cannon were captured at Gumel, and are now in the Kano
Residency.

The Kanuri play an athletic game somewhat resembling
hockey, called ' Dekkel," with crooked sticks and a dried
palm kernel as ball. Six men play on each side, one of whom
keeps ' back." The ball is teed in the centre of the ground
after each goal has been scored, and kicking or throwing is
not permitted. One side yells " Hit it to the north! " and the
other side screams " Back with it! " as their excitement rises.
There appear to be no other regulations.

This game is played in the vicinity of Kukawa, and the natives
claim it to be indigenous to the country, but a similar game is
played at Agadez, and it was probably introduced by Arab
traders.

KATAB.

The Katab are situated in the Kauru District in the south-
west of Zaria Emirate, where they occupy an area of some 200
square miles with a population of 5,000; they have also one
township over the border in Nassarawa province.

They are probably indigenous to their district. They show
a certain affinity to the Kagoro and kindred tribes, who have
adopted the Katab tribal marks, invented only two generations
ago by a skilful operator, which consist of numerous short
perpendicular cuts along the forehead from ear to ear and thirteen
or more long slanting lines on each cheek from ear to chin. The
incisions are painted with soot.

Their language, too, resembles that of the Kagoro, Kaje,
Attakka and Moroa, and their customs are similar.

The women wear a bunch of leaves in front, and a conical
shaped piece of bamboo, covered with string and decorated with
beads and brass behind. They place wooden plugs in their
upper and lower lips and shave their heads.

The Katab are good agriculturalists and breed a considerable
quantity of live-stock. They are great highwaymen and the
first drop of water that an infant drinks is stolen, that, he may
be thus early initiated in the craft.

They are a pagan people, with belief in sorcery. There is
a rock named Dutsin Kerrima in Nassarawa Province, which
they declare becomes luminous every Sunday and Friday night,
when white cattle are seen on the summit, herded by a white
Filane girl.

They are head-hunters and drink heavily.

TRIBES. 223

KATARAWA.

Katarawa are notified from the Godabawa District of Sokoto
Province.

KAURA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. D. Cator. Mr. H. F. Mathews.

The Kaura are situated in the Jemaa District of Nassarawa
Province.

They maintained their independence against the Filane,
but in 1912 agreed to acknowledge the Sarkin Jemaa as their
over-lord, though retaining their tribal Chief as district head-man.

By their language, dress and customs they show affinity
to the Attakka, Jaba, Kaje, Kagoma and Moroa.

KAUYAWA.

The Kauyawa are a small community of pagans inhabiting
the hills of North Bauchi Emirate.

KENGAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. R. McAllister.

The Kengawa are first heard of as inhabitants of the kingdom
of Illo* under " Agwasa,"f founder of that state. They were
originally part of an exodus of peoples from Badar in the neigh-
bourhood of Mecca, who had vainly opposed the coming of
the Prophet.*

After the downfall of Songhay many of them broke off and
became for a while independent, but they were conquered and
subdued by Kanta, Chief of the Kebbawa in the sixteenth century,
Illo alone retaining its independence until the Filane Emir of
Gando annexed it (circ. 1830 A.D.).

There are now 3,000 Kengawa in Gando Emirate, and 6,000
in Argungu, making a total of 9,000, exclusive of their offshoot,
the Shangawa.

It is not known how they came to be called Kengawa, for
in their language ' Kenga " means Chief.

* Vide History of Illo and Bussawa.
| Or " Wuru," see Bussawa, p. 74.

224 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The ' Kenga," or Chief, was always of the blood royal,
but was elected by the people from amongst the members of
the ruling family.

Crime was punished in the following way. A murderer
paid the equivalent of £12, an adulterer £3, whilst theft on
a large scale was punishable by death.

Muhammadanism and Muslim customs are rapidly penetrating
amongst the people, together with the use of the Haussa language,
but the majority are still pagans, their religion being a form
of animism. A spirit named :< Godakassa " is worshipped at
a baobab tree near Fingila, another, named ' Berkassa," has
a shrine on a hill near the town of Kengakoi ; whilst " Gworagwa,"
in the guise of a rock shaped like a man, is worshipped at a hill
north of Kamba. A belief in Bori-demons exists, and the
Chief of the Bori lives in a grove of bark-cloth trees on a hill
to the east of Fanna. All baobab and tamarind trees are sacred,
as also are very tall ant-heaps.

Special sacrifices are offered at the sowing of corn, when a
black bull and red cow or black goat, and a black fowl or a
red goat and a white fowl are decapitated, and the blood smeared
over the sacred spot.

These sacrifices are also made when a death occurs, the
flesh of the animals being eaten by the assembled relatives,
whilst the bones are buried with the corpse.

The dead are usually buried in a sitting position, with a
monkey's skin tied round their loins. The grave is in the house
or compound where death occurred, but if this should not be
in a man's own home a handful of earth from the grave is placed
in a calabash and ceremoniously carried to the house of the
deceased by the strongest man present.

Polygamy is practised. Women have a voice in the selection
of their husbands.

Boys are circumcised at the age of seven.

KERI-KERI.

AUTHORITIES :

Kano : Mr. C. N. Monsell.
Bornu : Mr. J. H. C. Elder.

The Keri-Keri are distributed over that region where Bornu,
Kano, and Bauchi Provinces meet.

It is probable that they are descendants of the Gamawa
tribe, for it is recorded that circ. 1580 A.D., some 1,000 Gamawa,
male and female, left Gaba, near Guddi, in the Fika District
(Bornu), journeying northwards and westwards, and spreading

TRIBES. 225

over the bush-lands, making their headquarters in the neighbour-
hood of Langoa. In connection with this it may here be stated
that on occasions of great importance they journey to Guddi,
their place of origin, to take the oath, or rather ordeal of the
Gamawa, administered by a descendant of the great magician,
' Jinja Gujeh," of earth from an Elder's grave, mixed with
water. It results in death to the guilty (Potiskum).

The ordinary oath is taken on the blacksmith's pincers,
the covenanter ending his assertion with these words, ' If I
do so, so may these catch me." The iron is then thrown to
the ground, or, when sacrifice has been made, into the blood
of the victim, which is slaughtered by the blacksmith.

They speak a dialect of Gamawa, though the majority,
in Kano Province at all events, speak Haussa also.

They are not a united people and now variously recognise
the overlordship of :—

(a) The Emir of Bauchi.

(b) The Emir of Gombe. Population 1,945 in Bauchi Province.

(c) Mai Idrisa of Fika, who rules over the Fika, Potiskum
and Keri-Keri Districts, a total area of some 1,300 square
miles, over which some 15,000 to 18,000 Keri-Keri are
spread, and

(d) The Emir of Katagum.

(e) The Emir of Dambam, under whom the Jellum Keri-Keri
were placed in 1905.

This section state that their first Chief, " Baoura" (signifying
" rat " in their language), lived in Shallawa and reigned over
twelve towns, but that after his death each town had its own
ruler, until, circ. 1810 A.D., Mallam Zaki of Bornu conquered
them and selected one amongst them to be their head-man.

They are a pagan people, and worship a good spirit named
' Degge," and an evil spirit named ' Fifilla " —this latter
lives in the bush. An annual festival is observed in the dry
season, when a trench is dug with sticks of the " dokora " tree
and a round hole therein is rilled in with the tops of ant-heaps,
with the blood of sacrificed animals and with taraunia sticks.
The old men sit round this hole and when it is filled in the}'
hear prophecies out of the ground, after which they take their
sticks, disperse, and return to the town by different routes, the day
ending in a carouse. They are heavy drinkers (pito), and say
they would lose their strength were they to give it up.

In Bauchi Province, however, they are more civilised. There
they live on the plains, in walled towns, but elsewhere their
villages are generally to be found on the tops of cliffs, as on
the Keri-Keri plateau. The huts are made of mud with steep
thatched roofs, each compound being surrounded by a fence
of zana mats. The youths of the tribe live in a quarter apart
from the rest of the inhabitants, in huts to which the entrance

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

is so small that few full-grown men can creep in or out. There
are large numbers of high mud granaries, raised from the ground,
into which the grain is poured from above. When the granary
is full a man climbs up and passes down calabashes full of the
corn, but as it becomes empty a hole is made in the floor, whence
it is allowed to drain out. Water is obtained from wells, which
are lined at the top with logs of !< mareki," only a small square
opening being left, and even on the tops of plateaus three hundred
feet high the supply seldom gives out.

Precautions are taken against attack. A trench is dug at the
base of the cliff, which is hidden by grass and leaves ; the face
of the hill is often so sheer that logs of wood are fitted into inters-
tices in the rock to assist in its passage in time of peace, which
logs are, of course, removed at the approach of danger; and
huge boulders are stored on the edge in readiness to hurl down upon
the approaching enemy.

The principal weapon is the bow and arrow, and short swords
are also used.

There is said to be a place of retreat in the vicinity of Gwaza
in Bornu, where there are supplies to support the whole population
of Jellum for three months together — the exact locality remaining
secret.

The farms are in the plains below. Before breaking fresh
bush a man sacrifices a cock and sprinkles blood upon the path.
The soil is for the most part poor, but large crops of maiwa are
grown in the Keri-Keri District. Considerable flocks of goats
and sheep are kept, and some horses, cattle, and donkeys.

They are not a trading people, though some few go westwards,
never eastwards, with that object.

They smelt, dye, and weave for local purposes.

Formerly the Keri-Keri wore no clothing, but when strangers
are in the vicinity the men now wear broad belts of highly orna-
mented and fringed leather, pointed at the back, round the loins.
The women don string girdles, to which square flaps of cloth are
attached both in front and behind.

The meat of dogs and bush-pigs is popular; kola nuts are
unknown as an article of diet.

On the birth of a child a cock is killed on the threshold of
the compound and laid with its head towards the south. The
elders assemble, step across it and name the infant — a boy is
always called after his grandfather. The following day a cock
is killed inside the compound and prayers are offered over it
for the baby's longevity and good fortune — red sand having
been rubbed over the body of the child. On the seventh day
the elders return a third time, with a strip of leather, with which
they bind the infant to its mother's back, and they all go to
the well. If the child is a girl the mother walks round it twice,
if a boy, three times. It is then taken, often though not always,

TRIBES. 227

to cross-roads, where a prayer is offered. On their return a feast
is held.

Before a youth is admitted to the status of manhood and
marriage he has to undergo an ordeal. In the Keri-Keri hills
the candidate is obliged to climb down a sheer face of cliff, the
test being preceded by a drinking bout.

A girl is seven or eight years old when the betrothal takes
place, and the suitor gives his prospective father-in-law five
calabashes of corn and one goat then, and every subsequent
year until the marriage is consummated.

A dower of five d'onkeys, five fowls and one sheep has to
be paid in addition — in former days an equivalent was given
in slaves.

On the marriage day women bring the bride to the groom's
compound, on the threshold of which beaten corn, water, and
the blood of a goat is sprinkled. Before she enters her new home
the older women address her on her wifely duties.

A corpse is washed, dressed in white and laid on a bed. On
the second day the friends and relations assemble, and if the
deceased was a cha-cha player all cha-cha players come and
play in his compound. On the third day dancers and musicians
come with a low-toned wind-instrument (Selah), a small drum
(Kanjo), and a big war drum (Gonga). They dance on the grave
itself, the burial ground being inside the town. The corpse is
lain on its side, facing east, with the head to the north. The
burial clothes and mementoes are placed in a deeper hole to
the east of the body, and a black goat is sacrificed and eaten.
One of the survivors makes a speech to the dead man, begging
him to say that it is no use coming for more people as they are
all dead already. If the deceased was a person of position the
men ride out to open country in the west in full war accoutrement.
A cow is sacrificed and divided amongst them, after which they
all gallop back to the dead man's compound, which they raze
to the ground (Dambam).

Property and widows pass to the deceased's brother, failing
him to his eldest son. Widows are sometimes permitted to
marry some other person, when the dower paid for them is
divided amongst the members of the compound.

KIBALLO, KINUKA, KITTIMI.

The Kiballo, Kinuka, and Kittimi tribes are situated in
the southern division of Zaria Province, in the central part
of the Guri-Srubu hills.

They are industrious farmers, but the soil is poor. They
keep some sheep and goats.

They were first administered in 1907.

28 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

They are pagans, but Muhammadanism is penetrating amon$
the Kiballo.

They were head-hunters, and preserved the skulls of their
enemies.

KIBYEN or BURUMAWA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. D. Cator. Major F. Edgar.

Mr. H. M. Frewen.

The Kibyen are a very large tribe who were probably at
one time united under a Chief at Bukuru, but who are now split
into many sections, including those known as Burumawa, Kibbo,
and Kibbun. Though scattered, they live at no great distance
from one another, being situated in the hill districts south-west
of Bauchi Province, north-west of Muri Province, and north-
east of Nassarawa Province.

In the Bukuru District of the Naraguta Division of Bauchi
the Kibyen or Burumawa have a population of some 47,610,
in the Kanam District they number some 9,494, and in the Bauchi
Division 4,325. Others again are to be found in the Wase District
of the Ibi Division of Muri. There are five villages known as
Kibyen, Kibbo, or Kibbun in the Karshi District of the Jemaa
Emirate in Nassarawa Province, with a total population of
679. Their head-man states that the settlement was founded
by his grandfather, who led a group of emigrants from a mountain
in Bauchi Province.

Nothing is known as to the origin of the tribe except that
the Burumawa originally came from Wukari, migrating thence
to Gwana. The Angas state that they found a race named
Kibyen in the Fier District, whom they drove out.

With the exception of those in Jemaa Emirate they have
maintained their independence.

The Kibyen resemble in many respects their neighbours and
cognates the Sura, Gannawarri and Ngell, being essentially
mounted spearmen rarely using the bow. They are radically
different to their other neighbours the Jarawa, Jengre, Rukuba
and Kwoll, though the latter are also mounted spearmen. In
fighting capacity, though very numerous, they are inferior
to all the tribes mentioned. They live in large agglomerations
of compounds, each surrounded by a thick cactus hedge, which
together form straggling towns often several miles in diameter.

They are industrious agriculturists, and keep small humpless
cattle. They are also keen sportsmen, and, mounted on small

TRIBES. 229

bare-backed ponies, form a large circle which is gradually con-
tracted till the game is driven inwards. Their only weapon
is the throwing spear.

The men are nude but for a small case of plaited grass, and
for grass or wooden leggings between the knee and ankle. The
women wear either a bunch of leaves or a fan-shaped plaited
ornament which hangs on the buttocks. Prior to marriage girls
wear leaves behind, but after marriage add a bunch in front
also. The majority however wear clothing now.

The Kibbo do not practise circumcision.

Four types of tribal marks are worn by the Burumawa of
Kan am.

(a) Four lines horizontally from each end of the mouth (or
three cuts of five lines each), four lines again from the extremity
of these drawn towards the ears, and four downwards, the three
sets of lines meeting and forming a shape like the capital letter Y.

(b) Lines in the shape of a ladder (i.e., "bille"), from the
bridge of the nose under the eyes on both sides.

(c) Ditto, straight down the centre of the forehead.

(d) Three sets of five lines each, radiating outwards from each
corner of the mouth.

In Kanam they appear to have intermixed with other races.
One town was originally founded by a Kanuri man, another by
a Wurkum man from Ligari, a third by a Yergum man, who
named the town Namaran after his tribal god, and here the old
men still wear Yergum tribal marks, but the younger generation
have Burum marks, as they despise the Yergum, who are, however,
still coming down from the hills and settling amongst them.
They practise the duo-decimal numerical system.*
Youths marry between the ages of sixteen and twenty, and
girls from thirteen to sixteen. The suitor first applies to the girl's
father for his consent, and, if he obtains it, to the mother. He
gives a dowry of hoes and goats to the value of 10,000 to 20,000
cowries (i.e., IDS. to 2os.), and works upon his father-in-law's
farm. A girl must submit to the arrangement, but a widow can
only be re-married with her own consent. She usually marries
her step-son, or half-brother, but may never marry her step-father.

The first wife is the head one, but each woman has her own
house.

There are no restrictions on the repudiation of a wife, and
a woman may divorce her husband for adultery or ill-treatment,
though the former is not considered of much account. Adul-
terers of both sexes are fined. In cases of seduction the male
only is fined. No stigma attaches to an unmarried girl who
bears a child, or to any child born out of wedlock. Tt belongs

* Compare Kwoll, Mada, Mama, Ninzam, Numana, Nungu.

230

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

to her father, unless it is the son of her suitor, who may claim
it if he has already paid the dowry.

Twins are not considered unlucky.

The Chief had the right to seize any woman, whether married
or unmarried.

All property is inherited by the sons, the eldest receiving
the larger share, together with the farm. He is responsible
for his father's debts, must pay sadaki for his younger brothers,
and act as guardian to any unmarried female children. Widows
receive nothing but a share of corn in the bins. A man may
make a will, but if he gives farm, house, or corn to strangers
they have to perform the burial rites, which his own family will
refuse to do.

The head of a house is buried in a cloth. After forty days
he is disinterred and the skull is placed inside an earthenware
pot in a house. All the male members of the house pray to it
continually, for neglect would be followed by misfortune, and
all oaths are taken on it. No woman may approach it.

Ancestor worship is the principal feature, but they practise
fetish and witchcraft. They believe in re-incarnation.

Cannibalism was not practised, or at all events was rare,
amongst the Kibyen, a remarkable fact seeing that their neigh-
bours and cognates, the Sura and Ngell, practised cannibalism
extensively.

Criminals and prisoners of war were enslaved, though the
latter were practically treated as sons. Slaves were also purchased.

The head-men of towns tried and punished criminal cases,
the trial always being held at the place of domicile of the offender.

KILBA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. Ackland.

Mr. S. H. P. Vereker.

Lieut.

Mr. G. W; Webster.

The Kilba are located in the north-east of Yola Province,
in a district (Kilba) 750 square miles in extent, through which
the main Yola-Maiduguri road passes, and of which Pella is
the central town. A few Haussa traders have settled there,
and there is one Filane settlement, otherwise the population of
16,923 (22.56 per square mile) is Kilba.

They are under the hereditary Chief of Hong, Arnado Guri,
a Filane, who has been district-head since 1913, and who is
responsible to the Emir of Yola. He is assisted by a Council.
The tribal Chief was elected by the chief priest of Hong from
the descendants of the founder of the clan " Dovi " or " Kovi,'

TRIBES. 231

the normal successor being chosen unless there was some reason
to judge him unfit. The sons and nephews of " Dovi " were
Chiefs of towns, and they and their descendants claimed immunity
from all authority, as likewise the right to take anything or
anybody they fancied from any village; consequently, as their
numbers increased until they formed one quarter of the whole
tribe, anarchy resulted. There are now two principal clans,
descendants of Dagua and Chiariya, sons of Dovi.

" Dovi," or " Kovi," is alike the ancestor and god of the
Marghi, who are of the same stock as the Kilba, speaking the
same language ; but they have lived apart for many generations and
do not intermarry, except as the result of a successful raid where
women have been captured. The Kilba are probably also allied
with the Hona, who are connected with the Bura and eastern
Lala tribes, and in bygone days they intermingled with the
adjacent hill-tribes of the Kamerun.

They claim to be indigenous to their present location, from
which they were never dislodged by the Filane, having at first
repelled the attacks of the Muslims by force, and then, by paying
a small tribute, secured immunity from attack.

Their townships are in strong positions on the tops, slopes,
or valleys of the hills, each one having in connection with it
some cave to which the population can withdraw in times of
stress. Each compound is in itself a bewildering maze, and
the confusion is added to by its often bearing two or three names.

The men are clothed in leather loin-cloths, or aprons, or
in short cloth gowns which are seldom, if ever, washed, and
a small knife is always worn at the waist. Women are commonly
nude except for a single string round the buttocks, from which
a bunch of leaves mav be suspended, either to the front or to
the back; or to which, in the case of widows (in mourning),
some small iron beads shaped like hooks are attached to the front
together with a tassel.

Both sexes have their limbs and bodies extensively tattooed
by means of a hot needle or knife; both wear iron and leather
bangles, and the young people of both sexes wear beads in their
hair, which is closely plaited, though some girls wear it as a
mop plastered over with red clay. Married women shave their
heads. They are a very drunken race, both sexes imbibing
beer freely, but they are of indomitable spirit and would rather
that the whole village should be destroyed than surrender any
individual to justice. They are armed with short swords of
soft iron, light barbed spears, and bows and poisoned arrows.

They carry shields of buffalo hide.

Highway robbery was a favourite pursuit, and hunting,
cattle-grazing, fanning, iron- working, and weaving and dyeing
for local use are the ordinary occupations.

232 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Sheep, goats, hill cattle (which are never milked), and
few horses, constitute the livestock of the country. Fowls are
deliberately caponised, which is the case in few other parts of
Nigeria.

The soil is poor, dry, and stony, and the water supply is
bad, despite the mountainous character of the region, where
the hills rise to a height of 3.300 feet.

It is on the tops of the hills that religious worship is carried
on, and particularly on the Hong and Pella rocks, where the
two chief priests reside. The evil spirit, ' Katu," is there
worshipped, prayer being made to him to avert sickness and
to grant a good rainfall. The principal annual festival is held
at the beginning of June, when the people assemble for several
days together to drink and dance. Both sexes are very heavy
drinkers. No sacrifice is ever made, but occasionally a hen
is offered in propitiation. Hong was burnt on the occupation
of the British, and the Kilba believe that "Katu" left his
habitation there at that time on account of the noise of the
rifle fire, and a large iron hook inside an earthenware pot on
the top of Hong Hill is now revered as his symbol. He still
frequents the inaccessible column of rock at Pella. His shrine
is everywhere represented by two earthenware pots, laid on
the ground with a clear space between them where 'Katu"
walks. Each pot contains some small Ju-ju.

Accused persons are brought here, together with their families,
to undergo trial by ordeal. A white calabash containing water
is passed over the pots, and herbs, gathered by the priests from
the neighbourhood of the shrines, added to it. The accused
and his whole family drink this concoction, and if he is guilty
death results.

Another form of ordeal* is undergone at the pool of Uba,
at the bottom of which a giant snake is said to reside, which
causes a swrirl in the water when it is disturbed, and where croco-
diles also live. The disputant has to swim across, and if he has
sworn truly he does so with ease, but a liar is caught in the current
and cannot move until he confesses his guilt, when it releases
him.

Each family or clan recognises some animal as its totem,
claiming that their ancestors, before they took human shape, were
descended from such animals, and that they themselves may
equally well be reborn in the guise of the ancestral beast as
in mortal form.

Each clan has its symbolic dances and rites, which are always
carried on at the time of burial, and generally begin as soon after
death as may be. Immediately after death the corpse is washed

* Ditto Hona, Marghi.

TRIBES. 233

with soap and is then laid out nude close to a fire that it may
be well smoked, sometimes in aromatic herbs, while an old
woman keeps off the flies. When the skin cracks with the heat
men peel it oft* and place it in a pot, which is buried anywhere.
A child is buried on the day of death, but a woman not for twenty-
four hours, nor a man for forty-eight hours, and in the latter case
the corpse is smeared with mud and onions in a not very successful
effort to retard decomposition. The body is robed in blue and
white gowns, sometimes in as many as four, to which, in the case
of a man, trousers are added. It is then laid out to view on
a mat that all the members of the family may come and see
it. The burial takes place at sunset, when the body is laid at
full length on its left side, facing west, with the left hand under
the head and the right hand straight along the side. The grave
is either shaped like a reversed T, i.e., JL, or may be in an ordinary
pit with a recess at one side. In the latter case the recess is
used to store weapons, food, tobacco, pipe, flint and tinder for
the benefit of the deceased, but this is by no means a universal
custom. The grave is dug by the village blacksmitn, but the
same one may be used over and over again. It usually has a
depth of from four feet to six feet and is in the compound, but
in some cases the burial ground is on the hill. When the grave
is filled in, care is taken that the earth does not touch the body.
A small mound is left to mark the place of burial.

The Arnado is buried on the day of his death in a sitting
position. Every village sends its representatives, each on a
different day, to dance over the place where he died. It is said
that no Kilba ever died away from his country, and that for
however many years he might be absent, food was put in readiness
for him in the expectation of his return.

No woman is present at a burial, but after the allotted period
of six months' mourning is over the widows receive alms of food,
grain, and goats, which they take to the grave. The goats are
sacrificed and some beer is drunk, whilst, the rest is poured over
the grave; the offerings are then taken away and eaten. That
concluding ceremony over the widows pass to their late husband's
heirs, or may regain the disposal of their persons by repayment
of their dowers to the estate.

The original marriage was one of free-will, for though a man
may approach a girl's parents before she is of marriageable
age it is unusual for hirn to do so, and the girl is not obliged to
ratify the contract. Generally he proposes to her direct, and
if she accepts him he goes to her parents, giving her mother
two goats and his bride two cloths and two goats, and with the
help of his friends he builds a hut and makes a farm for the
reception. When this is done he makes a feast and gives some

* Compare Vere

^ 34

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

zana mats and beer to the girl's father, and to her, four goats,
a head of salt and of tobacco, while she gives him her bracelets
to keep for her a? a mark of confidence. On the marriage day
he gives her parents six gowns each and meat, and takes his
wife to his home. A month later the couple visit her people,
presenting them with a goat, a chicken and a gown. When
the bride finds herself enceinte she takes a large present of
food to her mother, but returns to her husband's house until
she is delivered. For the first five days after the birth of her
child she eats one fowl, and on the sixth takes her baby to her
mother's compound, where she remains for three years. During
that time her husband keeps her supplied with meat, preferably
with bull's head, as that is thought to be the most strengthening
diet, and he is at liberty to take to himself another wife if he
so wills. When his first wife returns to him he gives her father
three or four gowns. The child is left with its grand-parents
until it is grown up, when it returns to its parents.

There is great rejoicing at the birth of twins. A barren woman
crawls four times through a small tunnel that is dug in the ground,
in the hope that by so doing she may become prolific.

Intercourse before marriage is not allowed, and adultery
is rare. It is punished by personal force.

Divorce may be settled by mutual arrangement between
the families, but can always be obtained on repayment of the
dowry.

Crime and torts are generally avenged by the aggrieved

person, or by his family. Thus a murderer's life is forfeit, or

the life of one of his family, so long as the victim's relatives are

strong enough to take it ; in the same way a thief may be forced

• to make good double the value of what he has taken.

Disputes are sometimes referred to the village Chief, or
to the Arnado, and in cases of debt the village Elders may
order payment, but compulsion is unknown.

A record of debt is kept by means of tallies of elephant grass,
one being added to the bundle by way of interest as the live-stock
increases.

Sales or loans are always negotiated in the presence of
witnesses.

KINKERA.

AUTHORITIES :
Captain H. L. Norton-Traill. Commander B. E. M. Waters.

The Kinkera inhabit the Ara hills in Nassarawa Emirate,
where they have a population of 1,235.

TRIBES. 235

They are the offspring of some hundred hunters from the
Katsina District, who intermarried with the Gade women of
that neighbourhood.

The original settlers spoke Haussa and bore similar tribal
marks to those worn by Katsinawa, Kebbawa and Gobirawa,
i.e., a number of lines from the temples terminating at the
corners of the mouth. The language has, however, now de-
generated to a bastard Gwandara, and tribal marks are no longer
worn.

KIRR.

AUTHORITY : Mr. H. S. W. Edwardes.

The Kirr are an independent tribe in Bauchi Division.
They have a population of 1670, occupying half a dozen
small villages ten miles south of Bauchi City.

KOFIAR.

The Kofiar inhabit the Ibi Division of Muri Province.

KOMAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. T. F. Carlyle.

The Komawa have a population of 1,270, 420 of whom are
situated in Bauchi Emirate and 850 in Gombe Emirate.

They speak a dialect of Tangale, but their origin is uncertain.

One report says that they came from Kanaku in the neigh-
bourhood of Shani (R. Hawal), together with some Filane kinsfolk,
some centuries ago, and they are, therefore, occasionally alluded
to as Kanakuru, together with the Dera and Jera tribes, to
whom the name is more generally applied. A Jukon head-man
says that they came from Kakali (whose inhabitants were probably
Tangale), near Awok. And the third version has it that they
are the original inhabitants of Kafaretti* (Kwom), near Gadam,
where the majority still live.

KOMBO.

The Kombo occupy a district on the right bank of the Gongola,
north of Waja, in Gombe Emirate, Bauchi Province.

* See Bolewa history p. 63, where it is mentioned that the Bolewa
settled at Kaiaretti and adopted Tangale, the speech of its inhabitants, with
whom they intermarried, but whom they knew as Rogdo.

236 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

KONA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Kona are an offshoot of the Jukon. Some 4,035 live
in a district of thei •- own name in the Lau Division of Muri
Province. Four or five generations ago a colony came thence
and settled in the Maio Belwa distiict of Yola Province ; they
acknowledged the suzerainty of the Batta. As the power of
the Filane ncreased their allegiance was transferred and they
are now in the Filane Emirate Division.*

They speak a dialect of Jukon, but it can barely be understood
by a Jukon from another country.

The Chief is elected by the votes of the whole tribe, but
he must be of the blood royal. He has considerable power and
may fine, imprison, or execute his people, but punishments
for certain crimes are laid down. A homicide, if he is caught
the same day, is shot or beheaded; but if he has escaped for
a whole night, his lands are forfeit, he has to pay damages, and
he is imprisoned for an indefinite period. If it was accidental
manslaughter, as at a hunt, the delinquent may be excused,
but carelessness is commonly considered criminal. Theft is
very rare and is severely punished. A thief is either buried
alive wp to the neck, or is stoned to death.

An adulterer is liable to the payment of damages, as also
to be imprisoned and flogged, if the woman was sixteen years
of age or over. Under that age it is no crime.

Civil disputes are carried to arbitration before the Chief,
who is assisted by a Council of Elders. In cases where there
are no witnesses, recourse may be had to trial by ordeal.

A debtor may be imprisoned, but his goods may not be
seized.

The Chief holds land in trust for his people, and must apportion
it to any tribesman who demands a holding, when the right
of occupancy henceforth belongs to him and his heirs, so long
as they remain in the district and observe the tribal laws. No
individual has the right to lend, let, or sell his right of occupancy.
When a man is about to incur a long absence he informs the
Chief, who holds the land in trust for him until his return, but
may allow anyone to farm it meanwhile. On his return the
former occupier, or his heir, pays a cloth (value is.) as com-
pensation for removal.

A stranger may be given a right of occupancy, but forfeits
all claim should he leave the country.

* It is from this Yola Colony that the following information has been
supplied .

TRIBES. 237

A ceremony of initiation takes place before a foreigner,
or boy, is admitted as full member to the tribe. Before the age
of puberty a boy is circumcised, after which he is taken on his
first hunting expedition and is then conducted by his father or
guardian to the feast that follows it. The ceremony is completed by
the sacrifice of a goat at the threshold of the temple, where its
blood is buried, the flesh being roasted and eaten. A haunch
of roan, hartebeeste, or kob and a pot of beer are given to the
officiating priest.

•It is the duty of every man to protect his fellow-tribesman
against the members of any other tribe.

Descent is reckoned through the mother.

Men and women belonging to the same section of a village,
or bearing the same name, may not intermarry. Similarity
of feature is also a bar, as it is attributed to the re-incarnation
of relatives.

A girl is betrothed from the time of her birth, the system
being by exchange from one family to another.

A family in this connection consists of parents and children,
brothers and sisters and their children. There is no dower, but
presents of goats, cloth and dried fish are exchanged.

A man who has got a wife may not exchange his sister,
daughter, or niece for another wife for himself until all the adult
members of his family are mated.

When the girl is eight years old she sleeps in her husband's
house, but lives with her own people until she is sixteen.

If a child is born to her by another man it belongs to her
lawful husband, but does not inherit, and works as a servant
until it is of marriageable age.

There is no divorce.

The first wife has authority over subsequent ones.

The dead are buried at once and a festival is held, to which
friends contribute corn from which the beer is made. Both
sexes assemble and sing and dance for six days; a beer-drinking
orgy concludes the festival. Widows return to their own families
and may be re-exchanged in marriage if they are willing.

Sons inherit from their fathers, and daughters from their
mothers, but in the event of their being minors the man's brothers
or the women's sisters hold the property in trust for their nephews
or nieces.

Heirs are responsible for debts.

The Kona believe that the spirits of the dead live a while
with the god, Nyaku, and then return to earth as meteorites,
which they worship ; some of them are re-incarnated. Stones
found inside animals are thought to contain the souls of ancestors,
who will impart much hunting skill to the finder, but it does
not deter them from eating the flesh of the animal.

238

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Two gods are worshipped, Nyaku and Pirakwoi, both of
whom once lived on earth as demi-gods, married, and gave birth
to the ancestor of the Jukon.

An hereditary high priest converses with the spirits and
proclaims their orders to the male populace, who wait outside
the temple, as none but the priest may enter it. Offerings of
goats, game, fowls and beer are frequently made, the priest
taking the heads and entrails, whilst the meat is divided between
the heads of families, and all drink the beer. The great annual
feast is held after the harvest is gathered, and there are smaller
celebrations after the first rains have fallen, and after a hunt;
but women, together with loose-talkers, are excluded from all
ceremonies. In addition to the tribal temple each house has
a small shrine : where almost daily libations are offered to the
spirits of the dead.

KORO.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. H. Cadman. Mr. A. Campbell-Irons.

Mr. T. W. P. Dyer. Mr. C. Migeod.

Mr. \V. Morgan. Captain S. C. Taylor.

Captain H. L. Norton-Trail t.

The Koro are distributed through Nassarawa and Niger
Provinces, stretching from Lafia Emirate, their south-easterly
point, where they number some 1,412, in a north-westerly
direction — through the Keffi Division — population 3,646 ; in
the Kagherko District (Zaria Province), where they number
some 4,744 ; (they were probably the original inhabitants of
that district. On its occupation by the Filane they were
nicknamed Kado-pagans, and though they have adopted the Haussa
language and abandoned their old customs to a large extent, are
still regarded as an inferior race) ; and the Abuja Emirate, popu-
lation 12,834 ', across the Gurara River to the Niger Province,
in the Paiko and Kuta Districts, where they number some
2,677. This gives a total population of over 25,000.

It is said that they were originally one of the ten largest
tribes in Northern Nigeria. The ruins of their ancient capital,
Jonkwil, show it to have been one-third the size of Kano city,
giving it an area of from three to four square miles. It was well
fortified, and is reported to have been very rich, but was deserted
in the first half of the nineteenth century. There is a theory
that Koro is a corruption of Kororofa, and that they are
therefore a remnant of that people, who at one time possessed
the lower and part of the middle section of Haussaland, who

TRIBES. 239

were connected with the Mandingoes, and whose origin was
from Sango in the east country south of Bornu.* However,
that may be the Koro are now divided into three sections, the
Zuba, N'ja, and Funtu. The two former are of much higher
type than the latter, and they all claim to have come Irom
Bornu, whence they were driven by the Kanuri. Their Gwari
neighbours acknowledge the Koro supremacy now as they d.d
in Bornu.

The Zuba were the first to come and settle at Chachi, the
guardian village to the sacred hill of Abuja. They were followed
at the end of the eighteenth century by another section of Koro,
Muhammadans, who were led by Mallam Isa to Zuba. The
N'ja are a still later immigration. The Koro seem to have recog-
nised the suzerainty of the Chief of whatever district they may
have settled in, who, generally speaking, was the Sarkin Zaria.
Therefore, at the time of the Filane invasion, the Koro of Keffi
continued their allegiance to the new Filane Emir of Zaria,
while those further west followed the deposed Haussa Sarkin
Zozo, who became Sarkin Abuja, to whom they paid a tribute
of slaves and gaisua. No Ajele or Jakada dwelt amongst them,
and their own Chiefs, who presided over the religious festivals,
had no authority with Koro outside their own district. The
Zuba and N'ja speak dialects of the same language and readily
understand each other; that of the Funtu is not so similar. The
use of Haussa is increasing.

The Koro are a light-coloured race, with fine-cut features,
small in stature and slight. Their physique is deteriorating,
a condition that may be due to the fact that for many years past
they have inoculated their children with syphilis.

Their tribal marks consist of two light cuts stretching from
the ear to the mouth, with three small lines above and below
them.

The men wear a small loin-cloth, and at certain festivals
blacken their bodies with cotton oil, on to which they paint white
streaks in herring-bone pattern.

The women and children wear nothing.

In more civilised districts however skins or cloths are worn
by both sexes.

Bows, barbed arrows with poisoned tips, and hatchets are
the tribal weapons.

Their habitations are usually hidden away in clearings made
amid dense forest, and are unfortified.

The Funtu build their huts close together and have no com-
pounds. In the Keffi Division the Koro were driven into the
hills, whence they have to come long distances to their farms.
They also dispense with compounds.

* Vide Jukon.

240 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

They excel as farmers, usually cultivating from two • and
a half to two and three quarter acres of land per head (adult
male). The land is allocated in the first place to the villagers
and the right of occupancy passes to the man's sons. The occupant
has an exclusive right to the fruits of all trees grown upon his
land, but the shea and locust trees n uncleared bush may be
gathered by anyone. Rotation of crops is practised. A large
proportion of he grain is used in brewing beer, as the Koro are
a drunken race. They are also g eat smokers.

Some among them are weavers and leather workers, and
in the Abuja Division they smelt iron from the end of April
till the middle of August, producing from £135 to £160 worth
of metal per annum; some of this is locally smithied. Others
of the Koro weave thread, or make rope, and a considerable
trade in palm-kernels is carried on.

They are hun smen and go out singly, armed with bows and
arrows, or collectively or organised drives. They .dig pits on
the game runs, six feet in depth, the sides s oping outwards
from top to bottom. A poisoned arrow is fixed in an upright
position at the bottom. Bamboo sticks, carefully covered
with light earth, are stretched across the mouth of the pit,
which they effectually conceal.

The Koro are a pagan tribe, amongst whom Muhammadanism
is now penetrating, but the converts, as for instance in Zuba
town, continue to observe man}' of their pagan customs.

Amongst the Zuba Koro ' Kaka-maiwa " (maize harvest),
is the principal festival, one in which women are not allowed
to participate. Both sexes unite in worshipping the god " Bodu-
Wagu." Human sacrifice was offered until recently at Arbuchi
and at Abuja rock.

The N'ja Koro men sacrifice to a god called "Kukwoo,"
but on y the priests are allowed to enter his temples. Both
sexes join in the ' Kaka-maiwa " festival.

The name of the Funtu Koro god is Nchupe, who is worshipped
by the men only, through inanimate objects. Festivals are
held in his honour, when sacrifice is made by the priests. The
general principle is to propitiate a powerful influence, which
if unfavourable would ruin the crops and make the women barren.
There is a tsafi outside every town, either a stick, stone, tree,
or, more commonly, three horns raised on a mound of earth
which is covered with rags. Oaths are taken on these emblems.
r In the Paiko Division it is described how a festival ends in
drinking, singing and dancing, when the men crawl one over
another on the ground like the windings of snakes.

Marriage outside the tribe is not permitted, but the restriction
is no longer enforced. First cousins may marry.

When a girl is betrothed the groom pays a first instalment
of his dowry, and works on his future father-in-law's farm,

TRIBES. 241

giving four hundred cowries at the sowing season, and again
at the harvest season for five years, when the wedding takes
place (Zuba and N'ja), or, if the girl refuses him, the value elf
the presents is returned. Amongst the Funtu a girl is usually
betrothed on her birth, when the groom cuts and presents to
her mother a certain grass (gamba), also a mat and a door-screen
for the infant. The first year he gives one bundle of guinea-corn,
one bundle of acha, and one bundle of tsintsia; the second
year he gives two bundles of each, increasing the number by
one bundle every year until a maximum of ten is reached, when
he starts with one over again. When his bride is of marriageable
age he pays three thousand cowries to her father and gives her
twelve strips of black cloth. She wears one of these on the
wedding day, when a ceremony of capture is gone through.

The first wife is the head one, and each wife has her own
hut. Not more than three wives are allowed to any one man,
except to the sons of Chiefs, who may have four each, and to the
Sarki himself, who is unlimited in number. After his first marriage
a man makes a farm for himself, but he must continue to work
for his father unless there are two sons at home to do so.

Divorce is not permitted unless for commanding cause, but
a woman is not punished for leaving her husband, though she
may not subsequently return to his village.

A child is suckled for three years, during which time the
mother lives apart from her husband.

A woman may own property, which passes on her death to
her sons, or failing them to her own family.

A man's property passes to his sons, or failing them to his
father, mother or uncle. His widows go to his younger brothers,
who, however, by waiving the right to them, may succeed to the
property (failing sons), which, however, they must divide with
the deceased's daughters. Debts are not inherited.

It is the custom amongst the Funtu for the son, on succeeding,
to give a present to his uncle, who, moreover, may only take
the widow so long as his relationship with the deceased is on
the paternal side. Failing a brother, the son, or daughter's son,
succeeds to the widows, so long as he is not himself her descendant.
Otherwise a widow returns to her own family, but must always
marry a widower, and a widower a widow, the wedded state
being obligatory. Children are in the keeping of their father's
family.

Punishment was variously applied, but serious crime was
of rare occurrence. Murder was punishable by death (Zuba
and N'ja), or the criminal, together with his immediate family,
might be sold into slavery to Zaria (Funtu) . A thief was flogged
by the aggrieved party with the help of his neighbours (Zuba
and N'ja). He was fined by the Funtu. Seduction and adultery
were ordinarily punished by a hundred lashes, which might

242

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

be bought off at the rate of five hundred cowries a piece, but
the aggrieved husband had the right to poison the co-respondent
(Zuba and N'ja). The Funtu drove the criminal from the town,
whither he might ultimately be allowed to return on the payment
of beer and one goat, to which each member of his family added
a chicken.

KOYAM.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. P. A. Benton.

Mr. C. Wight wick.

The main body of the Koyam are in French territory, having
been driven north from the vicinity of Geidam by Rabeh. A
section of them migrated before these troublous times, about
1810 A.D., with Sokoto as their objective, but on reaching Hadeija
they were persuaded to settle there.

Those who remain are semi-nomadic cattle owners, in the
districts of Bussugua, Ngunse and Gusumalla in British Bornu.
They likewise carry on a certain trade in salt, and the women
earn money as water-carriers.

Captain Tilho writes that they came from Yemen and, after
spending many centuries in the course of their wanderings,
arrived in Kanem towards the end of the seventeenth century.
By permission of the Tuba Sultan, forty of them founded a
mosque and school at Belbali, which was attended by scholars
who came from all parts of the country, but it was dispersed
by the founder's son, and some of the pupils who followed him
broke off and settled as herdsmen in different parts of the country.
It is their descendants who remain in British Bornu. Others,
under descendants of the first Chief, lived ascetic lives to the
north-east of Geidam and are now at Munio.

They intermarry with the Kanuri and speak a dialect of
Kanuri. It has been said that they are of Kanuri stock, but
they show more affinity to the Kanembu.

KUBAWA.

The Kubawa are pagans inhabiting the plains of Bauchi
Emirate, north of Bauchi city, and a few miles south-west of
Gombe town.

They have a population of 1,090, distributed in small hamlets.

Thev have little civilization and the women are unclothed.

TRIBES. 243

KUDAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. S. M. Grier.

The Kudawa, a tribe of some 4,100 people, are situated in
the independent state of Ningi in the north of Bauchi Province
(3,000), and in the Bauchi Emirate (1,100).

They came originally from the neighbourhood of Basse Hill
in Lemme District, and are probably of the same stock as the
Maguzawa, south of Kano. They show considerable affinity
to the neighbouring tribes, the Ningawa, Butawa, Afawa and
Warjawa.

Their language is similar to that of the Ningi, with whom
they live in close juxtaposition, but it is rapidly being abandoned
in favour of Haussa.

Like them, they worship a tribal as well as a family or clan
god, whose chief attribute is fertility. Every fourth year a
feast of circumcision is celebrated in the sacred grove, which
no woman may attend, and where boys of seven years old or
upwards are left for a period of two months, before they may
return to' their villages. The Chief and high priest were one
and the same person.

They also believe that certain persons have the power of
assuming the forms of animals, particularly that of elephants,
while different families have the power of taking the shape of
particular animals, the flesh of which is therefore tabu to them.

Muhammadanism is, however, rapidly superseding paganism
amongst them.

The groom gives a small present to the father of the bride.
Women frequently desert their husbands.

Men are buried on their right, women on their left sides,
their heads resting on their hands and their knees drawn up.
An important man is thought to have influence on the fortunes
of the community for one year after his death, and a wake is
held at the end of that time, the honour which he is then accorded
depending on the intervening prosperity of the tribe.

Disputes are settled by the clan, or family head, who usually
demands that oath should be taken on the family god in the
sacred grove. The accused might, however, be asked to bring
a cock to the grove, where it was beheaded; if it fell on its back
he was acquitted, if. forwards he was condemned. This test
was also used in consulting omens as to the good or ill fortune?
of the tribe, when a festival was held and libations offered.

The tribal marks consist of two small cuts above the eye
and two on the cheeks near the nostril, also one scar from the
nostril to the lips, and several long, somewhat circular lines
along the cheek from the eyebrow to chin.

244 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

KUGAMMA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Kugamma were driven from the Vere hills after a conflict
over the possession of a fetish, and are probably of Vere origin.
They came for a while under Batta suzerainty and have lost
many of their traditions.

They now occupy the foot of the Shere hills, west of the
Maio Belwa, and were drawn into Yola Emirate by alliance with
Filane settlers.

They are divided into two main sections, the Kugamma and
Gengli, the latter Chief being paramount. His title is " Ba,"
and succession is to a male member of the male line of the royal
family by election. He is, however, only a figure-head. The
elders are summoned to a council, when tribal matters are dis-
cussed, by an iron rod which is sent round to all and then set
up in the centre of the council. (This is similar to the Vere
practice.) The family appear to be responsible for maintaining
law and order, and it is they who avenge murder.

A man accused of theft, debt, slander, or adultery may
demand trial by shooting. He is then given a bow by a third
party and he declares his innocence on the weapons of his ancestors.
He must then fire an arrow at the first animal he sees and if
he hits it he is acquitted. The slanderer or guilty party, as
the case may be, has to pay a fine of a goat, bracelet, strip of
cloth and two hoes.

Trial by sasswood ordeal is also practised.

The life of an adulterer is forfeit to the husband, and in addition
his relations must pay damages before they may bury the deceased.

Other offences are dealt with by mediation or force.

Loan is common, and is reckoned by bundles of grass-tallies,
though there is no way of enforcing payment by tribal law.
Property is commonly pledged (not human beings), and a person
may hire out his services for board, or in lieu of full payment
of dowry.

Sale is not held to have taken place unless transacted before
two witnesses.

Lunatics are confined and their property managed by their
wives and brothers until their recovery.

Land is communal and is apportioned amongst the heads
of families, who give it out to individual men of the family.
The right of occupancy may be let, but only within the tribe,
and when an occupier goes away his right to the land lapses.
Boundaries are marked with stone cairns.

In the dry season the land is cleared and stumps burned.
When the first rain falls a fowl is sacrificed on the ground, which
is then lightly hoed and sown. Another fowl is sacrificed before

TRIBES. 245

harvest, the first corn being cut by the Chief with a knife smeared
with the root of the " Gadr " (a bulrush which is dried and
ground into a white flour, and eaten in time of famine. It is
said to be fattening).

A rough two years rotation is observed, dawa, jigarib, and
beans being grown together one season, ground-nuts another.
These are the staple crops of the country, in addition to which
a fair number of yams and a little rice are grown.

Sheep, goats, dogs, fowls and an odd cat or two are kept.

Strips of cloth, hoes, iron bars, bracelets, and goats form
the habitual currency.

The men are hunters and the adjacent villages join in organ-
ising big drives, each section keeping to its allotted place. The
man who draws first blood gets the animal, with the exception
of the shoulder, which goes to the man who hits it next. Each
divides his share amongst his village.

Families include blood relations on both sides to the fourth
and fifth degree. A man on receiving a hut of his own becomes
independent.

A woman marrying into another tribe retains her own nation-
ality unless she renounces it.

Girls are betrothed at birth and are reckoned as members of
the groom's family, he being probably about four or five years
old. When his fiancee is three months old he gives her a bracelet
and thenceforth contributes to her support, bringing edible rats,
large-bodied flying-ants, game, etc. When she is seven years old he
builds a hut in her parents' compound and cohabits with her. When
she is sixteen years old he makes payment to her parents of
six things, including a goat, bracelet, strip of cloth, two hoes,
and takes her to his house. Until this day adultery with her is
not a legal offence, but the groom can claim back his dower.
A woman can at any time get a divorce by repayment of the
dowry. A man may not marry any of his wives' relations,
however distant, but he is permitted to marry his own first
cousin or others of more distant degree, though it is unusual
for him to do so. A man is limited to six wives.

No child may be given the name of a living man or woman.

Boys are circumcised just before the age of puberty. The
ceremony is usually performed after the harvest has been gathered
and is preceded by three months' feasting. This period ended,
the candidates and elders retire into the bush, where the operation
is performed to the accompaniment of drumming and singing.
The boys are held round the neck by a brass-bound crook and
to flinch is a disgrace (this is identical with the Vere custom).

246

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

They do not return to the village until they are healed, when
they take their position as men.

When a death takes place the body is wrapped in cloth,
and the friends bring grain and heap it upon the corpse, women
keening the while. A young person is buried on the day of death,
but an old person is kept for thirty-six hours to see if the body
swells, for if it does it is thought to be a sign that the deceased
was a wizard and that the familiar is attempting to escape.
In such a case the body is buried naked, in a desert place, without
rites. There is no punishment for witchcraft during life.

Beer is brewed on the day of death, and when it is ready
a big dance and feast is held. At this wake the property is
divided. An only son takes half, two sons take three fourths,
and four sons the whole of the property — the residue going to
the brothers of the deceased. Failing sons brothers inherit,
then their sons, and then the nearest male relatives. Bequests
are unknown. The successor is responsible for all debts.
Daughters inherit their mother's fringed belt, but her property
passes to her sisters, or failing them to her brothers.

On the death of their father boys are under the guardianship
of their step-father (who must either be a brother or uncle of
the deceased), or failing him to their mother's nearest male
relative.

As afore-mentioned a widow must marry the brother or
uncle of her late husband, but she is allowed to choose which
of them. She mourns for one month, after which each candidate
for her hand brews a pot of beer and puts it in her house. They
return to find her sitting at the threshold, and one by one ask
leave to enter and fetch the beer. She hands the beer to the
rejected, permitting the chosen suitor alone to enter.

The Kugamma believe that they can communicate with
the spirits of the dead after sacrificing something on their graves,
and that the answers are conveyed in dreams.

They believe in reincarnation either as human beings or
as monkeys. Nevertheless they kill and eat monkeys, though
the canine and feline species and birds of prey are forbidden
food to all. Certain families have in addition certain prohibitions,
such as oribi, duiker, rats, etc., and they believe they would
become very ill, or deaf, were they to break this tabu. One
man averred that his grandmother was an elephant's daughter,
and eventually resumed elephant's shape.

Like the Vere they worship the sun, whom they call " Liyu,"
but the Vere priestcraft was a close guild and the Kugamma
have lost their traditions. There is another spirit ' Sioki," who
is feared, for he whom he touches dies within five davs.

TRIBES. 247

KUKURUKU.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. A. H. Groom. Mr. J. C. Walker.

' Kukuruku " is a nickname given by the Filane to a group
of pagan tribes located in the mountainous region of the southern
part of the southern division of Kabba Province, who, with
the exception of a small section of Igbira, are either of Edo, Bini
or of Akoko extraction. It is said that they utter a cry resembling
' Ku-ku-ruku " when flying to their rocky retreats.

Their total population numbers some 38,000, of which those
identified as Edo-Bini number 20,620, the Akoko between 6,000
and 7,000, whilst the remainder have not been classified.

The Ibie and Wona tribes lived in the neighbourhood of
Edo (Benin, Southern Nigeria) until the beginning of the
eighteenth century, when they moved northwards to escape
the slave raids of the Edo king. They were, however, pursued
and half the tribe returned, the other half settling in their present
location. They say that the place was already occupied by a
tribe whose houses were decorated within and without with
human skulls, but that they attacked and almost exterminated
this people, intermarrying, however, and living in peace with the
survivors, who thus became absorbed with them. The name
given to these aborigines was Ugbami.

They continued to send gaisua annually to the King of Edo,
including the skin of every leopard killed, and all light-coloured
girls, a practice which was gradually abandoned, as they found
the exaction was not backed with force.

In course of time the Filane over-ran the district, and declared
it part of the Nupe Kingdom, ordering each town to send a certain
number of slaves to Bida yearly, and likewise exacted ' ujera "
or death-duty on the estates of deceased Chiefs. If a slave
proved himself trustworthy to his Filane masters, he was sent
back to his own country and appointed Jekada.to see that the
correct number of slaves and other taxes were paid, and, accom-
panied by the son of the Chief, would take the same to Bida and
return with presents of cloth, etc.

A number of the more warlike townships refused to submit
to the invaders, and some succeeded in maintaining independence,
at a heavy cost of life, and to the utter desolation of their fertile
valleys. The British Administration first entered the district
in 1904 A. D., their immediate objective being the town of Semolika,
where the people were reported to be offering human sacrifice
and to be head-hunters. A series of expeditions followed, a
political officer being first stationed at Iddo in 1911 A.D.

248 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The adult male community of each township is organised
into a body called Otu, which is made up of various companies
of men of about the same age. A boy is drafted into the junior
company on attaining puberty, and has to clean village paths
and carry out other communal business, such as acting carrier,
until he has worked his way up to the senior company, at the
age of fifty or sixty, when his duties are to look after the orishas
(idol). If he is a man of means he pays a yearly fee all this while,
that he may be promoted from the senior company of Otu to
become a Chieftain, i.e., member of the Obu, whose duties are
virtually those of town councillors, and whose privileges are
the right to bear a title and immunity from arrest. A tall red
fez is the badge of office, and the president carries a carved stick
called Otsu.

The Chieftainship of a town is hereditary to the royal family,
and if it so chances that owing to the death of the senior members
the office devolves upon a boy he is at once promoted from the
Otu to the Obu rank, but would probably have little influence,
and be under the guidance of the Obu.

It was the custom for the village Chief to adjudicate all
petty cases by himself, and the successful litigant paid to him
10 per cent, of the award. In important cases the Chief summoned
the Obu and a further fee of 10 per cent was divided amongst
them.

The Upila tribe lived near Sapele, in Southern Nigeria, but
in the beginning of the eighteenth century trekked northward
in search of fresh hunting country. They came to their present
location on Iddo Hill, where they settled, their principal towns
being Kominio and Iddo. They have a settlement at Afogania,
which was allied with the Igbira settlement at Soso until a Nupe
raid divided them early in the nineteenth century.

The Upila had held a council meeting to d'scuss whether
or not they should offer resistance to the Filane, a point on
which they failed to come to an agreement. The townsfolk
of Edeku were for peace, but those of Aguti fought with more
or less success, carrying on their resistance to very recent years,
and they still look with contempt on their pusillanimous kinsfolk.

The Onemi are a small tribe who inhabit a district between
Lagos and Benin, which they left early in the eighteenth century
to escape the slave-raids of the King of Edo. They joined with
another tribe, probably the Upila, and crossed the Niger. They
lived on roots and by hunting, but lost so many men — probably
at. the hands of the original inhabitants, who, however, assured
them that wild beasts were their depredators — that they crossed
the river again, but were driven out by the Filane and finally,
on the advent of the British, a section of the tribe crossed the
river once more and settled in South Kabba. The tribe is,
therefore, still divided.

TRIBES. 249

The Jattu are in the extreme south of the Province, one-third
of the tribe being situated in Northern Nigeria, two-thirds in
Southern Nigeria. The paramount tribal Chief lives in Kabba,
but his successor resides over the boundary, and the division
results in a good deal of quarrelling and consequent lack of
authority.

The Sibi, who are also of the Edo group, occupy four villages
in the Kabba Division, but the majority of the tribe are situated
in Southern Nigeria.

These tribes speak dialects of the same language, whilst the
other groups, comprising the following townships: —

(1) Gori, Megongo, and Bokuma;

(2) Semolika, Mekeke and Oja;

(3) and the Akoko are unintelligible to each other.

The Igara, so called after their principal town, number some
1,120, and the Soso (another town, established before the nine-
teenth century), are of Igbira stock, who migrated from Ida.

They also speak a dialect of their own.

The Kukuruku are pagans, but Muhammadanism is now rapidly
penetrating amongst them. They believe in a soul and after
life, but not in the resurrection of the body. Thus they confess
certain sins to old women; others, in the secrecy of the bush, to
sticks given them by the old women, that they may be freed from
punishment in the next world, for they believe that if they do
not live worthily the souls of the departed good will refuse to
receive them. The foundation of their rites, orishas (idols)
and sacrifices, are all with a view to the welfare of the dead.

Crops are raised only for tribal consumption. The Igara
practise riverain pursuits, and in Soso and Afogania a regular
trade is carried on in weaving mats of very fine grass. A rough
cloth is woven by the women, who dye it in two colours, indigo
and brown from camwood. There are no dye-pits, the process
being carried on in pots. A pattern is made by tying up tightly
portions of the cloth which, when immersed in the pot, thus
escape contact with the dye. A rough open-work pattern is
sometimes made by drawing and tying several threads at uni-
form intervals.

Wood carving is practised, doors being made from the silk
cotton tree, on which the carving is usually of unclothed human
figures; also carved sticks, which are habitually carried by the
Chiefs.

Many villages had their own smithy furnaces, but these have
been abandoned owing to the easy importation of iron.

The villages were situated on the hill-tops, and were practically
impregnable, as the smooth, steep rocks were rendered still more
slippery in time of danger by palm-oil being poured over them,
and the towns were ringed with one, two, or even three lines

2 50

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

of walls one within the other. They have, however, recently
moved down to the plains.

Stone sanghars were erected, through which holes were
pierced to admit dane-guns. Pits were dug, and poisoned pegs
of sharp wood placed at the bottom.

Ambushes were laid, and the weapons used were bows and
poisoned arrows, now giving place, especially amongst the Ibie
and Upila, to dane-guns, poisoned slugs being used in the flint
locks.

It is the ambition of every youth to possess a gun, and,
when that aim is gratified, a wife.

There are three forms of marriage. ' Enabo," ' Amoiya,"
and ' Isomi." 'Enabo" signifies " one who runs away," and
is a relic of the old system of rape. , The woman is the absolute
property of her husband and her children succeed him. If her
deceased husband's brothers don't wish to marry her, the widow
is then free to return to her own people. ' Enabo ' is dying
out.

' Amoiya " is when a father, who first consults a soothsayer,
sells his daughter for a sum varying between £5 and £10. All
connection with her own people is then severed, and her children
become the purchaser's absolute property and on his death
pass to his heirs. The children succeed him, even when, as
sometimes happens, he has himself proved impotent and has
lent his wife to some relative.

' Isomi ' is when the suitor obtains the consent of the
father of his bride-elect when she is some five or six years old.
The suitor gives a small sum at once, which is repeated after
three months. He also contributes twenty yams each year, and
works on his future father-in-law's farm, in return for which
he is given his food. When the girl is of marriageable age the
groom gives a dowry of from £i to £5 to her father, and her family
escort her to his house. Unmarried girls go naked, but the
groom now presents his bride with a small locally-woven loin-
cloth. If she refuses it the marriage is broken off, but generally
she completes the ceremony by placing the cloth across her
loins and tying it on the right side. She has the right to leave
her husband, either by returning the dowry or by giving him
one or more of their offspring. Otherwise her children belong
to her family, and inherit only from them, returning to them
(together with their mother if she be still alive) on the death
of their father. A son is, however, permitted to remain in his
father's family if he wishes to do so, when he becomes his father's—
not his mother's — inheritor. A payment may be mutually
arranged between the families, whereby the father keeps one
or more of his children.

Concubinage is recognised, but is of rare occurrence.

TRIBES. 251

Amongst the Ibie and Wona should a . woman remove her
marriage-cloth and, leaving it on her husband's sleeping mat,
appear naked in the town, or should she remove the cloth in
the presence of others and turn her buttocks on her husband,
he is forced to divorce her, and cannot demand either dower
or a child. She, however, would not find it easy to get another
husband, lest he also might be thus ridiculed.

' Isomi ' is sub-divided by the Upila into the marriage
of a virgin, which is called ' Ateme," and that of a widow,
or woman who has left her first husband, which is called " Omo-
ishi." No man is permitted to have a greater number of wives
than the Chief.

The Igara and Soso practise Igbira customs. Marriage takes
place before a girl reaches the age of puberty.

If a husband suspects his wife of adultery she is taken before
a diviner and made to kneel down with her hands tied behind
her back. She is then made to place her head within a noose
which is fixed to the ground ; if she can withdraw she is declared
' innocent," but if the noose tightens, she is left tied up until
she reveals the name of her coadjutor.

In Soso the guilty woman is fined one cock, one goat, and
one dog, whilst the co-respondent pays £2 los. in cowries.

On the death of an Ibie or Wona chief his son announces it
to the head-men, and beats a long drum that it may be known
to all. The women do likewise. Burial takes place the same
day in the compound of the deceased. The body is wrapped
in new cloths, it is placed on new cloths and is covered by them,
and is then laid in a wooden coffin, shaped like a canoe, with
a lid. An effigy of the deceased is made of cloth and sticks, and
is first placed on the roof of the house and then carried round
the town on the shoulders of two men to the sound of the drum, while
the male population take their guns and conduct a mimic warfare.
During the ceremonies the children cry that the dead man has
come out, and a masked man drives them away with a thin wand.
The effigy is then destroyed. Five days after the ceremonies
are finished the family wash, and put black and white threads
on their wrists.

A woman's body is brought for burial to her own people's
house.

Infants under two years old are buried in the bush, also
suicides, but while the Wona dig graves for the latter the Ibie
and Upila do not.

When an Upila Chief dies his sons, or nearest male relatives,
carry the news of his demise to the neighbouring Kukuruku
towns. In his own towns drums are sounded. The body is
washed and robed in new gowns, and a white cap, symbol of
Chieftainship, is placed on the head. A young man is buried
the same day, but an old man is left for five days before the

252 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

corpse is laid in a canoe-shaped coffin, fastened with a lid, on
which new gowns, neck-beads, and kola nuts are laid. Meanwhile
a heap of from ten thousand to twelve thousand cowries are
collected in the compound, and sacrifices of cattle, sheep and
fowls are made, dane-guns are fired, and a lot of drinking takes
place. A hole has been dug outside the compound, and a tunnel
is made connecting it with the centre of the room where the
Chief used to live. A sacrifice of goats and fowls is offered at
the threshold, over which the coffin is presently carried, and
amid the chanting of dirges the burial is concluded. On the
last day of the ceremony the sons, daughters, or nearest male
relative, climb to the top of the house and throw down the
cowries on which the sacrifice in the compound had been offered
to the people below. A commoner is buried in the compound.
On the fifth day after his death the widows, sons and daughters
shave their heads and wash in the nearest stream. For three
moons the former must remain indoors, and for another seven
may not wear new cloths.

After this time the deceased's full brother may marry the
widows, in which case he proceeds to their compound, but
must sacrifice a goat and a fowl on the road leading to it. Sons
may not marry their own mothers, but may marry any other
of their father's widows, vide " Enabo ' and " Amoiya."

Amongst the Kukuruku generally it is recognised that a man
must contribute a cloth or a goat to his father-in-law's burial.

If an adult dies of some unknown cause and witchcraft is
suspected, the body is tied to a pole, which is set up in the centre
of a circle of people. The Chief makes tsafi and then allows
the pole to fall, and whoever it strikes is under suspicion and is
then forced to undergo the sasswood ordeal. The practice of
drinking the poison in person has, however, almost died out,
and the accused causes his dog to drink in his place. If it dies
the owner is declared guilty of witchcraft and is chased from
the town.

KURAMA.

The Kurama are situated in the southern division of Zaria
Province, where they have a population of some 5,000.

They were driven into the hills by the Ningi, but are gradually
returning to their former sites. They grow corn and spin a
fair quantity of cotton, which they sell to Haussa traders.

Both sexes speak Haussa well, though they have their own
language in which the dialectical differences are slight.

Those inhabiting more civilised regions are adopting Haussa
dress, but the majority of the women wear nothing but a bunch
of leaves before and behind. They dress their hair on a high
central ridge and cover their heads with a cloth.

TRIBES. 253

They are pagans.

The father of a married woman may over-ride the authority
of her husband, and on the death of her father this right passes
to his heir, who thus becomes her guardian.

KURTAWA.

The home of the Kurtawa is in Sansanni Hausa, (Sayi, in
French territory) ; but in 1901 small settlements came to Moriki,
Maradu and Dakingari in Sokoto, 600 (?) in all and to Zaria.

They are often spoken of by the Haussa as Liptawa, but are
in reality distinct.

They speak Filanchi, Zabermanchi and Haussa.

KUTUMBAWA.

The Kutumbawa claim to be of Kororofa descent and to have
come from Kanum, near Tubawu, in the east of Bornu.

A small number, 705, have settled in Bauchi Emirate, whilst
others inhabit Kano and Gumel Emirates.

It is said of these that they are descendants of Kutumbi
who was Sarkin Kano from 1623-1648 A. D.

KWOLL.

AUTHORITY : Mr. J. Finch.

The Kwoll or Irrigwe pagans live in the neighbourhood of
the Kibyen plateau (Bukuru Division), in the south-west corner
of Bauchi Province, whence a number of them migrated about
the year 1830-1840, to the north-west corner of Muri Province,
Ibi Division, where they now have a population of some 7,176.
Those in Bauchi are in two groups, Kwoll and Maiungwa,
where the population numbers some 8,100. It has been asserted
that they are an offshoot of the Hill-Jarawa, having migrated
from their habitat of Fobura in the early part of the nineteenth
century. Some settled at Jos on the way, whilst others came
on to Kwoll and settled there amongst the Chawai pagans, with
whom they intermarried.

The towns are very strong, being situated on precipitous
plateaux some 1,500 feet in height, to which the only compara-
tive^ easy approach is from the east. That of Kwoll looks down
a sheer descent of 2,000 feet to the Zar a plain below. Each
compound and town is surrounded by a thick cactus hedge,
which grows to a height of some fifteen feet.

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The Kwoll are essentially horsemen, and rely on the charge
of their mounted spearmen, though they have bowmen also
and use poisoned arrows. They are great raiders and ride
bare-backed and without stirrups, the bridle consisting of a
band round the nose to which a rope is attached on one side
only.

The natives themselves go naked with the exception of a
loincloth, and, in the case of Chiefs an iron grieve on the leg,
in the case of commoners a gaiter of thick grass, neither of
which can be removed unless they are sawn or cut open.

They use the duo-decimal system, twelve being the multiple.*

The Kwolla in Muri. maintained their independence from the
Filane, but have recently followed the Ankwe Namu, at all
events nominally. Their local Government consists of the tribal
Chief — Longchim of Chim — section head-men, town head-men,
and village head-men. They were first controlled and assessed
by the British in 1909, when the tax was paid in kind, cash being
first collected in 1911-1912.

Each compound contains several grain stores, a kitchei
and store huts, besides the ordinary huts, which are some five
feet in diameter and are all enclosed beneath one large roof ;
a different form to that of the main stock in Bauchi, who use
the usual type of single round huts with thatched roofs.

7

sd

«

n.

Vide Kibyen, Mada, Mama, Ninzam, Nungu.

LAKA or LAKKA.

Laka or Lakka have their headquarters in the Kamerun,
where they are a hill tribe. A certain number were captured
by the Filane of Yola, where their descendants still occupy the
position of serfs.

LALA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. G. W. Webster.

Lala is a nickname, meaning both " naked " and " an old
calabash broken into many parts," applied to a group of tribes
inhabiting the north-west of Yola Province, from the left bank
of the River Hawal to Song in the centre of the Province. A
section, the Yungur, are in the independent Kanakuru District,
but the majority are in the pagan division of Yola Emirate, paying
allegiance to the Emir through the Lamido Song. These are
divided into two groups, the Gaanda under the Galhona of Gaanda,
and the Dingai, M'boyi, Robba, Gabun and Gworum, with the
sub-sections of Yan, Tenna and Shere, under Isa of Robba.

The Yungur are treated of under a separate heading, but so
little has been notified of the Emirate Lala as units that, except
where individually mentioned, the following remarks must be
considered as applicable to the group generally.

They were subjected to raids by the Filane, but were always
successful in repelling them. The Gaanda, however, recently
became friendly with the Filane Chief of Song, and asked the
British to put them under him as a gate to the world.

The Gaanda came from Gasi on the Gongola and it has been
suggested that they are an offshoot of the Jera (Kanakuru group).
They claim to have come from the west, and the little copper
figures found in their possession resemble Ashanti work ; the tribe
do not now work in copper or brass.

The Gabun came from the north and are possibly connected
with the Bura.

The Dingai, Robba and M'boyi, who claim close connection
with the Yungur, are indigenous to Jaram'boyi (Song).

There are no details as to the Gworum, beyond a suggestion
that they do not share in the religious worship of the rest of the
group. Possibly they have some connection with Gorom in
Muri Province (Dimmuk) .

256 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Each section speaks a distinct language or dialect, but they
have a lingua franca for the whole group, and unite in time of
war under the strongest leader.

Bows and arrows (which are poisoned with acrocanthera) ,
spears, short heavy swords and light axes are the tribal weapons;
the women, who are more truculent than the men, leave
their villages if the men refuse to fight.

Blood vengeance devolved on the family, not on the tribe.

The villages are commonly situated at the foot of the hills,
amongst rocks, the M'boyi having only recently descended from
the hill of M'boyi, an extinct volcano, on which they used to live.

The huts are made of mud or zana matting, and are some six
to ten feet in diameter, with conical grass roofs. There are low
mud platforms inside, in which are clay cup-shaped depressions,
where pepper, etc., is stored.

Each compound contains a certain number of egg-shaped
bins of grass, coated inside and out with mud, and is enclosed by
mats, or more commonly by powerful cactus hedges.

There are a number of caves on the hill-side, whither the Lala
retire in time of need.

The land is communal, each village having well-defined boun-
daries, within which the elders apportion the land.

The hunting lands are tribal, and game is killed in great con-
certed drives.

Porridge, seasoned with vegetable ash (often a certain water-
lily) and herbs, is made from guinea-corn, whilst large quanti-
ties of millet are consumed as beer, the people being much addicted
to drink. Tobacco is both chewed and smoked.

A short-handled hoe with a pointed iron bar, and adze, smelted
locally from iron-ore in the river beds, are the agricultural
implements in common use.

The Gaanda and Gabun have considerable wealth in cattle.
They alone employ Filane herdsmen, whose wage consists of the
milk. Elsewhere the cattle are never milked. The herds are
trained to run away from clothed persons.

A few horses, goats and fowls are also kept.

Meat is seldom eaten, except at festivals. Hyenas and vultures
are occasionallv consumed as medicine.

»/

The men are for the most part of a low stunted physique,
the women being of a superior build.

Formerly they went entirely naked, but now the men com-
monly wrap a strip of cloth round their heads, cross it over the
body, and fasten it round the waist like a shooting cape ; others
wear a loin-cloth and cap.

They carry long, narrow leather bags, which contain long
knives, tobacco, and flint and steel to make fire ; a hard wooden
drill on soft wood being only occasionally used. The young men
plait their hair and ornament it with beads or bits of iron, while

TRIBES. 257

the elder men shave. Long beards, dressed in one or more plaits,
are common, but may be cut off for use as necklets.

The women used also to go naked, but now wear big bunches of
leaves, of a size to form a seat behind. The older women shave,
and all habitually carry a grass broom with which to dust them-
selves.

A girl is usually betrothed from infancy, and one year before
the marriage is consummated the suitor works on her parents'
farm, and erects for her mother a hut with a very well-thatched
ornamental roof of various designs in plaited straw, which is
sometimes dyed black. The walls are of ornamental black, red
and white zana mat. He may pay a further dower, or the
marriage may be by exchange, i.e., a daughter of one house being
given for a daughter of another house.

When the wedding takes place the groom's father supersedes
his son, unless the latter has the physical strength to prevent it,
and acts as husband to the bride until she has twice conceived
by him. On each of these occasions abortion is procured by
means of a compression bandage round the lower part of the
abdomen, but when she conceives a third time she is at liberty
to go to her husband, who may insist on abortion being procured
a third time or not as he pleases.

The number of men is in excess of the number of women, and
small colonies of bachelors live together. It is open to them,
however, to steal a man's wife from him when he is of middle
age, that is to say from forty to forty-five, always supposing
that he is not sufficiently strong to beat the marauder, who is
supposed to repay the marriage dower, though this is rarely done.

Children belong to their father.

The duties of the sexes are not defined, and women work on
the farms, whilst men cook, and vice versa.

Slaves might be found in most households, and are obtained
(a) by purchase, (b) by capture (from foreign tribes only), (c) in
lieu of debt. They were all treated as members of the family,
and each had his own farm, stock and property.

Their principal duty was to grind the corn and cook the
food, which was always scrupulously divided with them, and
they were seldom asked to do more work than their masters.
The Lala never allowed a bound man to be taken through their
territory.

Gaanda is the principal religious centre for the whole group, for
it is there that the god Daha-Ta and his younger brother Daha-
Nafshiya reside ; the former representing good, the latter evil.
For that reason, they all, with perhaps the exception of Gworum>
look up to the Chief of Gaanda and give him presents. The

258

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

annual harvest festival is held at the Gaanda rock, when a
sacrificial bull is driven up the sloping rock to a certain pool,
where, if the offering is accepted, it falls dead with its head on
the edge of the water.

Various rites are performed by entirely naked votaries, who
then return to an orgy of drinking, drumming and dancing,
which lasts for several days.

Small figures representing their original ancestors are kept.
That already alluded to is of copper, with a hole in the centre of
the stomach in which offerings of food and drink are placed.

•They are good dancers, both sexes commonly participating
in a circular dance, where the movement is from west to east.
There is a special war-dance.

LEREWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. H. R. Palmer.

The Lerewa are situated in the Emirates of Katagum and
Dambam in the north-east of Kano Province, Shellem being the
oldest town ; and in West Bornu.

They are said to belong to the Tubu-Kanuri stock and came
originally from the Chad basin ; here they were mixed up with
the Shuwa. Thence they travelled to the eastern side of Fika,
where they are said to have been talakawa to the Kanuri, and
where some of them still remain.

They speak either Shuwa or Kanuri, though with an
admixture of the Keri-Keri tongue which is gradually dying out.
They were pagans, but the majority have adopted Islam.

They are a pastoral people.

LIMORRO.

The Limorro are hill pagans, situated some twenty miles
north of Naraguta in Bauchi Province. They were raided and
partially conquered by the Filane, but either never submitted
to their yoke or succeeded in fully re-establishing their inde-
pendence.

They are connected with the Jengre and Rukuba.

The men wear loin-cloths and sometimes tobes.

Some are cannibals.

TRIBES. 259

LONGUDA or NUNGUDA.

AUTHORITIES :
Major F. Edgar. Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Longuda inhabit a small area of country to the south-
west of Yola Province, near a range of hills that forms the
Bashamma boundary. Here they are in the independent pagan
division, under the district-head Arnado Shellen, who has juris-
diction over their neighbours, the Kanakuru and Yungur likewise.
A section of Longuda are on the other side of the Yola boundary
in Gombe. Their villages are mostly situated on the plains at
the foot of the hills.

The right of occupancy of farm lands may be obtained from
the headman of the village. Besides farming the ordinary
crops the Longuda obtain considerable wealth from their herds
of cattle and goats. They are peculiar in poultry farming, in that
the fowls are kept in pens and are fed with ants' eggs. They eat
the hens' eggs.

Women may eat fish and beef (oxen only) but are not allowed
the flesh of sheep, goats, chickens, or of human beings.

The men are cannibals and eat their own dead, besides mur-
dering strangers for meat.

They are a wild, timid people, who have the power of sum-
moning death to their release, and have therefore never been
enslaved.

Their weapons are bows and arrows, spears and slings, with
which they have an effective range at a distance of from 250 to
300 yards.

Those who live on the river wear a loin cloth or fatare, but
elsewhere they frequently go unclothed, or with strips of leather
hanging from a waist-belt.

Cloth is, however, a recognised form of currency, together
with spools of cotton thread, cowries and corn ; the latter being
extensively used for brewing beer, as the people are addicted to
heavy drinking.

It has been suggested that they are connected alike with their
neighbours, the Waja, the Tangale, and the Yungur ; but they
speak a distinct language. Isolated individuals only speak
Haussa.

MADA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. A. Campbell-Irons.
Mr. J. F. Fitzpatrick.
Lieut. D. Greig.

Capt. A. S. Lawrance,
Mr. H. F. Mathews.
Lieut. J. N. Smith.

The Mada tribe are situated in the centre of Nassarawa
Province, in an independent district in the Lafia Division.

They occupy some 235 square miles and have a population
of 24,628.

Mada is a Haussa cognomen which has been generally adopted
by foreigners, but the real name of the tribe is Yidda.

There are two big sub-tribes, the Mada Zube and Mada Tara-
tara, or in local nomenclature Yidda-Karshana and Yidda Tatra.

The Zube, or Karshana, file their front teeth to a point, and,
with slight variations, have twelve cuts made from the centre
of the forehead down each cheek, small cuts at the side of the
mouth, and a broad cut over the nose. They used to live on the
plains, before the Filane raids drove them to seek shelter on
the hill-tops.

The Taratara, or Tatra, break off the two front teeth. A
broad arrow-mark composed of three cuts is made on each side
of the eye and at the base of the nose on each cheek. These marks
are made when the child is five years of age. They are different
from those worn by any other tribe in the neighbourhood.

The Mada in the western part of the district are distinguished
by cicatrices cut close together in a pattern from the temples to
the sides of the chin- — there is often a vertical scar from the
breast to the navel or a cut across the chest in addition.

.These clans intermarry, the offspring always belonging to
their father's sub-tribe.

They speak a language of their own, but Nungu phrases are
intermingled with it (and even Haussa), the Mada and Nungu
tribes having intermarried.

The Hill-Mada live on the tops of hills. Each compound,
consisting of eight to twelve houses, is encircled by stone walls.
The grain-bins are inside the houses, and though a passage runs
round them they are accessible only through mud and grass caps
in the roofs.

TRIBES. 261

The ground is farmed in ridges, which are banked up by
stones.

The Plain-Mada build their towns in kurumis, or amongst
oil-palm trees, of which they grow great numbers.

Their farms include a few yam plots, which are always sur-
rounded by stone walls. They keep flocks of goats and sheep,
but these are used as a form of currency and for sacrifice, and
are not eaten except in times of famine. A great deal of grain is
cultivated, but it is largely used for drink, and the people
frequently reduce themselves to a state of famine. They are
excellent farmers and each villager helps the other, the owner
of the farm providing beer for all the workers.

The land is cleared alike by men and women, but reaping
and planting are done only by men.

There are some blacksmiths who make the hoes, and a little
weaving is done, but cloth is not frequently worn.

The ordinary dress for both sexes is a leather loin-cloth,
though on occasions women wear a bigger cloth. Iron, brass,
or string bangles are worn on the arms, below the knees and
above the ankles, particularly by the male sex, the women pre-
ferring beads. The chief men have theirs made of hippo hide
or polished elephant's hoof. Antelope horns and beads are worn
as charms, and bits of cane are placed in the ears. The head is
shaved except for a small round patch. A girl's is completely
shaven when she reaches puberty, though her hair is allowed to
grow again afterwards. All the men grow beards in which cloth
and metal are bound.

The average Mada is of fine physique, the men averaging
over five feet eight inches ; but in Tudu in the south they average
nearly six feet with square shoulders and narrow hips.

They are a warlike race and fight with very heavy spears made
out of one piece of metal ; small axes; short swords, with a very
broad blade ; bracelet-knives of the Munshi pattern ; and poisoned
arrows, the heads being made of wood. These latter have a range
of some hundred yards. The points, poisoned with the ground
or boiled seeds of the Gurjia tree (Bombax buonapozense) are
made to break off from the rush shafts. The poison is very
deadly. The natives cut and suck the wound, and give guinea-
corn and water, or an egg, to induce vomiting, but the wound
generally proves fatal.

When fully accoutred a warrior has some hundred arrows in
his quiver. They carry heavy circular shields, four feet six inches
in diameter, made of bush-cow hide. In preparation for defence
against guns they dig deep circular pits on the road (which
are not used at other times, even for game) and betake them-
selves to the roofs of houses, whence they drop arrows, but they
do not stand long under fire. On the approach of the enemy they
fire damp leaves, then sound the drums — small drums and a special

262 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

tocsin drum which stands from five to seven feet off the groum
and which, together with the war-horn , which is subsequently
sounded and has a sharp note, is used for elaborate signalling.
The women drive the live-stock into the kurumis.

There is a good deal of fighting between the various Mada
townships, the combatants often agreeing to a short truce that
they may drink before resuming offensive action.

They value the skulls of their enemies, and the plain, but
not the hill-Mada are cannibals. In hunting the Mada drive the
game into nets, and use traps for birds and vermin.

A suitor presents his bride with beans, acha, corn, a goat
and some cloths, and her parents with two or three goats, and in
Azeni some iron, in addition to working on their farm. On the
wedding-day, which takes place when the girl reaches marriage-
able age, he gives a dog, which is eaten by the bride's family.
If the girl proves sterile she is returned to her family and 'the
dower is refunded.

Women are in the minority and are prone to desert their
husbands, who have no redress, though they may flick an arrow
at any of the villagers of the place to which she has run.

After the birth of a child a husband may not see his wife for
three or four days.

Boys are circumcised at the age of seven, girls at puberty.

Burial takes place in the houses or compounds, big graves
being made to contain ten men.

Nothing is buried with the body. Great lamentation is made at
the death of a young person, but festival is made at the death
of the old, and a big dance held. In Azeni the headman provides
the burial cloth.

Succession is to the children, if grown up, otherwise to the
brothers or male relations.

A certain number of townships recognised Zembi, Sarkin
Nunku, as their head, six others Sarkin Randa, but they acknow-
ledged no one central authority.

Each township has an hereditary chief, the succession going
to the eldest male representative of the family. If it passes
out of the direct line the Chief is selected from amongst the
members of that family.

He is assisted by a Council of Elders.

A murderer has to pay a fine of two children, whom he must
give to the bereaved family. At Azeni, however, he is tried
before his fellow-townsmen and killed with knives.

If a man commits rape he must pay the marriage dower
which would have been given for the child. If adultery, he is
fined a certain number of goats and chickens.

Ordeal is only practised in a modified form, gwaska poison
being given to a fowl.

TRIBES. 263

The Mada believe there is an all-powerful and good god, who
lives in the sky, but that there is no after life. They sacrifice
goats and chickens at their religious festivals, and hold big dances
and drinking bouts on these occasions. There is a particular dress
worn, also tsafi armlets. They believe in the evil eye.

The numerical system is duodecimal.* Where the Haussa
would say 20 less I or 2 for example, they say 24 less r or 2 as
the case may be. The highest number given was 12 x 12 = 144.

MAGA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. J. H. C. Elder. Captain J. ff. Hopkinson.

The Maga are a small tribe, who are mainly situated in the
Independent Tera District, Gujba Division, but some are in the
Goneri District under the Shehu of Bornu.

They are a fusion of Manga and Kanakuru. A hunter of the
latter tribe (i.e. Dera or Jera) came from Shani, in Yola Province,
with a small following and settled near the present site of Gulani,
circ. 1605 A.D. Two hundred years later the then Chief moved
a few miles and met with some Manga from north of the Yo
River, who agreed to accept him as their Chief, and he called
his following " Manga." He married the daughter of the reigning
Chief of Biu, and thus preserved his people from the raids of the
Babur tribe.

His descendant was recently recognised as head of the Tera
District, but he never had authority over any but his own people,
and it has now been placed under Mai Ari of Biu.

They are a pagan people.

They are farmers and ov/n a considerable number of cattle
and horses.

IYIAGORAWA.

Magorawa are notified from the Godabawa District of Sokoto
Province.

MAGUZAWA.

The Maguzawa are a tribe of Haussawa, descendants of
Maguji, one of eleven pagan chiefs who, each at the head of a
large clan, were the original stock of Kano. Maguji is described

* Compare Nungu, Ninzam, Kibyen, Numana, Kwoll.

264 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

as the miner and smelter among them, and lived at the end o
the tenth and beginning of the eleventh century.

Between the years 1343-49 A.D., the Maguzawa left the City
of Kano and settled in the country at Fongu (i.e., Santolo to
Burku) ; but in 1385-90 Bugaya Sarkin Kano ordered them to
leave the Rock of Fongu and scatter themselves throughout the
country. In 1653 A.D., Mohamma Kukuna, Sarkin Kano, called
the Maguzawa to Kano to salute him. " They remained twenty-
one days, and played a game in which they beat each other's heads

with iron The Sarki said, ' Next year come again and

let all your men come with their hauyias (=hoes) on their
shoulders. If you do so Zanku (addressing the chief) God willing,
no Sarkin Kano will be driven out again.' *To this day they
perform a hoe dance peculiar to their tribe.

They are now dispersed through the provinces of Kano,
Sokoto, Zaria, and Bauchi (where they number 6,510) and there
are isolated members of the tribe further south.

MALABU.

AUTHORITY : Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Malabu inhabit a range of rocky hills six miles to the
north of Billa Malabu on the Yola-Kamerun frontier, and are
included in the independent Pagan administrative division of
Yola Province.

They came from the east some four or five generations ago.

The present tribe is a fusion of Lakka (a Kamerun tribe) with
the Jire (an offshoot of the Batta) and three septs of Batta,
the Habaru, Diginte, and Angure, who occupied the eastern,
central and western hills in the immediate neighbourhood of
Vango Malabu the capital. The two latter joined against the
former, but, after a period of fighting, amalgamated under one
Chief, who was chosen alternately from the royal families of the
two sections.

Legal cases are judged by a council, who may have recourse to
trial by ordeal, though this is only occasionally done. There
are five recognised crimes :—

(1) Murder, which is punished by death or the payment of
blood-money.

(2) Witchcraft, when the entire family of the guilty party
is liable to be sold into slavery.

(3) Rape, when the criminal receives a hundred lashes and
must pay damages.

* Kano Chronicle.

TRIBES. 265

(4) Seduction, when the offender pays damages if the girl is of
tender years. If she is of marriageable age it is considered no
crime.

(5) Theft. A thief is obliged to restore the stolen goods and
sometimes receives a small punishment in addition.

Perjury is practically unknown, for they believe that a false
oath made on fetish would result in death within a month. Hence
boundary disputes are settled by oath. The claimant of the land
eats some earth from the disputed area saying " If this is not
my earth may I not eat the fruits thereof and live."

Land is vested in the heads of the original colonising families,
each of whom has the right of distribution within his own sphere.
These heads allot the land according to the needs of the applicants,
marking the boundaries carefully with cairns. Land so granted
belongs to the recipient and his heirs in perpetuity so long as
it is farmed, but it may not be mortgaged, let, nor seized for
debt, nor may a woman hold it.

A man's property passes to his sons and daughters, failing
them to his brothers ; whilst his widows pass to his brothers and
failing them to his sons. A widow receives a " woman's share "
(i.e., a third of that of a man) of any grain that may happen to
be in the corn bin at the time of her husband's death.

Slaves may hold property and slaves, but on death the suc-
cession passes to their masters.

The principal occupation is agriculture, but a little weaving
is done, and pottery is made for local use. Some carved wooden
figures and dolls are to be found, but these are mostly of old
workmanship.

Hunting is accounted a regular craft, and the office of village
hunter is hereditary. Any man can join the hunters' guild,
however, on the payment of a small fee. He is taken into the bush
and given a lesson in venery, after which a slight incision is made
down the back of his left thumb and a decoction of bark is rubbed
into it, for the double purpose of rendering him a good shot and
of securing his safety from bush-devils. Bows and arrows are used
against birds and small game, whilst bigger animals are trapped.
Sometimes a weighted spear is suspended from a tree over a game
track and is released by the animal disturbing a twig in passing.
More commonly a small round pit is dug, eighteen inches deep
and nine inches across, carefully concealed by earth on a rush mat.
A strong rope noose is put round it, attached to a log of wood ;
as the antelope steps into the hole the noose tightens round the
fetlock and the log checks his escape.

Baboon and wild boars are driven into nets made of creepers.

Weapons used in warfare are bows with strophanthus-poisoned
arrows, spears, and short two-edged swords.

Young men wear their hair in a series of small plaits, orna-
mented with blue beads, whilst the elder men shave their, heads

266 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

but often plait their beards into a tail. They wear a leather loin-
cloth, and a short sleeveless gown of coarse white native cloth,
a cap to match, and on state occasions a pair of loose drawers.
At festivals the above is discarded for a kilt of fibre, goatskin
garters, and anklets of twisted brass wire with bells (heirlooms)
or irregular shaped, hollow bosses of plaited palm-leaf half filled
with hard seeds which rattle as the wearers dance.

Some people tattoo for personal adornment, but there are no
tribal marks.

Girls shave their heads for the first time when they are about
ten years old ; when their hair grows again it is plaited, like a
young man's ; but a few years after marriage it is shaved off
and never allowed to grow again. Girls wear strings of beads
and necklaces of beads or horsehair, and anklets, which, after
marriage are discarded, except for festive occasions. For dances
they wear kilts of beads. A married woman habitually dresses
in a short strip of coarse cloth. A month before marriage, which
takes place one month after puberty, i.e., when a girl is about
twelve years of age, the bride lives with an old woman ; she
may wear no ornaments, nor may she dance with other girls.
On her marriage-day she is washed and her person is smeared
with powdered cam- wood. Her brass bracelets and anklets are
returned to her, and she puts on all the clothes she can borrow,
together with a bead kilt, red cap and turban. She spends that
day in her parents' house, where drinking is carried on freely.
At dusk she is carried to the bridegroom's house on the back of
her best friend, escorted by other virgins. If the marriage is
barren polyandry is lawful, but the offspring belong to the lawful
husband. A woman can obtain divorce by repayment to her
husband of the dower he gave for her.

A man usually marries at the age of sixteen.

He is first admitted to the full privileges of manhood after
circumcision, that is to say, if he sustains the operation without
flinching, if he winces he is publicly disgraced. The village priest
and elders take the noviciates, boys of nine or ten years of age,
out into the bush to undergo the ordeal when the first rains of
the year fall. They are left in the bush to fend for themselves
and thus prove their manhood, and they may not return until
their wounds are healed. When they go back a feast is held ; they
are given a cap and gown, may sit amongst the men on this and
future ceremonial occasions, and for the first time get drunk.

A great feast is 'held after the last crop has been gathered,
when goats and fowls are sacrificed at the village tsafi place,
followed by dancing and beer drinking. This closes a month of
purification, when no one may get drunk, fight, or even plan a
raid, talk big, or be either scolded or punished.

There are three principal spirits :

TRIBES. 267

* (i) Giddi, a malignant god, who resides in a sacred spring
on the summit of a high hill near Holma in the Kamerun. He
is propitiated with libations of beer and blood, and the people
beseech him to leave them, the common prayer being " Giddi,
I repent, leave me."

(2) Pua is the lord of heaven, a cool place where charity is
returned a thousandfold. It is doubtful whether women can go
there.

(3) Jehako is the lord of hell, a hot place, where those who
have struck or cursed their mothers, or otherwise done ill, will
go for punishment. He jumps out at people and slaps their faces
in the dark, or hits two men on the head, making them believe
each that the other has assaulted him and thus engenders a
quarrel. The prayer addressed to him is " Jehako — keep away."

If a man prays to Pua and Jehako he can return to earth
after death, as a woman, or a buffalo, or some other animal. The
belief in transmigration of souls is of recent importation from the
Kilba tribe, as is ancestor worship. In times of peril the elders
go to the burial ground to consult with the spirits of the dead.

Every village and every person has a material object of
worship, which is not merely a symbol. It often consists of a
calabash of water obtained by the chief priest (who resides on
that hill-top) from the water spilled by Giddi from the sacred
spring, or of a stone from the same sacred hill, or perhaps of
an animal's head. Sacrifices are made to and oaths are sworn
on these objects.

MAMA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. A. Campbell-Irons. Mr. H. F. Mathews.

Captain A. S. Lawrance. Captain H. L. Norton- Traill.

The Mama occupy an independent district at the eastern base
of the Murchison range, covering an area of 240 square miles.
It is situated in the Lafia Division of Nassarawa Province, and
adjoins the Bauchi boundary.

The Mama number some 7,891 , and are divided into four clans :
the Arum, Barrku, Burruza and Upie.

The headman of Mungar (Upie'clan) is generally acknowledged
to be the tribal chief. He can trace back to three generations
of chiefs, the succession being to brothers, then sons. He is
assisted by a council composed of the headmen of the other three
clans (1914 A. D.). Each village has a headman in whom, and in
the members of whose family, religious power is vested.

* Compare Batta.

268 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

They claim to be indigenous to their present location, and
bear an apparent resemblance to the Bantu stock.

They were subject to constant raids, but were never subdued
until the advent of the British, who placed them under the juris-
diction of the Emir of Lafia. This proved to be a purely nominal
measure, and in 1914 they were declared an independent district.

The clans speak a common language, but owing to division
caused by constant feuds, divergences have arisen which make
it hard for one to understand the dialect of another.

They make use of the duodecimal numerical system.*

They are an intelligent race and physically fine, but are said
to have been cannibals.

Both sexes go about absolutely naked, but decorate them-
selves with beads, which are generally turquoise blue in colour.
A fashionable ornament is a bead necklet with pendants. The
lobes of the ears and cartilage of the nostrils are pierced and
straws inserted, which may be as much as eighteen inches in
length.

The women carry their babies on their backs and use a skin,
usually a monkey-skin, for the purpose, decorated with little
bells and beads. On certain occasions women dye themselves
red. Some married women wear a tiny fringed apron with beads
depending from it, but this fashion is probably borrowed from
the Nungu.

Children are marked when they are nine years old, but the
practice has been abandoned by some families.

The Barrku, Burruza and Upie clans have common markings,
i.e., cuts right round the forehead and cheeks to below the ear,
and five cuts on either side of the lips ; these latter are sometimes
raised.

The villages are either situated on hill-tops, with stone wall
fortifications, or they are hidden away amongst groves of oil-
palms. The houses are round and peculiarly high, having lofts
which are accessible only from outside by means of ladders. The
mud is a very bright red and both walls and doorways are orna-
mented. There are no enclosed compounds, the huts being
built very close to one another. There is a pointed stone in every
township, round which both sexes dance, and sacred emblems,
stones or skulls, are freely scattered throughout the village, as in
the adjacent farms, to which offerings of blood and pito are made.

The Tsafi-house is often in the midst of the dwellings, and is
distinctive by the number of skulls of bush-cow and of oxen with
which its outer walls are hung. Many of the heads are purchased
from the neighbouring pagans on the Bauchi plateau, to whom
payment of children is made, if possible children stolen from
some other tribe, but if necessary their own. The skulls of

* Vide Kwoll, Mada, Nungu, Burumawa, Ninzam.

TRIBES. 269

enemies are kept inside the temples. Women do not take part
in the religious festivals , an antelope horn being blown to give them
notice that they must remain in their houses. It is believed
that barrenness would be the punishment for any infringement
of this rule. On these occasions two men don carved wooden
masks, with long horns, in representation of some animal, and
fringes of dried grass depending therefrom effectually conceal
the countenance of the wearer, who is thought to represent some
person or thing long since dead. It seems probable that the
Mama observe ancestor worship, as the skulls of deceased relatives
are preserved in the compounds.

The men breed stock : cattle, sheep, goats, and a small pony
used for hunting, in which they excel. They ride bare-back,
and make a natural saddle by slitting the skin on the back of
the pony and laying back the flaps, which, of course, presently
harden.

Their country is honeycombed with game-pits, which are dug
in groups of two or three on narrow tracks to a depth of ten feet
to twenty feet. They are some three feet six inches across and
are concealed by light sticks, leaves, grass and earth.

The land is prolific in oil-palm, shea-butter, locust-bean and
rubber trees. A considerable quantity of guinea-corn is culti-
vated, which is converted into pito, and so long as a bundle remains
in the place the men and women and children are perpetually
drunk.

Brass and clay-headed pipes are smoked.

Arms used are bows and wooden-tipped poisoned arrows. A
heavy metal knife, the handle of which is shaped like a flattened
ring, which fits round the hand and enables the wearer to draw
his bow to the full extent.* Swords, which are generally of
foreign construction. Light javelin spears, the metal-head being
brought to a point and driven into the wooden shaft, which is
strengthened at the neck by a metal ring to prevent splitting.
Clubs with knobs, not unlike those used by the Zulus.

Drums of every size are used, from the " gidi-gu," which is
six feet or more in length to one with the circumference of a
tea-cup. A different kind is peculiar to every dance ; and others
are used to transmit messages. Other instruments are the horns
of antelopes, to which gourds are often affixed ; whistles made
of wood ; pan-pipes from reeds ; " Molo " or guitars, to the lower
surface of which gourd cups are attached ; rattlesf made out
of gourds shaped like water-bottles (Lagenaria vulgar is) and
covered with a network of string, a little bfilet of hardwood being
placed at each intersection of string. These rattles are used at
ju-ju dances, when they are shaken to the accompaniment of beast-

* Compare Munshi.
| Similar in Mada. .

270 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

like howls. At the same time iron rattles are worn on the legs*
the prevailing form elsewhere being, rattles made from seed pods.

Intermarriage between the clans and with neighbouring tribes
is permitted, but it is expected that an interchange should be
made, though a payment of so many goats is the nominal dower.

If adultery is committed by two members of the same village
they are whipped by the whole community, the woman by women
the man by men. If, however, the woman runs away to some
other village and is not returned to them, her relatives lie in wait
to capture or kill any member of the township to which she has
run.

Murder is punishable on the basis of restitution. The bereaved
family sends an emissary who bears, either a miniature bow and
arrow, or stick (such as women carry to the farms) according to
the sex of the murdered.

He demands that an equivalent should be handed over to
him, but the matter may be arranged by the payment of goats
or cattle. A refusal to comply with the demand leads to a blood-
feud.

MANDARA.

A colony of Mandara migrated from their habitat in Adamawa
and settled at the town of Gudu, north-west of Song, in Yola
Emirate, at some period long prior to the Filane Jihad, where
they now number some three hundred. They are devout Muham-
madans and claim that the mark of Muhammad's foot is still
imprinted on the hill when he stepped over from Mecca. The
entire population read and write Arabic.

MANGA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. P. A. Benton.

Manga is a contraction of the name Madinga, but it has
been universally adopted for seventy years.

They were probably an indigenous race who were conquered
by the Kanuri. Recently they suffered much from Rabeh's
invasion, but took advantage of it to drive the Kanuri out from
the Alanjurori district 1(Geidam) where they had themselves been
settled since circ. 1650 A.D. ; but in five years time the Kanuri
returned. The Manga now intermarry with the Kanuri, but not
with the Kanembu.

* Also used by dancers of Sarkin Kaiama and Sarkin Borgu.

TRIBES. 271

They accepted British administration at once, but proved
troublesome for a few years. They are under a district-head
responsible to the Shehu,

They are a tall, heavily framed and vigorous race, who were
originally hunters, par excellence, they discovered salt and
potash, which they now work, farm, fish, dye, weave and plait
grass.

The majority of the tribe inhabit large territories north of
Lake Chad and of the Yo River, but there are a few in the Emirates
of Katagum, Hadeija and Gumel, and some 420 in Bauchi Emirate.

They are of the Muhammadan religion.

MARAWA.

The Marawa are a small community of hill-pagans, inhabiting
Bauchi Emirate in the north of the Province.

MARGHI.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. H. B. Hermon-Hodge. Mr. S. H. P. Vereker.

The Marghi tribe, together with their offshoot, the Chibuk,
occupy an area of 2,600 square miles in the extreme south-east
of Bornu Province, and 1,050 square miles in the adjoining
Districts of Marghi and Uba, in Yola Province their population
being respectively 38,683 (including 3,238 Chibuk), and at a very
rough assessment 5,000 ; the male slightly preponderating over
the female sex in Uba District.

Little is known of the origin or history of the Marghi, but
Dr. Barth believes their language to be a dialect of Batta, and to
approach, in certain principles, the South African group of lan-
guages. In Bornu many of them speak Kanuri, and in Yola
Filane, in addition to Marghi. They are probably of the same
stock as the Kilba, though they have now lived apart for many
ages. There is only a slight dialectical difference in their lan-
guages.

The Marghi cannot remember a time when they were not in
their present location. In the fifteenth century a Kanuri man
came and settled in West Marghi (Bornu) and lived amongst them,
presumably as their chief, for forty years, returning to his own
people once every year for the big Salla. His successor was
summoned away from Marghi to build a wall ; he declined to go
and his Mai threatened to bury him alive. He gave himself up

272 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

to this fate on condition that his people might remain indepen-
dent. Many years later, however, there is a record of his successor
complaining to the Shehu of the fatigues of his long annual
journey to do homage at Kukawa, and permission was given to
him to select a rest camp, which he did at Maifoni. In the mean-
while, circ. 1570 or 80 A.D., rumours reached the Shehu that the
land in East Marghi was very fruitful, so he sent a Kanuri, of
the name of Zerma, to become chief thereof under his suzerainty.

Guinea-corn is the staple crop of that district, whereas through-
out Bornu it is millet. Sweet potatoes also are grown there and
are rare throughout the rest of the division.

They quarry iron-stone and carry on a considerable and
ancient industry in smithying. A well-made hoe was given to their
feudal chiefs each year by every smith ; and a piece of iron, of
no great thickness, breadth or length, formed the currency in
times before cowries were introduced and, to a less extent, up to the
present day. In Uba District, however, no smelting is done.
The Marghi also possessed a monopoly of that stone used for
grind-stones. They are intelligent and hard workers and gather
honey, weave, dye, and trade in addition to their farming and
smithying occupations.

Those in Bornu are probably more advanced than their
brethren of Yola, who are reported to be great robbers.

Those Marghi who are situated in Yola Province were old
communities before the advent of the Filane. They owed allegi-
ance to one of three powerful chiefs, i.e., the Arnado of Kilba,
Arnado of Baza, or the Arnado of Uba (now Vango Uba). The
former was probably the most important, for the Arnado of Uba,
after collecting cloth, corn and goats as a gaisua from his people,
went to Kilba and himself made gaisua to the Arnado Kilba.

The duties of the Arnados were (a) to apportion uncultivated
land amongst any of their people who desired land for farming
purposes (the new occupant would usually make him a present
from the first-fruits, but to do so was not compulsory) ; (b) to
regulate disputes and punish crimes ; and (c) to preside over
religious ceremonies.

The following details come from Uba District :—

It was customary for a murderer to give the Arnado ten
gowns, and to take two gowns, one turban, one cap, one goat,
ten baskets of corn, and one girl to the grave of his victim, where
the brother, or some other relative of the deceased, took possession
of them.

A thief paid a fine fixed by the Arnado approximating to
the value of the goods stolen.

An adulterer paid a fine of from two to five gowns to the
Arnado. The husband, who recovered his wife, received no
damages.

TRIBES. 273

When the corn is one foot high the Arnado signifies that the
annual festival of the god " Kovi "* is about to be held, and all
the inhabitants of Vango Uba brew beer in preparation for it.
Two days later people assemble, some coming great distances,
even from the Kamerun. The Arnado places a white calabash,
containing samples of all the different foods they hope to grow,
at the foot of a small rough stone, the shrine of " Kovi," and
prays for good rains and a plentiful harvest. The ceremony is
followed by feasting and drinking, when many goats and much
beer is consumed. It is noteworthy that no sacrifices are offered.

Oath is made in the name of " Kovi," and any property left
near his shrine is respected.

Though the majority of the people are pagans, Muhamma-
danism is spreading among them.

The authority of the three Marghi Chiefs has lapsed and their
kingdom has been incorporated in Yola Emirate, the third
grade, and hereditary, Filane Chief Ardo Jibba, being their
immediate chief. The Chief of Vango Uba retains his position
as chief priest.

The Bornu Marghi have retained their independence under
Amadu Kogo, a native of West Marghi.

There is ah itinerant native court which travels on circuit
from Yajua to Dumboa and Mulgwe. It holds month-long
sessions.

The Marghi are very dark in colour and of good physique.
The men wear aprons of tanned goat-skin, which are drawn
between the legs and left to hang like a tail at the back ; of
these there are many designs. They wear their hair in tiny
greased plaits and hang heavy necklaces of blue and white beads
round their necks. The young men wear round and square
armlets, which are replaced by brass bracelets after they are
married. Both sexes stick beads or grass into the lobes of their
ears. Girls wear a heavily fringed girdle of wood, stone, glass
or brass beads, which is usually replaced on marriage by one
with iron hooks. A bunch of leaves sometimes completes the
costume. They wear light iron, brass and grass armlets, anklets,
and bracelets ; and in the chin (Bornu) a three-inch long piece
of stick, or a small disc of wood, bone or metal. The more civilised
are gradually abandoning their national dress for a short ogwn
or fatare.

The villages are built at the base of the hills; the huts are
round in shape. In these hills are caves, where the inhabitants
retreat 'in time of danger, and the warriors shoot with poisoned
arrows from the shelter of the rocks. Bows and arrows and
spears are always carried, in addition to a small knife. The
Marghi fight both on foot and on horseback.

* The Kilba worship an identical god under the name of " Dovi."
u

274

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Marriage is arranged when a girl is two months old. The
suitor prefers his suit by offering her mother three or four mats ;
if she accepts them the engagement is ratified and henceforth he
brings a portion of any game he may kill. When the girl is
seven years old he takes four chickens and two baskets of corn
to her mother, and at the same time removes his bride to his
compound, where he keeps her in strict seclusion for two months.
She is then returned to her mother, together with one chicken
and eight mats. When the child reaches marriageable age a
feast is held at her mother's compound, to which the groom
contributes two goats, two baskets of corn, two baskets of aya,
and one basket of flour. She then goes to his compound, where he
builds her a new hut, and the marriage ceremonies are concluded
by his killing two goats and presenting one to her mother, and the
other to her uncles and aunts.

Should a child be born to them before the ceremonies are
complete, abortion is procured lest they should never have another
infant. A girl may refuse her suitor, and divorce is recognised.

When a death occurred beer was immediately brewed and
drunk. The next day people assembled to dance and shoot, to
the accompaniment of drumming. Burial took place in the
evening of that day. If the deceased were a rich man he was
dressed in trousers and one or two gowns, if a poor man his jaw
was merely tied with a white cloth. . At sunset the corpse was
laid on its left side, straight out, with the left hand under the
left ear, and facing to the west, in a grave three feet deep, the
entrance to which is through an aperture in the middle. The
festival was celebrated throughout the following day also, and
after the interval of a week, beer was laid on the grave, and the
ceremony was complete.

MASH mo.

AUTHORITY : Major F. Edgar.

The town of Mashido is situated in a fertile valley in the
Duguri District. It has a population of some 233, the majority
of the inhabitants having migrated to Geriyal.

They wear Jarawa tribal markings.

M'BULA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. H. Ryan. Mr. S. H. P. Vereker.

Mr. G. W. Webster.

It is doubtful whether theM'Bula are an off-shoot of theBatta
(of the Jire or Diginti section), or whether they are a branch of

TRIBES. 275

Mundong who, owing to famine, left their country in the vicinity
of Lere and descended the Benue, circ. 1837 A-D., settling under
their Chief " Bulla," at Hosere Malabu, Yola Province, in the
district now bearing their name, and acknowledging the suze-
rainty of the Bashamma.

They are an independent and industrious race, their occupa-
tions being the usual riverain trades, hunting and farming.

In clearing the ground for a new farm a man receives the
assistance of his friends. He then sows seeds amongst the grass,
which he subsequently cuts down and leaves as manure. When
the crop is one foot high he clears the ground, but leaves the
rubbish as manure. No rotation of crops is practised. Men and
women each cultivate and own separate crops. Tobacco is
largely grown.

Fowls, dogs, rats and snakes are all eaten.

A couple of the same name, or of the same family, may not
marry, nor is a. lunatic permitted to wed. An accepted suitor
works on his future father-in-law's farm in the wet season, and
repairs his mother-in-law's house in the dry season. When his
fiancee reaches marriageable age he lives with her at her parent's
compound, but when the next wet season comes he brings her
guinea-corn from which she brews pito. She takes it to his farm
where all the villagers assemble to drink it, and his friends prevent
her returning to her parents.

Women cannot be divorced, but they are occasionally known
to leave their husbands.

Circumcision is not practised.

Abortion may be procured by drugs.

A corpse is washed and kneaded to prevent rigor mortis.
It is buried in the house at a depth of 2\ feet, the approach being
through a tunnel from outside, which entrance is subsequently
closed. Women are buried with their parents.

Widows shave and wear white loin-cloths and threads round
their necks and arms.

Inheritance is to the sister, who is sole heiress ; failing her,
the uncles and aunts on the mother's side inherit, failing them
their children. This is opposed to the Batta and Bashamma
custom, where the wife and eldest son inherit ; but, on the other
hand, the M'Bula have many similar customs. They speak the
same language, or a dialect thereof ; and they worship the same
gods attending the same festivals (vide Batta) .

The common dress for both sexes is a loin-cloth, or short fatare,
of special pattern, with a blue or white stripe round the border.
They wear bracelets of iron and brass on the wrists and plaited
grass round the ankles.

276

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The regular arms are bows and arrows.
The M'Bula have their own Chief, who has recently been
supported by a Council.

The population number some seven thousand.

MEDONG MUFONS.

The Mufons, or Medong Mufons, are hill-pagans, situated in
Bauchi Province.

They were conquered by the Filane, but subsequentl
regained their independence.

Their weapons are spears, axes, clubs and bows and arrows.
They carry shields, which are in themselves a declaration of war

They are keen huntsmen and use dogs to run down game.

They are cannibals.

u

•

MIAWA.

The Miawa inhabit Bauchi Emirate with a population of 1,610.

M IN DA.

The Minda inhabit the Jalingu native district of the Lau
Division of Muri Province, where they have a population
some three hundred.

Thev are believed to be indigenous to that location.

MIRRIAM, MIKIET, LARDANG, LARR.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. A. L. Auchinleck.

Mr. J. B. I. Mackay.

The Mirriam tribe are situated in the Ibi Division, in the
north-west of Muri Province, where, together with the Larr
clan and the Mikiet and Lardang, they number some 8,856.

Though now incorporated the Mikiet and Lardang were
formerly independent, and the Mikiet dialect differs from that
of the Mirriam, but their customs, together with those of their
neighbours, the Dimmuk and Kwoll, are similar ; and it mav
well be that this group are of the same stock as the Angas *
Ankwe, Montol, Sura. They all ride barebacked, and worship

* Vide Angas, p. 9.

TRIBES. 277

i
the god Nan. It is believed that they migrated to their present

location, circ. 1830 — 40 A.D., to escape from Filane pressure.

The following notes have been made about the Mirriam
proper, who first came under British administration in 1909 A. D.

The Sarkin Mirriam, Decham of Kwong, is advised by four
section Chiefs. Ultimate appeal may be made to him in cases
of dispute, but he does not possess much influence in outlying
districts.

The houses are made of mud with thatched roofs. The Mikiet
sometimes erect two or three thatches, one on the top of the
other, raised on two to three inch high log-bands of grass. Grain
stores surround the house, raised to a sufficient height to allow
of sheep or fowls being kept beneath them.

Dogs are kept as house guards and for hunting purposes, but
they are also an article of diet. Sheep, some horses, and a few
Montol cattle are kept. The latter are never milked.

Many industries are practised as well as agriculture ; charcoal-
burning, iron-smelting, pot-making, weaving and leather- working.
A red dye obtained from guinea-corn is much used for staining
leather.

The men wear a strip of leather or cloth round their loins,
and a sheep or goatskin suspended from the waist, but a single
cloth is occasionally worn instead.

Women clothe themselves in the bleached fronds of the Fan-
palm. They wind a strip about an inch broad round the waist
and pass another between the legs.

Girls wear three-inch strips of palm-frond as anklets, and for
full-dress bind more palm round their upper arms, chests and
foreheads. They insert guinea-corn stalks, up to one and a
quarter inches in diameter, in their ears, and occasionally wear
red flowers in their hair, above the ear.

There is no long courtship, nor is any dowry given. The
suitor makes known his intentions by sending the girl a present
of a cooked chicken, through her sister or some other female
friend of hers. A little later the suitor sends her a large calabash
of salt, and if this is accepted, he goes with his ambassadress on
the fourth succeeding clay to the girl's parents and gives them
a chicken and some salt. The bride returns with him to his
house, and four days later the young couple make beer and invite
their neighbours to come and dance.

Men first marry when they are nineteen or twenty, girls
between the ages of fifteen and twenty.

A woman is at perfect liberty to leave her husband, but
adultery is severely punished by flogging and a fine of four fowls.

A woman may not give birth to a child within the house.
After the first child is born to her the husband sends a goat to
his wife's father.

278

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

less

Boys are circumcised two years before they attain the age
of puberty.

When a death occurs women wail and men beat drums. The
corpse is wrapped in a black cloth and buried in a shallow grave,
a few yards from the house at the edge of the compound. It
runs east and west, and a man is laid with his face to the north,
a woman with hers to the south.

Offerings are placed on the grave for a week or two afterwards,
during which time it is sheltered by a small thatched roof.

Widows remarry immediately.

A woman cannot inherit a right of occupancy to land.

The Mirriam worship one supreme god, Nan, besides
deities. They believe in witchcraft.

MONTOL.

AUTHORITY: Mr. J. B. I. Mackay.

The Montol occupy an area of about 156 square miles to the
extreme north of Muri Province, on the borders of Bauchi Pro-
vince, where their population is some 9,070.

Their country is undulating, intersected by small streams,
and well wooded.

The shea-tree is found in the southern part of the district.
The ground is poor, but the ordinary crops are raised and ground-
nuts are used as a form of currency.

In the north-west of this locality, just south of the Murchison
range, is a trachyte pillar, named Mata Fada, which is venerated
both by the Montol and Ankwe. It is the burying ground of the
Chiefs, and they say that they have always lived round its base.

The Montol are closely allied with the Angas, Ankwe, Sura,
and Yergum, their language being similar, though with great
dialectical differences. But very few individuals have acquired
a knowledge of Haussa

At the time of the Jihad they were invaded by the Filane,
but successfully repelled their onslaught.

They were united under the rule of one chief, who gave orders
through two sub-chiefs to the village heads, each township being,
however, more or less independent of the other, and frequently
engaging in internecine warfare.

They have recently (1914) been consolidated under the Sarkin
Ankwe, Dan Tshendam.

The women wear bunches of leaves and the men skins, or one
cloth hanging from the shoulder.

The tribal mark is similar to that of some of the Angas,
i.e., a stripe down each side of the face, which starts from above
the temple and ends short of the chin.

TRIBES. 279

No trade is practised except, to a small extent, smithying.

' Nan* " is the supreme god, and the Montol make intercession
to him through the souls of their ancestors, calling on each one
by name on the occasion of the yearly festival, when the skulls
are taken from the vaults.

' Kim "f is the god of war and eats the men of other tribes
whom the Montol kill in war. There is an effigy of him in every
township and a particular grove is sacred to him, where a sacrifice
of goat , sheep or fowl is made to him on the leaves of the ' ' Kainye ' '
tree (ebony) before any raid is undertaken. A branch of this
tree is sent to the enemy as a declaration of war.

" Bom " is the god of fertility and justice. The wild custard
apple is used in making sacrifice to him. There are two effigies
to him in the district.

' Fwam," ' Ya " and " Shie," gods of the compound, farm,
and corn-bins, have their effigies in every household, and there
are many sacred groves throughout the country.

IYIOROA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. D. Cator. Mr, H. F. Mathews.

Mr. Y. Kirkpatrick. Major Tremearne.

The Moroa occupy the hill district to the north-west of Nassa-
rawa Province, near the borders of Bauchi and Zaria Provinces.
They number some five thousand, including five Attakka villages.
There are rather more men than women.

It is from Zaria that they claim their origin, their ancestors
having left it some time previously to the Filane Jihad ; but
it is probable that they were but a section of a large group which
migrated from the north-west eastwards, of which the Attakka,
Kagoro, Kaje and Katab are members. At all events the lan-
guage which they speak is akin to that of the Attakka and Kagoro
—a certain percentage of the tribe are also Haussa speakers.
Their religionj also is reported to be identical, as are their dressj
and tribal marks. J Having paid tribute to the Habe Chiefs of
Zaria they continued to pay to the Filane at Zaria, and their
Chief was duly recognised as Sarkin Moroa. Though spared Filane
raids they were attacked by the Gannawarri and forced to beat
a temporary retreat amongst the Katab, who, however, took
advantage of their weakness, and the greater number came to
terms with the Gannawarri and returned to their old habitat.

* Angas, Yergum, Sura.

f Angas.

J Vide Kagoro.

280 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The Moroa are slim and well built.

They are good agriculturists and cultivate the usual crops
(with the exception of rice, cotton and onions), and know the
use of manure. They make a large proportion of the grain into
beer, and would starve in the wet season were it not for the women's
bean farms. The land is fruitful. They keep a fair number of
horses (over two hundred) which they ride in a similar manner
to the Bauchi hill-pagans, i.e., either with goat skin saddles
or barebacked. They sometimes make a cut a foot long on the
pony's back and open out the skin ; the flesh swells and forms
a pad, presently becoming callous. No bit is used, a half hoop
of iron behind the jaw, and another over the nose, serving instead,
and they ride with only one rein. Bells are attached to the
manes and tails.

Their compounds are composed of clusters of round huts,
built of mud with thatched roofs.

A boy is named by his father, and circumcision is an ancient
practice amongst them. Twins are considered lucky and the
parents give a feast (at which two goats are devoured) to all the
relatives, a little while after the birth.

The women of the house name all infants on the day of their
birth. It is customary to give the child the name of any stranger
who may happen to be staying in the compound at the time.
Children are suckled sometimes for five years. The mother will
suckle an idiotic or deformed infant for some time, but if it does
not recover she goes away, and the father treats it with various
medicines till it is about ten years of age. If he has failed to
effect a cure he calls in an Attakka or Kagoro priest, who throws
it into the Kaduna River. The father hides meanwhile lest
the child should turn into a pillar of flame and consume him. The
mother may then return, but not before, lest she should conceive
another abnormal child.

A girl is betrothed to the first Moroa suitor from a neighbouring
village who binds two cowries round her wrist immediately after
her birth. When the girl is seven or eight years old he gives her
parents one he-goat, two she-goats, ios., and two thousand
cowries ; after which his boy relatives capture the bride and
carry her to his house. Later on her mother sends a present of
food, and the groom makes a return present of a goat. A woman
may desert her husband, in which case the dower money is
returned to him by his supplant er ; but he may claim the children,
and their mother's parents may be tied up until she consents to
part with them.

For burial customs, see Kagoro, the only difference
being in the case of a Chief, when a big feast is held,
which ordinarily lasts for seven days. The son and heir
must, on pain of being haunted by his father's ghost,
provide a mare, which is led round by a dressed-up laughing

TRIBES. 281

woman during the week's festivities, and is subsequently sold ;
if it were not sold the woman would die. Some of the Moroa
practise burial customs identical to those of the Jaba,* the second
ceremony lasting twenty days, the last twelve of which are spent
in drinking. This ended, the widows are free to remarry.

The estate is divided amongst the sons, the eldest getting the
larger part. The younger brothers have, however, first choice of
the widows.

The ordinary form of oath is for a man to hold corn or ashes
in his hand and pray either that he may be killed by the next
corn he eats, or that he may become as white as ashes if he is not
speaking the truth.

When they enter into a treaty of peace a female goat is sacri-
ficed. It is divided cross- wise while still alive, and eaten by the
contracting parties. The hinder part is given to the attacking
force, but both sides mix together while eating the flesh. A
broom is constructed by the suers for peace and this is handed
to the principal opponent, who holds it and swears that it shall
sweep out all evil-doers.

The district-head is the hereditary Chief, Sarkin Moroa,
Aboma.

By tribal law a murderer was deported to Zaria. where he
was sold as a slave.

A thief was imprisoned until he paid a horse to the village-head.

MOSHAWA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. E. J. Arnett. Mr. H. F. Backwell.

The Moshawa are situated in Sokoto Province ; their principal
town being Wagadugu.

Their tribal marks consist of three big lines on either cheek from
forehead to chin, and a shatani or long deep scar on the cheek on
each side of the nose.

They are pagans and speak no Haussa.

MUMBAKE.

AUTHORITY : Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Mumbake are an offshoot of the Vere. They have a
tradition that they came from the north-east and held tracts of
land as far as the Gijaro Hill.

* Vide p. 164.

282 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

They are now located on the west bank of the Maio Belw?
and on the Mumbake Hill, in Yola Province.

They once owned the suzerainty of the Batta, and each suc-
cessive Chief went to Demsa to receive confirmation from the
Sarkin Batta. When the Batta fled from that region before
the Filane the Mumbake automatically ceased their allegiance
and entered into friendly relations with the Filane, and are now
included in the Emirate.

They are divided into three sub-sections — the Mumbake,
the Yofo, and the Satei — all of whom acknowledge the supremacy
of the Sarkin Mumbake. The Chief was always a member of the
royal family, the succession passing first to brothers, then sons,
then nephews ; the individual being elected by plebiscite. His
functions were those of priest at religious ceremonies, director
of big game drives, and brewer of beer at feasts. He only occa-
sionally sat with the Elders in council, their principal duty being
to settle land disputes and occasionally, though rarely, to inter-
vene in matters of justice.

Murder was unknown. In practice the owner was left to
recapture goods stolen from him, or might appeal to the Council of
Elders for trial by sasswood ordeal. An habitual thief, who was
likewise a stranger, might be expelled, though he was allowed
to take with him his wife and children, even though they were
of Mumbake descent.

A man falsely accused of crime, or who considered himself
libelled, would swear his innocence on the bow of a third party,
by the weapons of his ancestors. The owner of the bow would
then fire at some animal, if he hit it the accused would take the
bow, arrow and game to his libeller, who had to pay him six
things ; if the archer missed he had to pay them to his accuser.

A man committing rape or adultery would be killed by the
aggrieved husband ; if the girl were not engaged he would pay
damages to her parents.

An illegitimate child belongs to his mother's lawful husband,
but does not inherit from him. Lunatics were confined and their
property held in trust, either by their brothers or sisters. Heirs
were liable for debt, a record of which was kept by tallies of grass,
but there was no means of enforcing payment. Interest was
unknown.

Sale takes place before witnesses and is not complete until
the full price has been paid. Movable property is pledged, but
not persons or land. There is no hired labour or slavery.

All land disputes were referred to the Elders, but if no agree-
ment was come to the interested parties appealed to force.

In the first place rights of occupancy are granted by the village
Chiefs, and these pass to the occupant's heirs. Should land thus
granted be deserted for any period up to a year it cannot be
regranted, unless it is proved that the whole family is extinct. A

TRIBES. 283

resident foreigner may be given a right of occupancy, which
passes to his heirs, but lapses should he leave the district. A
non-resident may be granted a loan of land, either from the
village-chief or a private individual, but the right lapses with his
death and is terminable at any time, by notice, after the harvest
is gathered. No rent is given. Women may not own land.

Locust-bean, tamarind, baobab and shea-butter trees are the
property of the farmer on whose land they grow ; other trees
are common property wherever they grow, and all trees on fallow
and bush land are common to all.

Boundaries between farms are marked by cairns and yuware
or yayi (grass) .

In preparing a farm the ground is cleared and the refuse burned
upon it. The farmer then sacrifices a cock, holding it on the
path that leads from his house to the farm, with its head towards
the farm, and cuts its throat. He can then proceed to lightly
hoe, plant and weed his land, his implements being a locally-made
light hoe and a short-hafted, pick-headed axe, which, when
turned round, forms an adze. (The iron is imported from Mumuye
country). Neither rotation of crops, manuring nor irrigation is
practised. When the corn is ripe the Chief takes a knife, which
is smeared with the juice of tiger-lily root. With this he cuts
the first corn, brews it into beer, and when it is ready summons
the men to drink it, smearing the dregs on the back of each
man's hand and praying for a good crop the following year. No
one may reap before this ceremony has been enacted, but if they
require the grain to satisfy hunger, they may take sufficient for
the daily need, but must either hoe the corn down at the roots,
or bite the heads off with their teeth.

Goats, fowls and dogs are kept, but with the exception of game,
meat is rarely eaten. The ordinary food is porridge made of
guinea-corn, which is eaten with a sauce of vegetable oil and
salt, herbs, yams, ground-nuts and fish.

If there is a shortage of crops the fruit of the baobab, flour
from the locust-bean , wild yams , the seed of a grass called ' ' tabra , ' '
and the root of a plant like the bulrush, called " labbifauru " =
' hyaenas spear," and which resembles a close fibred onion, are
all consumed. In no case may any member of the canine or feline
species, a horse, donkey, house-rat, monkey or bird of prey be
eaten.

It is the custom, though not the right, for the poor to receive
food from the rich.

The Mumbake weave a good coarse cloth from locally grown
cotton, and they make bags for the storage of grain and knapsacks
from the fibre of the baobab tree. They also make a rough
pottery.

284

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Trade is by barter — strips of cloth, hoes, iron bars, bracelets
and goats being the ordinary form of currency. The only recog-
nised measure is a basket which can hold fifty-six pounds of
threshed grain.

Fish is obtained in the rainy season. It is first dried and then
ground up v/ith herbs, then damped and moulded into cones.

Hunting is a regular ceremonial, big circular drives being
organised within defined boundaries. The day before the hunt
is to take place they clean the graves of their ancestors, and lay
their weapons on them, saying : " By the respect I have shown
you, grant me your prowess with the weapons I have inherited."
On the day itself they follow the Chief to a certain spot, where
they form a long line on either side of him. He takes a branch
of a tree with silvery leaves, and shakes it towards the sun,
saying : " This we inherited from our forefathers — may this hunt
prosper." He then breaks the branch into two pieces, throws
them on the ground, spits on them, and puts a stone on them
to hold them down.

The hunters extend right and left, till they form a huge circle,
they then advance towards the centre, firing the unburnt grass
as they go . The man who draws first blood gets the animal , but gives
the shoulder and neck respectively to those who were second and
third to hit it . If the beast is not dead they turn the head towards
the sun and cut its throat. The Chief receives the leg and liver
of a roan antelope or of a buffalo, but of no other animal. As
they return home the women come to meet them, dancing a
special dance.

The weapons used (including those used in warfare) are bows
and arrows, light spears, axes, and two feet long swords, the
blades of which are narrow near the hilt, and broaden to their
widest point some three inches above the point.

The Mumbake men are small in stature ; they have high narrow
foreheads, high cheek bones, small deep-set eyes and long some-
what bulbous noses. They usually wear 'either loin-cloths of
tanned goat-skin, dyed black, or a short sleeveless tunic of red
or blue cloth, woven locally. The older men shave, while the
young men plait their hair, stringing beads to the end of each
tail. They also wear necklaces of blue or of white beads. All
the men carry knapsacks, made of baobab fibre, in which are
stowed! flint, steel and tobacco, for they are great smokers and
snuff-takers, besides drinking largely. In character they are
industrious, fairly intelligent, and more straight-spoken than
many.

The women wear belts of ramma (Hibiscus lunarifolius) fibre,
with a short tassel in front and a long tassel behind. These are
discarded for rough work, but the older women replace them with
a bunch of leaves. A string or two of beads round the waist and
a necklace completes the costume, which is handed down from

TRIBES. 285

mother to daughter. They wear the hair in an identical manner
with the men.

A family embraces all descendants of a common ancestor to
the fourth generation, all within those degrees being bound by
the family obligations, blood vengeance, etc. A stranger could
be adopted into the tribe if he were willing to attend the harvest
festival and conform to all the rites.

If a foreign woman married into the tribe her first child was
considered to belong to her own tribe, and all subsequent ones
to their father's.

No man was permitted to marry his own first cousin, or his
wife's sister or niece.

Betrothal takes place when a boy is about six years old and the
girl three days old. The suitor, or his guardian, then brings wood
and water to the mother of the infant. When the baby first
laughs he gives her a string of beads, when she walks alone> a
strip of coarse undyed cloth and a calabash. From then on he has
to feed her and she is under his control, except as regards house-
hold duties, which she fulfils under her mother's orders. When
she is seven or eight the boy builds her a separate hut in her
parents' compound, to which he has access, giving her mother
three strips of cloth. When she is of age, or becomes enceinte,
he kills a sheep or bull, and feasts her family at her house. They
send him grain, which he brews, and next day the girl goes to his
house. In about nine days, when the beer has fermented, there
is a big feast there. Henceforth the groom is no longer obliged
to work for his father. Before she attains the age of puberty
a girl may refuse to consummate the marriage, in which case
the dowry is returned. So long as she is in her parent's hut
adultery is thought no great wrong. There is no divorce.

It is the recognised duty of a husband to provide his wife
with food and beads, while she is obliged to cook for him and to
carry water. Of her own free will she will often help him on the
farm.

A man may have as many as six wives. His first wife is the
chief one, and apportions their duties and even food to the others,
while the husband can only give them presents through her.

A woman does not cohabit with her husband until her

youngest child can walk alone. She suckles it until another

baby arrives, or it refuses. There is a heavy infant mortality
from malaria.

Boys are circumcised when they are about thirteen years
old. The men form a circle, some three deep, round them, and
one by one is seized and held from behind while the chief performs
the operation. The wounds are treated with poultices of hot

286 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

water and baobab leaves. When these are healed the youths
are accounted adults, and may take part in drinking and religious
ceremonies.

When a man dies his body is wrapped in a sack of cloth, if
a rich man ; in strips of native cloth, if a poor man ; and the
women dance, sing and wail till the following day, when the
corpse is buried in a grave, three feet deep, lined with leaves,
the feet being towards the east. Friends bring grain, which is
brewed and drunk at the feast that takes place nine days later.
Should the body swell it is regarded as a sign that the deceased
was a witch, and that the familiar is attempting to escape. In
this case the ordinary rites are not observed.

Widows are obliged to marry a brother, nephew, or first
cousin of their late husbands, but within these limits they may
make their own selection.

The property is divided between the deceased's (a) eldest
surviving brother [full or uterine], (b) eldest surviving son,
(c) brother's son, (d) son's son, (e) eldest surviving daughter's
son, (/) sister's son. It is the practice for the deceased's brother
to hand over the land to the sons, should they not already have
sufficient.

Minors are in custody of their (a) mother's husband, (b) of
their father's eldest surviving brother, (c) or of his son. Girls
are under the guardianship of their mother and fiances, if they
have no mother of her sister.

A woman's property passes to her (a) sisters, (b) daughters,
(c) sister's daughters, etc., as above.

The Mumbake believe that the spirits of the dead (Rengma)
go westwards after death, that they may remain spirits and haunt
the burial grounds, or that they may enter some unborn child
and be re-incarnated. The dying frequently see these spirits.
They believe that shooting stars are spirits either entering or
leaving this world, and that meteorites represent the spirits of
important men.

They brought no priest on their wanderings and have lost
many of their traditions, but they think that monkeys may be
human beings, and that anyone who eats them would become
deaf. They think that an eclipse portends the birth of an
elephant .

The Sun, Nyama, is worshipped. He is the patron of the
chase. Vomnugumba, the god of fecundity (agriculture and
child-birth), is also worshipped. His shrine is in a rock sanctuary
on Mumbake Hill. Sacrifices of fowls, goats and beer are made
to both. As aforementioned the Chief is also the high
priest.

TRIBES. 287

MUMUYE.
Off-Shoots : WAKA, YAKOKO, YUNDAM, ZINNA.

AUTHORITIES :

MURI :
Mr. H. M. Brice-Smith. Mr. T. H. Haughton.

YOLA :

Captain E. A. Brackenbury. Mr. S. H. P. Vereker.

Mr. G. W. Webster.

The name Mumuye, by which this people are commonly
known, was given to them by the Filane, the native name being
Fungun or Zagum.

They occupy an area of 530 square miles in the Provinces of
Muri and Yola, with a population of some twenty-five thousand.
Two-thirds of the tribe (17,079) are in Muri, where they have
recently been incorporated in the Emirate. Those in Yola,
together with the Chamba, with whom they have intermarried,
have been put under Yola Emirate, in the pagan division.

They were once conquered and enslaved by the Jukon, but
had long since regained independence when the Filane drove them
from the northern plains to the hills. They joined together in
fighting the common foe, but at other times fought each other
freely.

There is no paramount chief, each tribal group being under a
chief, known as Panti, an hereditary office passing to the eldest
male member of the family, but which carried with it little
authority.

Land was held by these chiefs in trust for their people, but
once a right of occupancy was granted,. the occupier had the
right to sell, lease or give his claim to another.

Cairns and hedges of " yawi " grass mark the boundaries;
any dispute concerning them is settled by the elders, the claimant
first straddling the debated area and invoking death upon himself
before next harvest if he lies.

Debt is universal and a count is kept by tallies of sticks ; in
Yola Province force cannot be used to make a free man pay,
but in Muri property may be seized, or a woman sold, in settlement
of the contract.

Murder was avenged by the family of the deceased (the
slaughter of a witch or a wizard was accounted no murder) ; and
adultery by the aggrieved husband, though he might waive his
right to kill, for a fine of seven goats and a dog.

A thief was commonly sold as a slave.

288 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The Mumuye inhabit a mountainous, well- watered and fertile
country. In the heart of the hills huts are found on the peaks
amongst the rocks, but the villages are more usually built round
the base. The compounds are circular in shape, and are sur-
rounded by zana matting, which encloses two or more round huts
with thatched roofs, and several corn-bins. Every township
contains stables for goats, made of large stones with a flat top.
The villages vary in size from 30 to 250 houses. They are
commonly surrounded with cactus hedges, and are further de-
fended by deep pits in the bottom of which pikes are placed.

Large cow-hide shields an- used, and the weapons are spears,
short swords, and bows and arrows. The latter are tipped with
barbed stcH , which are lightly lashed on to the shafts, the lashings
being smeared with poison for three or four inches. When the
missile strikes the shaft comes oft, leaving the hc;id in the wound
and breaking up the poison, which, if fresh, is strong enough to
kill a buffalo in half an hour. Spears and bows and arrows are
also used in hunting. Game is also netted and snared. A stout
noose is suspended from a pliant sapling, which is kept in its place
by a forked stick holding it to the ground. As the animal enters
the noose the stick is dislodged and, as the sapling springs erect,
the noose pulls taut.

The characteristic dress for a man is one or more leather
girdles, the ends of which are fringed and hang to the front and
back like a sporran of boot-laces. The fringe is ornamented with
beads, cowries and tenths. These are locally made from the
hides of the Filane cattle. In addition to this garment a goat-skin
is worn, the skin of each hind leg being brought round the hips
and tied to the girdle in front, while the fore legs are caught up
between the legs and fastened to the girdle, which is itself kept
fast in front by a piece of stick, to which are attached one or two
strands of the fringe. This costume is varied from nothing at
all to a short gown. Both sexes wear beads, and brass and iron
rings on their legs and arms, and plugs of wood in the ear, from
two to three inches in diameter. The women wear bands of beads
round the loins and bunches of leaves before and behind. Their
stomachs are tattooed, a straw is passed through a hole at the
back of the nostrils, and the nostril is pierced in two places to
contain pieces of wood.

Three horizontal rows of small cuts are made on the forehead
above the eyes, three horizontal rows of small cuts are made
between the eye and the ear, and three horizontal rows of small
cuts on the cheek in line with the lips. The men file the four
upper front teeth to a point.

They are an agricultural people and, particularly those in the
west, make successful farmeis, yams being the staple crop. Large
quantities of tobacco are grown.

TRIBES. 289

Women scatter seed, husk the corn, and do light field labours.

Good pottery is made, the pitchers being ornamented with
dog-like faces, and some of the cooking vessels have three curved
legs.

Weaving is done, and there are a considerable number of
smiths. The iron is smelted locally, it is washed down from
the hills as sand, and is smelted in a long clay pipe, into which
charcoal and ore is thrown alternately. WThen the metal
is collected from the furnace it is again heated and then taken
to the forge.

Honey is collected from large pots, which are placed in the
trees as bee-hives.

In Yola Province the Mumuye collect rubber, which they
sell to Haussa traders for one penny a ball.

The ordinary form of currency is iron bars, thickened in the
centre, and from six to nine inches long, which are made locally.
Their value is fractionally more than id. a piece.

A pale greenish-blue bead from the west (turquoise matrix)
and certain strips of cloths have fixed values, i.e., undyed cloth,
blue and white cloth used for clothing, and green and yellow
striped cloths used for girths. Cowries are in circulation in
small numbers.

Fowls, sheep, goats and cattle are kept, the latter are hump-
less and valueless for milk. They are used as currency and for
sacrificial purposes, as meat is only eaten at festivals, fowls
being exclusively slaughtered for sacrifice. The flesh of goat,
dog and monkey is forbidden to women at all times. The sexes
eat separately, in family groups.

The head of the family has nominal authority over his house-
hold, but his actual power depends on his. physical strength.

There is no legal limit to the number, but a man usually has
one or two wives.

A suitor oils himself and visits the father of his prospective
bride, with whom he drinks, and to whom he gives two iron
bars. If these are accepted his suit is acknowledged, and he
works on his future father-in-law's farm and pays a dowry varying
from twenty to sixty goats, or their equivalent value in iron,
according to the age of the bride, a very young girl fetching the
largest price.

Girls may marry outside the tribe, and are usually allowed
the right of refusal.

Boys are circumcised when two years of age.

Both boys and girls go through a formal initiation. In the
case of the former, at all events, it is a religious ceremony which
takes place in the tsafi house. It comprises tattooing and flogging
in test of manhood.

Women wail throughout the night following a death. The
corpse is stretched straight out with the head towards the east ,

v

290 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

and is placed in a circular grave common to all members of that
family, beneath a big tree in the village. It is five feet in depth,
and an oblong space is scooped out to admit the body. It is not
filled in with earth, but a stone is placed at the mouth. Cooking
utensils are placed on the grave and left till, when the flesh is
decomposed, the skull is removed and carried in a pot to a
secluded place in the village.*

The widows pass to the brothers of their deceased husbands,
to whom they are married after a period of two years, a coarse
white cloth, being worn round the loins by both sexes, during
the period of mourning. It is woven by the Meka branch of
Mumuye.

In addition to the widows the brother of the deceased inherits
the stock, stored grain, etc., and makes a small present to the
younger sons. The eldest son succeeds to the farm, compound,
and to any girls who are virgins.

Some Mumuye think that there is no future life, but others
believe that the dead are born again after an interval of two
years, during which time their lights live in trees near the grave.
The evil have no future life.

Every village has its tsafi house, where images are kept, an
which is surrounded by zana matting.

" Wukka " is the principal god, the god of Fate. Women
may not even hear of him and the elders alone may see his effigy,
a featureless mask of red wood with two horns and a protruding
mouth in the centre. ' Donso " is consulted as to death, but is
not considered infallible.

" Aku " presides over trials by ordeal — a horn is blown
before he speaks. There are many wooden images, some two
feet high, representing both sexes.

The chief festival of the year is held at the time of the yam
harvest, when two men, constantly succeeded by other couples,
dance opposite to each other. They are dressed in ceremonial
garb, i.e., wooden masks with trails of plaited grass, or horse's
tails, hanging to the ground with horns, straw hats adorned
with feathers, and large oblong leather shields which cover the
whole body.

A great deal of beer is drunk on this occasion.

The Mumuye in Muri Province are divided into eight branches :
(i) Kwoji, (2) Kutsere, (3) Kutsere Sungre, (4) Sumpa, (5) Manna,
(6) Meka, (7) Dabon or Zumfa, (8) Kwona. The two former are
the most backward.

The Mumuye in Yola Province have the following off-sets,
who, though they speak different dialects, have a common origin :

* The grave of the Sarkin Kutsere contained three large pots, each
containing four human skulls.

TRIBES. 291

(i) Batisu, (2) Waka, (3) Yakoko, (4) Yundam, (5) Zinna. They
joined together in lighting against the Filane, by whom they
were never conquered.

AUTHORITIES :
Captain R. B. Knight. Mr. G. W. Webster.

At one time the Waka followed the Batta Chief, but threw
off their allegiance in 1907 A.D., and are now in the Independent
Pagan Division of Yola Province.

Their territory adjoins that of the Mumuye and of the Yundam,
whose dialect they understand, and with whom they intermarry.
They occupy an area of about one hundred square miles and have
a population of some 990.

They have a Chief, " Atatingi," and village chiefs who are aided
by a council of elders.

Disputes are sometimes settled by ordeal, when two seeds
of the " Tsoso " tree are put in a calabash of water, which the
accused drinks. If he vomits his claim is proved, but the seeds
are not sufficiently poisonous to cause death.

If a quarrel arises as to debt, the disputants, surrounded by
their friends and relatives, fight it out. The combat is terminated
when a blacksmith erects a small black iron in the centre of the
ring.

The people are mainly agriculturists. Small humped cattle
are kept, besides goats, fowls and sheep.

No circumcision is practised.

When a suitor first goes courting he gives his prospective
father-in-law presents ; • if these are accepted the suit is gained,
and he gives more cloth and goats. When the girl is of marriage-
able age, usually when she is nine years old, the groom comes
and lives in her parents' compound until she has given birth to
her first child, when she goes to her husband's house.

There is no limit to the number of wives permitted.

A corpse is wrapped in a cloth and laid in a rectangular grave
in the compound. It is subsequently closed by a flat stone, which
is covered with mud. After a period of nine months the bones are
gathered and buried in a small hole in the compound and the
grave is available for its next occupant.

Their religion and other customs appear to be identical with
those of the Mumuye.

AUTHORITY : Captain R. B. Knight.

The Yakoko are situated in a flat barren region in the Maio
Faran District, west of Chukol, in Yola Province ; as also in the
fertile and well-watered district bearing their own name. Here,

292 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

in an area of a hundred square miles, they have a population
5.355 healthy people, the old, blind and sick being commonly
driven away or starved to death.

They are an offshoot of the Mumuye and speak a common
language with them ; but for many years they waged warfare
with the neighbouring Mumuye tribes of Zinna and Yundam,
and did not intermarry with them, except as the result of slave-
raids. Male prisoners were always killed, but women were com-
pelled to marry their captors.

The Filane raided but never conquered the Yakoko, who
retaliated by creeping after and ham-stringing the horses of the
invaders.

The tribal Chief, " Ratang," lives on the east side of the
hills, but he is very old, and the Yakoko have been put under
the Zinna chief, who had married a Yakoko woman. He lives
at Zinna.

Each family is governed by its eldest male representative,
whose office is entitled " Panti." Each family occupies a village
to itself, the huts being small in size and built of grass or zana
matting, whereas the houses of the Panti are larger and are built
of mud.

Thick cactus hedges surround each village, the boundaries
between one and the other being demarcated by cairns. They are
situated on or around the hills and are shaded by the cotton
tree and locust bean.

The pods of the former are stored in the corn-bins and are
used both for food and lint.

The farms are in the valleys and are worked by both men and
women, each having his or her own plot. The men exclusively
cultivate guinea-corn (which is used for brewing only) and yams ;
women maiwa ; these being the principal crops. Subsidiary
crops, such as ground-nuts, are cultivated by both alike. The
bins and produce are shared for domestic use. The average
value of a man's farm is assessed at 155., of a woman's at 55.
The ordinary procedure after clearing ground to make a new
farm is to sow guinea-corn or maiwa, the ground being cleared
again when the cereals are about six inches above the ground.
No manure is used and for three successive years guinea-corn
or maiwa are raised on the same plot. The following year the
earth is dug comparatively deep and yams are sown at the tops
of high ridges, two crops being raised in the year. Guinea-corn
or maiwa are grown the following year in regular rotation of
successive years with yams.

Other occupations are iron working and weaving : the cloth
being woven in black, blue, green, brown and white stripes
their main use being as burial shrouds.

The women wear nothing but bunches of leaves, or two large
polished discs below the girdle, with small strings of beads in

TRIBES. 293

front. They insert two pieces of stick lengthwise through their
nostrils, and both sexes pierce the lobes of their ears, gradually
increasing the size of the hole until a piece of wood, shaped like
a reel of cotton, can be inserted.

The men wear skins, cloths, or nothing, promiscuously, to
which are added iron bangles of a size to denote their owner's
rank. That of the most important family-head reaches to the
elbow.

The ordinary arms carried are long and short knives, swords,
and bows with unpoisoned arrows.

A family head generally has two or three wives, but the
commoner can rarely afford the marriage fees for more than one.

A girl is betrothed on her birth, when the groom gives her a
bracelet worth id. He makes continual presents to her parents,
according to his wealth, until the girl attains marriageable age,
at about ten years old. He then gives her cloths, and her parents
goats, etc., and lives with her in her parents' house until she has
borne him a child. If she is barren from natural causes she is sepa-
rated from her husband, but if she has attained this end of set
purpose (a case decided by the god " Vakka ") she is beaten and
driven out from the village.

' Vakka,"* one of the three principal deities, is the god of
morality, and, generally speaking, keeps women in order. (A
man convicted ol adultery is fined six goats and is beaten by the
whole village.) ' Vakka " is represented by a wooden image,
with a man's face painted red and white. The only opening is
the mouth and it has two horns and long yellow flax-like hair.

' Fadoso " is the god of eating and drinking. When he
arrives and sits down to a feast all the young men present rise
and retire, leaving him alone with the elders.

" Jan-la " is the god of justice and settles all legal disputes.

In the temples, which are nothing more than small zana huts,
wooden images, two feet to four feet high, representing male
and female deities, are stored.

Circumcision is practised.

Burial takes place in the compounds. Beads and skins are put
into the grave first, then the body, laid at right angles, wrapped in
strips of cloth. The grave is closed by a stone slab, and a beer-
drinking wake ensues for nine. days. On the ninth day the bones
and skull are removed, and are placed in a hole in the rocks near
the deceased's home, thus leaving the grave free for future use.

A man's brother, or failing a brother, his son, is heir and
executor. He inherits both wives and stock, but if the deceased's
son is over twelve years old the younger widows are reserved for
his enjoyment.

A woman's heir is her eldest brother.

* Probably (he Mumuye " Wukka."

294 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The Yundam are situated to the north-west of Chukol, and
occupy some hundred square miles adjoining those areas inhabited
by the Zinna and Waka. They are closely allied with the Waka,
themselves a sept of the Mumuye, and number some 1,095. They
formerly followed the Batta, but threw off their allegiance in
1907. Some five hundred are situated in the Lau Division of
Muri Province.

The ordinary marriage dower is said to be a large quantity of
" rina " (a dyeing material), a hundred rats, three goats and one
hoe.

The Sarkin Bujam is buried in the town of Bujam, but after
the lapse of two years the grave is re-opened and the skull removed.
It is carried in state to his native village and kept in a house
set apart for the purpose.

The Zinna have a common origin and language with the
Yakoko, themselves an offshoot of the Mumuye.

They occupy some 100 square miles to the south of the Yundam
on the Muri-Yola boundary, a district that contains a population
of some 7,667.

MUN.

AUTHORITY : Major F. Edgar.

The Munawa are a mixture of Kanuri and Jarawa. The
place was originally occupied by a Galadima of Bornu, who
accompanied the Shehu of Bornu on a military expedition,
but he fell ill with small-pox and remained with his wives and
followers at a place called Bakirin, north of Mun. Another
colony from Bornu called Banur also settled in the neighbourhood,
and when the Mune arrived about the middle of the nineteenth
centur}' they intermarried.

The first Chief, son of the Galadima of Bornu, was one of
those who accompanied Yakubu to Sokoto, and who followed
him — he and his people being Muhammadans: — when he declared
the Jihad. Yakubu presented him with a white flag, which
is still at Juwara (Bauchi Division), whence the Munawa moved
in Ibrahimi's reign, but a serious split occurred shortly after,
when the Sarkin Kanam revolted against the Filane, and a large
proportion of the people joined with him and established their in-
dependence at Mun, the Chief, with a small following, returning
to Juwara, where they have lived under the Filane ever since.

TRIBES. 295

The inhabitants of Mun are now reduced to some 322 in
number. They speak Jaranchi, practise circumcision, and
profess Muhammadanism, though they invoke the ' Wari "
(a disembodied spirit) in times of crisis.

They bear similar tribal markings to the Jarawa.

MUNSHI.

AUTHORITIES :

Captain U. F. Ruxton. Mr. A. L. Auchinleck.

Mr. H. 0. Glenny. Captain C. F. Gordon.

Mr. K. Hamilton. Mr. F. E. Maltby.

Captain C. F. Rowe. Mr. H. M. Brice-Smith.

The Munshi or Tivi, with a population of some 350,000,
occupy an area of some 9,000 square miles in the south-east
of Muri Province, where it marches with Southern Nigeria and
the Kamerun.* The Benue flows through their territory, though
only a comparatively small number of people live to the north
of it. Few, if any, villages are on the river itself, but are situated
in undulating, well- watered and open country, which rises to
a height of some 3,500 feet, where it adjoins the Kamerun Moun-
tains. Thick bush and big trees flourish round the streams.

The Munshi probably formed part of a great Bantu exodus,
which migrated from the south-east, by way of the Congo River,
settling in Ogowe, in the Bisheri and Gagi Hills, and at Suem
and the Nongo Hills south-east of Idah, pressing north, of recent
years, in search of fresh lands to their present location.

They are now divided into many clans, but all trace their
descent from a common ancestor, " Awonga " (he of the spear),
who is also called ' Takaruku " (one long in the world), and
of Tivi (or Tibi), his son by " Shono " (my woman).

The legend is that Tivi was a devoted son to his old blind
father, but that when Awonga lay on his death-bed another
son, Oke, impersonated Tivi and obtained his sire's dying bene-
diction and all his possessions.

When Tivi returned and the fraud was discovered his father
could not alter his bequest, but he sprinkled earth upon the
hoe of his favourite son and foretold that his farm would prosper,
and that he would live to feed his brother. The prophecy was
fulfilled, and Tivi became ancestor to the whole Munshi tribe,
whose native name is Tivi.

*A rectification of this line has been made recently, and the Munshi
are no longer in Muri Province.

296 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

He had two sons, Pussu and Tchongo, whose descendants
maintained a broad division one between the other. The
Bai- Tchongo practised circumcision, the Bai Pussu did not; the
practice has now become general.

The pefix " Ba," plural " Bai," means " son of," and the
suffixes " ava, aba, ovo, bo," etc., mean " come," it will
be seen that these are of common occurrence in the clan names.

The following notes are incomplete :—

The Bai-Pussu are commonly called Paraba, which has been
Haussa-ised into Kworaba, from the locality they occupied.
In early days they lived in the Dama country of Southern Nigeria,
whence they were gradually pressed eastwards.

Pussu had three sons and a daughter.

1. Tombo, whose descendants migrated from Gayi in Southern
Nigeria, and who now occupy an area of some 362 square miles,
which is divided into an eastern and western district, with a
population of 12,778, giving an average to the square mile of
28 per cent, and 41 per cent, respectively. The western district
is occupied by the descendants of Tombo's eldest son, Tie, and
the eastern by the descendants of his younger son Raga. B'Aiya
and B'Apeni are sub-sections of the Tie clan.

2. Usara, or Niomerkerre, had nine sons, of whom the
descendants of the eldest, Yandava, occupy an area of
thirty-five square miles, with a population of 2,439, showing
a percentage of 68.3 to the square mile. Sub-sections are Bawar
and Ba-Nyongo. ' Yanda " means a symbol which, like the
fiery cross, summons people on emergency. It takes the form
of the stem of a young bamboo, to which is attached either some
of its own tuberous root, a tassel of cloth, some ribbons, or
a bunch of grass. ' Va " (comes), thus 'Yandava" (the
symbol comes), a name given at birth.

The descendants of the second son, Ipava, occupy an area
of seventy-five square miles, with a population of 8,334, showing
a density of no to the square mile. Sub-sections are Bakperi
and Igoro. ' Ipa " (division).

Ba-Tiava (war is coming) founded a clan who now occupy
an area of twenty square miles.

Another son, Teribi, founded a clan who now occupy an
area of twenty square miles.

Another son, Yorno (ants), founded a clan who now occupy
an area of thirty-three square miles.

Another son, Koro (horns), founded a clan who now occupy
an area of sixty-six square miles with a population of some 2,205.

The three remaining sons were named Shorova, Kussuva, and
Bagerni.

3. The third son, Jachira, had four sons, of whom the
second was called Shangava, which means " he who came
with the wall-eye." His descendants occupy two districts.

TRIBES. 297

In South Shangava they occupy an area of 130 square miles
with a population of 8,510, showing a density of sixty-four per
square mile — in the other district they show a density of twenty-
six per square mile. Sub-sections are Tondovo, Morova, and
Ukorho.

The fourth son bore the name Kunava, which means ' the
bush-fowl comes."

The Kunava district covers an area of some 320 square miles
and supports a population of 47,770, showing a density of 150
per square mile. Sub-sections are Ute, Mbara, Tsamba, Bagwara,
Baduku, Baiyongo, Bakanga and Niengeve.

When the honoured visitor arrives for the first time in a
village the head-men proffer to him a carved double-spoon con-
taining gari, with red pepper in the larger bowl, and salt in
the smaller.

The two remaining sons were named Y'wanava and Igava.

4. Tusha, the daughter of Pussu, was lost in the bush, and
when discovered was with child by a bush-man. This child,
Kamu, has left 7,385 descendants.

Whether or not her other six sons were by the bush-man
is not related.

The descendants of one of them, Nanava, occupy an area
of seventy square miles, with a population of 10,400, showing
a density of 148 per square mile. Sub-sections are Baiyo and
Bagba.

They recognise Toro-Adiko (Siteri ?) as their head, but
rather as a spiritual than a temporal power. They are at constant
enmity with Tsava and Rumbu to the north.

Another son, Utanga, has 1,575 descendants.

The descendants of yet another, Siteri, are in two divisions

—the South Siteri or Siteri Adiko, who are a hill-clan, occupying

an area of 880 square miles, with a population of 13,200, showing

a density of fifteen per square mile, and the North Siteri or

Bashitieve.

Sub-sections of the South Siteri are Ikpav and Igamba.

Another son, Nyeve, has left 915 descendants of his own
name, who now occupy some fifteen square miles of fertile and
undulating country in the Katsena Al ah District, showing
a density of population of sixty-one to the square mile. In the
same neighbourhood is a further group of his descendants,
Ituruvu by name, who, together with the Yiwanava, occupy
an area of seventy-five square miles with a population of 915,
showing a density of twelve per square mile. They are to be
incorporated with the Kendeve, a branch of the Tchongo. They
live in mountainous country on the Kamerun border, the hills
being interspersed with valleys of thick bush and forest, which
are always damp.

298 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Another son, Ukana, has left descendants hight Baika,
with offshoots Bayere and Bagwaza.

The remaining son was named Turubu.
Tchongo had seven sons. The youngest :—

1. Marsaba (—last child), left descendants through Basheho,
of the name of Bakara, who occupy an area of twenty-five square
miles, with a population of 630, showing a density of 25.2 to
the square mile.

2. Another son, Haraba (=he who comes with the quivers
slung on), left descendants who now occupy two districts, eastern
and western Haraba, on either side of the Benue, marching
on the west with Nassarawa Province. Here they occupy an
area of 1,060 square miles, with a population of 48,252, showing
a density of 45.2 to the square mile.

In the eastern district they occupy twenty-four square miles.
They intermarry with the Jukon and Arago.

3. A third son, Nongovo, founded a clan who occupy three
districts, Nongovo East, North, and West, with an area of
nine, six, and seventeen square miles respectively.

4. Another son, Ikurava or Ikworiba, founded a clan who
are divided into two districts; the one has an area of 112 square
miles, while that to the south has an area of 185 square miles.
It marches with the Kamerun border, and in the north consists
of undulating bush country, which rises in the south to a height
of some 3,500 feet. There is a good deal of forest and a good
water supply. The southern district has a total population
of 9,916, showing a density of 56.6 to the square mile.

They were first assessed in 1914 and paid in kind. Sub-
sections are Bayana and Bayini.

5. The descendants of another son, Kendeve, occupy an
area of fifty-five square miles in the Katsena Allah District.
They have a population of 2, 022, showing a density to the square
mile of 37. The district is undulating, intersected by hills 1,200
feet in height whilst in the north an isolated peak rises to a height
of i ,800 feet. It is drained by the Amiri River, which never
dries up. This district is to be incorporated with Maaba.

6. Gwondo has left 5,580 descendants.

7. Another son, Tongovo, was the progeny of an outcast
slave woman, and his descendants are, therefore, reckoned of
little account. No Paraba will intermarry with them lest the
offspring should have leprosy.

The Maaba occupy an area of thirty square miles in the
Katsena Alah District. In the south the country is mountainous
and rocky, with dense forest belts and fertile valleys, whilst
in the north it is open and undulating with thick bush. The
population of 1,298 shows a density of forty-three to the square
mile.

TRIBES. 299

Little has been ascertained as to the tribal organisation,
but it appears that each clan had its own Chief, the succession
passing from brother to brother before reverting to the eldest
son of the eldest brother. Each clan is divided into sections,
each section being under its local head-man, amongst whose
duties it was to organise game drives and to brew beer for the
subsequent feast, in return for which he received the fore-shoulder
of any game killed. A section or township is composed of a
varying number of houses or families, control being vested
in the head or father of each house.

Field produce, etc., is communal to the house, and all wealth
amassed is distributed equally within the house or section.
Weapons and clothing only are accounted private property.

The townships are generally situated in open ground, on a
slight rise close to a hollow, where water is to be found. A shallow
ditch commonly surrounds the village, within which a stockade
of poles eight feet to nine feet in height is erected on an earthen
parapet some two feet to four and a half feet high — a defence
occasionally replaced by a mud wall. The compounds lie very
close together, and an average sized town will contain some
fifteen, though villages with as few as four, or as many as fifty-five
have been recorded. An average compound is built round a
circular or oblong space, traversed by a line of trees beneath
which some wall-less shelters are erected, where daily life is
carried on, and contains further some seven huts with thin mud
walls and high grass roofs, the eaves of which jut out to afford
shade outside. The entrances to these are raised some two
feet above the ground, but holes are pierced on the ground-level
to admit of goats and fowls coming in and out. The interior
of the reception hut is often decorated with various coloured
washes, but for the most part these are sleeping apartments,
one being apportioned to each male member of the family, for
his own, his wife's and his children's occupation. They all
sleep there together, their feet pointing inwards. A fire is almost
always kept burning . The bedsteads are made of wood or bamboo ,
sloping downwards from head to foot. The Munshi are peculiar
in having chairs of heavy wood (oroko), with backs set at a
considerable angle. These are stained with camwood, which
gives the colour of polished mahogany.

Grain is sometimes stored in specially built bins, sometimes
in lofts over the sleeping apartments.

The men, women and children of a family have their meals
together — yams being the staple article of diet. They eat any
meat, including rats, snakes and lizards, and drink water or
weak gruel — beer being reserved for feasts.

There is a certain feast, '" abiem," which may be called
by an old and influential man perhaps once in his life, when
his relatives and friends bring him presents of cloths (amounting

300

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

sometimes to the value of £50), iron-bars, goats, sheep, fowl
and yams, which are placed in the centre of a ring round which
both sexes dance, the women bringing the food and beer.

There are many forms of dance, and part-songs are sung
by men.

The men are of medium height, coarse-featured and
with thick lips. They are strong and agile, but with little
endurance. The women are somewhat short in stature and
incline to obesity. They suffer much from their teeth and from
affections of the eye, and appear to have singularly little power
of vision in the dark.

The men are by nature hairy, but shave until marriage,
when a beard is allowed to grow from beneath the chin, which
will frequently reach to the chest. It is plaited into three or
more strands, and is often dyed either a pale dirty pink or blue.
They wear small rectangular cloths, woven in one piece, which
reach to just above the knee, but the elders wear gowns which
reach to the ankle, with cloths round the waist. They, as
well as the women, adorn themselves with a quantity of ornaments,
from the ordinary bead (though the men wear few of these),
brass and iron necklets and bracelets, rings, " snuff rings of
brass or wood," and toe-rings, to a decoration made of elephant's
hair threaded with beads, some three or four inches long, which
is worn in the lobe of the ear. Both sexes paint their bodies with
camwood paste, as ornament or as embrocation, after a long
journey; it is also smeared on new-born babies.

An unmarried girl has her hair shaved, except for two tufts,
one at the front and one at the back of her head. As a married
woman she allows it to grow and dresses it in a variety of styles.
The usual dress is a rectangular cloth worn round the loins, which
reaches to the knees. They tie small pieces of European cloth
round their heads.

On gala occasions, such as market day, the youth of a few
of either sex, appear painted entirely in white, red, yellow, or
green, without clothes.

The tribal mark consists of seven to nine cicatrisations in
a curve round the outer corner of each eye and frequently one,
two, or three stars on the forehead or chin — in addition to which
the women have an elaborate, but varying geometrical design
round the navel. The two centre teeth of the upper jaw are
filed, and occasionally those in the lower jaw are filed also.

As far as is known they were never cannibals.

Women appear to hold a well-defined position in the
household and, like the Nupe; are responsible for most of
the trading transactions, as well as for all food-crops. Men,
however, sow the guinea-corn which the women weed, and also
make the yam-heaps. Ecniseed and cotton are crops for which

TRIBES. 301

the man is responsible, but he asks his wives' leave before selling
them. Each wife has her separate farm and store-house.

Roughly speaking a three years' rotation of crops is practised
after which the ground is left fallow indefinitely. The first year
yams, preceded by maize — the second year guinea-corn and the
third year beniseed is grown, cotton being planted amongst
the crops each year. The guinea-corn is left standing on large
platforms throughout the dry season only being moved to bins
at the commencement of the rains. Yams are stored in pits
covered by grass shelters.

Flocks of sheep and goats are kept, together with a few
cattle of diminutive breed.

The Munshi are industrious farmers, fishermen, and hunters.
Most game is got on the occasions of big organised drives, when
a vast circle is formed and the animals are driven inwards, but
individual huntsmen go out to lie in wait for their prey from the
branches of some tree.

The principal industries are weaving and dyeing, certain
coarse and openwork cloths being peculiar to the Munshi. Metal
work in iron and brass is also done. They make -heavy carved
furniture, beds, chairs and stools referred to above.

Lazy-tongs are used for taking embers from the fire to light
pipes. Clay models, life-size, of cattle, horses, monkeys, leopards,
and humans are often seen, and wooden images of men and
women are made,* for ornamentation only.

Whether they are a war-like or a timid race is a disputed
point, but they undoubtedly use a variety of arms. It has been
roughly assessed that 25 per cent, and 75 per cent, of
the Haraba and Marsaba warriors possess dane-guns, for which
they receive a plentiful supply of powder from Calabar, and for
which they make bullets from the iron rods that are still used
as currency. Bows and poisoned arrows are used, the poison
being peculiarly virulent when fresh and wet, and therefore
less effective in the dry season. They also carry spears, hatchets,
and short, keen-edged swords, some two feet in length, and
knives made in one piece with a looped handle which is slipped
on to the palm.

The Munshi have an excellent system of signalling known
as " giddi ku," by which messages are conveyed to a distance
of sixteen or even thirty miles. The means is a drum made out
of a hollowed tree-trunk of hard wood and placed lengthwise
on two logs. It has but a narrow opening at one end and is
struck by two wooden truncheons in a manner somewhat similar
to the signalling dummy key. The trunk is hollowed out through
a slit in the side, while the ends are left intact. Different signals
are used for war, hunting, marriage and ordeal.

A number of gods arc worshipped, of whom one, Awundu,
is regarded as the supreme being, who directs the course of the

302 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

world and who has power over the elements; prayers for rai
are offered to him by the assembled elders. Thunder-bolts
(jembe= hatchet Awundu) are believed to render the wearer
immune from attack by other spirits, and thus to ensure old
age. When a very old man dies he is said to have been killed
by Awundu. His power is limited by the influence of lesser
spirits of good and evil.

Wainyoru is a good spirit. He assumes the form of a dwarf
and resides in the hills round Suem (for a long time the habitation
of the Munshi). At irregular intervals an influential Elder
gives notice that he is about to appear. Beer is prepared and
the Elders assemble, sacrifice chickens and consume food and
drink. Presently an Elder rises, declares that he is possessed
by Wainyoru and gives some message in a falsetto voice. No
oath is sworn by him.

Agashi is the principal god of child-birth, by whom both
sexes make oath. A man who suffers from any deformity of the
nose is believed to have foresworn himself. A space is cleared
in the bush for his worship, and his priests are those Elders-
entitled Gyeku — who live in nearest vicinity to these spots.
When any individual wishes to make intercession to Agashi
he asks the Gyeku to arrange an assemblage, which is attended
by all the local Elders. Yams and chickens have been boiled
in readiness for the feast. A portion of these are set aside as sacrifice
to Agashi, whilst the remainder is eaten by the congregation,
who unite in prayer to the god that he may make the intercessor's
union fruitful.

Amongst the other gods are Biema ; Ikombo and
Suem, by whom oaths are sworn; lywa, god of thunder;
Sunde, punisher of crime; Achita, god of agriculture; Ukama,
god of hunting; and Ture, Ichigi, Igbo and Ahumbe, gods of
child-birth. Various objects, wooden images, and even grass
and sticks are used to represent them, before which sacrifices
are offered, though men only may partake of the flesh. Rough
grass or clay figures and earthenware pots called ' Kombo "
are used as charms to exorcise evil spirits.

Men may be possessed by evil spirits, which leave the body
at night to bewitch farms, houses, stock, people, etc. Those thus
possessed are called Ba-tsava. It is believed that they eat dead
bodies after burial, and preserve a small portion of the flesh in
their satchels, but this must never be shown, and its possession
is never acknowledged. In 0:912 ' Wainyoru " called upon
the Ba-tsava to surrender these morsels, and many individuals
produced them.

A libation of milk is poured down the holes of black ants.

Men and women are awarded similar burial rites, the grave
being usually on the road-side leading from the village of the
deceased. The body is placed in a sitting position, and the

TRIBES. 303

site is marked by an oval mound of earth, on which cloth and
various articles are placed, including a bed. The grave of a
Chief is roofed over and h:s possessions placed thereon, but he
is commonly buried beneath the floor of his own house,
when the village is at once abandoned (Kumu), but though
usual this is not obligatory (Maaba).

It is thought that witches devour the bodies of the dead
and that, should anyone steal the offerings to the dead, the
witches would devour the thief.

Native beer is consumed at the wakes.

After the burial the mourners purify themselves by passing
first burning grass and then tobacco round their legs and bodies,
but no one who is about to marry, or whose wife is about to
be delivered of a child, will take part in an interment, or come
into contact with a corpse. Should deaths occur with undue
frequency the township is abandoned.

There are three recognised forms of marriage, Musa, Kwosa
Ike, and Abago.

The most usual is Musa, /where wives are obtained by
exchange; that is to say, when a man wishes to marry he must
give a girl (or equally a woman of suitable age), from his own
family to that family whence he chooses his bride.

If one of the exchanged women bears children and the ether
none, the husband of the barren woman may declare the compact
void, though he is often willing to accept some other woman,
children, or goods, in compensation. If the number of children
borne by one woman does not equal those borne by the other,
compensation can be claimed by the father of the lesser number.

He can also claim compensation if his wife dies young.

The liability for giving compensation rests, in the first place,
with the woman's male relatives, but if her husband exchanges
her it falls on him, unless he has first obtained the consent of her
house.

The children remain with their father, or in his house, though
the children of a deceased woman are brought up by her house
until they reach the age of puberty, when they return to their
father's house.

A boy may live with a virgin as his wife if he gives her mother
ten cloths (= /i) and a pig, on the understanding that the girl's
offspring belong to her family and that, unless he can presently
make an equivalent exchange, he must give her up.

By the second method, Kwosa Ika, a dowry may be paid
to the bride's father, but her house retain the right to have her
back by refunding the dowry paid, in which case the offspring
remain with their father. Her husband makes her a wedding
present of cloth and beads.

There is no celebration of these two methods of marriage.

304

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The third, ' Abago," is merely elopement. It is common
and is the occasion of much rejoicing in the -man's family—
but it is illegal unless regularised by the woman's family accepting
a leg of beef.

The punishment for adultery is a fine paid to the woman's
senior male relative.

Where the guilt of a delinquent could not be publicly proved,
recourse was had to trial by ordeal, as also when any death
occurred that was not due to old age, for, the supposition being
that the deceased was bewitched, his, or her, family were obliged
to call for a trial. In each case the accuser paid the ofBciator,
Sarkin Gwaska, a fee of I2s., probably with a view to deterring
frivolous accusations. Poison was extracted from the inner
and outer barks of sasswood,* beaten in a turimi with water,
boiled and strained. In small quantities it is a good medicine
for majina (=cold or sickness). A very healthy person will nearly
always throw it up, unless salt has been added, which makes
it much more deadly. The Sarkin Gwaska, therefore, puts
salt under his nails, and could thus easily introduce it into the
brew should he consider the death of the accused desirable.

The sasswood is, as a rule, first administered to chickens,
each accused having a particular fowl as his representative.
The nominee of that which dies is adjudged guilty and com-
pensation is claimed from him, though he may be called upon
to take the poison in person. The suspected person may insist
upon the accuser undergoing the ordeal at the same time, but
this is rarely done unless by a member of a very influential
family.

* Either a distinct tree, or a mixture of many poisonous trees, shrubs
or climbers, which severally, or collectively, are called Gwaska.

NADU.

The Nadu are a very small tribe, of whom little is known,
in the Jemaa Division of Nassarawa Province.

They are troglodytes.

A huntsman will wear a wooden helmet with horns, to which
a hide can be attached.

The nose is pierced and transfixed with a reed.

NAMU.

Namu, numbering some 1,353, have been notified from
Muri Province.

NAWEYAWA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. E. J. Arnett. Mr. J. C. Newton.

The Naweyawa are Haussa-speaking pagans of Kebbawa
Azna origin. They emigrated from Kebbi, stopping first at
Birnin Konni and &o to Sokwoi, and south to the Sainyina neigh-
bourhood in North Sokoto.

At the time of the Hijira a number of Naweyawa left Gobir,
and the migrations probably took place since that date, as
they are said to have founded Magonfo in 1823 A.D., Aliya in
1833 A.D., and Sainyina in 1868 A.D.

NGE Of BASSA-NGE.

AUTHORITY : Captain F. Byng-Hall.

The Nge, sometimes called Ibara, are distributed along the
banks of the Niger, from Itobe to Gbebe in Bassa Province,
and on the other side of the river south of Lokoja in Kabba
Province, also from Gbebe to Mozum on the southern bank
of the Benue, stretching but a few miles inland to Odugbo.
w

306 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Those in Bassa Province number some 12,441. They are
under a Kanawa district-head, who was introduced by the
British Government.

Little is known of their origin. They are probably akin to
the Bunu, and it has been suggested that both tribes were Nupe
slaves, who speak a debased Nupe. On the other hand it is
stated that the Bunu came frpm Iddo in Southern Nigeria (or
Yagba, near the S.N. border?), that they are connected with
the Yoruba and speak a dialect of Yoruba. However that may
be, the Nge inhabited Kabba Province in the neighbourhood oi
Ero, Kogbe, Ekijana and Patigom. and paid an annual levy
to the Emir of Bida. About the years ,1840-50 A.D., when they
had no more slaves wherewith to pay it, the Emir sent an armed
force against them to exact his tribute. The Nge fled to the
hill-tops, where they were sieged till after the planting season,
when the Nupe camp was dispersed. Half the tribe crossed
the Niger and obtained permission from the Igara to settle
at Kpata, Echo, Shite and Koji, in" the neighbourhood of Gbebe.
The next year they were joined by their compatriots from Kabba
and the Ata of Ida gave them additional lands in the vicinity
of Dekina. The migration continued year by year, the Nge
clearing forest as they required the land, till the Igara became
afraid and opposed their advance. The Nge defeated them in
battle, declared their independence and occupied the river-banks
as described above.

Besides practising the ordinary riverain pursuits the Nge are
good farmers. The women weave, and use a blue dye from a
plant called " chumchi."

Guinea-corn is largely used for brewing beer. The stalks
are first beaten and the seeds put into cold water for one day.
This is run off through a wicker strainer, the corn being left in the
strainer and covered with large leaves. It is then put into running
water for four days. When the seeds begin to sprout they are
put into the sun for from three to five days, and when thoroughly
dry are ground on stone. The flour obtained is put into pots of
cold water, which are placed round a hot fire for one day; the
contents is then poured into cold pots. When the mixture is
cool the liquid is strained through grass back into the former
pots. They are then put on the fire for two days, and the beer
is drunk when cool.

The Nge have two meals a day, at n a.m. and at 7.30 p.m.
The head of the family has his own dish, but all the other men
of his compound eat together and the women together. The
staple dish is soup made from locust-beans, palm-oil and fish,
seasoned with the leaves of ochro, salt and pepper, or occasionally
of fowl, goat, sheep or cow, mixed with palm oil, so.lt and pepper.
This is poured over yams, which have been boiled and mashed

TRIBES. 307

in an earthenware pot, and then removed by saucers into cala-
bashes. 'A poor man, however, cannot afford ' yams, and his
so dp is poured over guinea-corn, which has been beaten from
the stalk, ground on stones, and then mixed with boiling water.

Biscuits are made of ground beans, flavoured with salt and
the crushed dried leaves of the baobab ; these are put into cold
water overnight and eaten the following morning.

The houses 'are built of mud, with mud ' roof s which are
thatched. The owner's hut is approached through a grass-roofed
porch, which leads • into an entrance chamber, containing a
mud platform on which the people rest by day. Within is one
doorway ' leading to an inner apartment ceilinged with mud,
on either side of this is another closet, that to the left being
the owner's bedroom, which is ceilinged with grass. These
three inner charhbers are formed by an outer mud wall, the
enclosed space between it and the inner wall being divided
into three. A man's bed consists of hard-beaten mud raised
about 'one foot from the floor; it is : seven feet long and three
feet broad: The women, perhaps six in number, share a house
with their 'daughters. Their hut is also enclosed by a second
outer wall, thus making two rooms. The bed is screened by a
mud partition built half way across the inner room. , It is formed
of guinea-corn stalks, laid across three parallel mud ledges nine
inches high and two feet apart.

Boys 'have a .hut to themselves.

Men wear a single cloth, one end of which is passed over
the shoulder. It has fringed ends which are tied round the waist.
Girls wear a small open-work cloth from the waist to the knee.
Married women wear a large cloth which hangs from the breasts.

There are three different styles of tribal marks :—

1. Consists of three curved lines on either side of the face,
reaching from the hair to the chin, within which are eight small
triangles. 'Also three cuts on each side of the forehead.

2. Two deep broad scars, curving slightly downwards from
either side of the nose to the centre of the cheek.

3. Ditto, with an additional scar on either side.

The men who inflict these marks perform the operation of
circumcision on boys when they are three months old, on girls
when they are twelve years old.

A suitor approaches a girl's parents and asks permission
to marry their daughter when she is of age. If they agree they
accept his initial offering of one hundred cowries, and he returns
twice more, at intervals of five or six days, with a hundred
cowries, and again three times with two hundred cowries, and
later on with six hundred cowries. He brings his fellow- villagers
and friends once a year to work upon his prospective father-in-
law's farm. When the groom believes his bride to be of
marriageable age he lays a bag of cowries outside her father's door

308 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

one night, and if the parents agree, they take it in and divide
it between their respective families. The suitor calls once more
and gives them cowries to the value of 5s. This done his relatives
lurk round the house, catch the girl and bring her to the groom,
Her parents simulate vexation, but are appeased by his relations,
and as soon as the groom has sufficient riches he regularises
proceedings once for all by calling on her people and giving
her father one goat and one fowl, and by dividing us. worth
of cowries amongst his own family.

When a woman gives birth to a child both are taken outside
the hut, and, concealed behind a grass-mat, are washed with
warm water by the oldest woman. They are then taken back
to their hut, where they remain for seven days. The mother then
brings the child out, its father names it and the grandmother
gives it a second name. The mother takes entire charge of her
infant, while'her neighbours draw her water and bring her firewood.
She often eats the fruit of the " Abechi " tree,, which gives her
strength and milk. She does not cohabit for three years.

A corpse is immediately taken to the back of the house,
washed, and stained red with the juice of a tree. Burial does
not take place for four days in the case of an influential man.
The vault can contain some twenty people and is approached
through a ten-feet-deep well, off which a narrow tunnel running
eastwards leads to the tomb. The body is left here for some
thirty days, the well alone having been filled in with earth.
At the end of that period a professional undertaker opens the
grave and two or three cloths are placed within it. The relatives
and friends celebrate the occasion by dancing, laughing, shouting
and letting off dane-guns. They also consume large quantities
of beer.

The principal god " Ebunu " is a kindly deity, to whom
three festivals are held annually, at least one of which must be
attended by every man. At the harvest festival the god is
represented in material form, his representative coming out
from the bush on stilts, entirely concealed beneath white cloths,
and proceeding towards a clear space beneath a shady tree.
Men and boys, all stripped to the waist, with bodies and faces
chalked, and with heads bowed to the ground, form into a long
line in order of height, the tallest man on the left, the smallest
boy on the right. The priesthood join the line at either end
and await the will of the god. Sometimes he decrees that they
shall proceed to some neighbouring village, when the escort
precede him, the smallest boy leading the way. If they meet
anyone bearing any load it is destroyed, unless it is protected
by having beans laid upon it, for beans are sacred and no one
may eat them that day. ' Ebunu " may, however, direct
that they remain where they are, when they dance and drink
all day.

TRIBES. 309

If a child is born whilst an " Ebunu " festival is taking
place it is regarded as peculiarly sacred, for, they say 'he is
born with his interior tissues fastened like ropes around him."

There are representatives of " Ebunu " who warn people
of coming sickness, war, or danger, and who may be attached
to certain influential persons.

A man who steals sylvan wealth is called before the " Ebunu "
priests, who exact from him a bag of cowries which is paid into
the fund for providing beer for their religious festivals.

Image? are kept.

A certain Chief, entitled " Adoja " (who was formerly of
the Igara, now of the Nge tribe), is credited with the power of
withholding or granting rain, and people bring him offerings
of yams and goats that he may cause their wishes in the matter
to be fulfilled.

There are three brotherhoods, all of which come under the
same title ' Egu," which denotes a brave action, and who are
bound to support and protect each other under pain of the
displeasure of the god of " Egu." The first of these consists
of all men who killed an enemy and obtained his head. Having
got the trophy the brave puts it behind his house and proclaims
his feat three times. The villagers collect, and dance, sing,
and drink for seven nights, during which time the hero may only
sleep by day. On the seventh day he is given a good gown,
and a white bandage is bound round his head, decorated with the
feathers of three birds, that of a white cock, of the black and
white " Oshi," and of the red " Aloko." His weapons, i.e.,
bow and arrows and sword, or dane-gun, are dressed with cowries,
and he is marched three times round the nearest market.

The second society consists of all those who have killed a
leopard, and the third of those who have killed the " Aloko,"*
a small, pretty bird, with blue body and red tail-feathers.

Muhammadanism is gradually penetrating, and at the same
time the tribal customs are undergoing Svidespread modifications.

NGELL or NJELL.

The Ngell or Njell occup}' a district of their own name in
the Bukuru division of Bauchi Province, where they number
some 4,000 or 5,000.

Their residence was originally at Kwom, but they left there
about 1865 A.D., and were given refuge by the Kibyen (or
Burmawa), amongst whom they settled and whose language
they adopted. They became powerful, but were broken by
the British in 1-904 A.D.

* Compare Idoma.

310 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

They are mounted almost to a man and depend only on
throwing spears.

They wear no clothes.

They are cannibals, but in other respects closely resemble
their Burmawa neighbours.

NGIZIM.

AUTHORITIES :
Capt. J. M. Fremantle. Capt. J. ff. Hopkinson.

The Ngizim are an offshoot of the Bedde, who came from
Birnin-Bedr, south-west of Mecca, in the time of the Prophet
(see history of Bussa and-Illo).

The main body, some 12,000 Ngizim, are settled in Bornu.
About the year 1700 A. D., they, were living a few miles west of
Birni Gazerogomo when the Filane raided and captured that
town — the Ngizim consequently migrated to Kaiuri and thence
to Potiskum, where they conquered the Keri-Keri. Some remained
in the Geidam Division, whence they were driven out by the
Shehu Omar some sixty years ago, but returned not long after.
A few are settled in the Bedde Independent district., and a small
number trekked westwards to Hadeija and Katagum. In Bornu
they have the reputation of being a drunken, backward people,
and pagans.

In Potiskum the soil is poor, but farming is the principal
occupation, and flocks of sheep and goats are kept. There are
a small number of traders, but they will never go eastwards.

The following notes are concerning the Hadeija Ngizim,
many of whom have adopted the Muhammadan religion, and
whose customs have evidently been modified by that civilising
influence, though they will still sometimes eat cattle that have
not had their throats cut.

They have a distinct language but speak Kanuri also. They
are great fishermen, cultivating the yawa bean from which
they make their lines, and eating large quantities of dried fish,
to which practice they attribute their freedom from ophthalmia.
They make mats, collect honey, and of course farm, a labour
in which both sexes participate. They store their grain in pits.

Like the Bedde the whole family live together in one compound,
and like them they make their houses all in one piece.

A feast is given on the naming of a child, when fifteen cala-
bashes of tuo are collected and divided amongst the people
of the village. A ram, or he-goat, is provided,* and cut up by
the relations, who give the hind-quarters to the mother, the
fore-quarters to the maternal grandfather.

TRIBES. 311

A suitor brings a present of 2,000 cowries and four mats to
the father of the girl whose hand he demands in marriage. At
the Salahs Azumi and Laiya he brings a further 1,000 cowries
and gives the girl presents of zannas. After two or
three years he gives 12,000 cowries to the girl's parents,
to the girl some turkudi (blue shiny cloth), to the man
who gives her in marriage, 1,200 cowries, and the ceremony
is performed by a Mallam, who receives i.ooo cowries in
return for reading the Alfatia ; 500 cowries are distributed
amongst the people present.

When a man dies he is dressed in a riga and buried inside
his own house. A ram and a he-goat are brought, and other
villages bring 200 to 500 cowries, according to their means.
Out of these sums 3,000 is given to the Mallam who reads the
funeral service, and the rest, as well as corn and meat, is divided
among the horsemen. The ceremony over, the horsemen gallop
up and salute the dead. For forty days after the burial, cakes
are made and distributed as alms. A dance or wasa is held
after the burial.

The eldest son succeeds, but a little corn and a single zanne
are given to the widow.*

In their old independent days they were under their own
Chief, whose duty it was to give all legal decisions. If a man com-
mitted assault and wounded his victim he was fined ; the wounded
man was given a chicken cooked with medicine, which was
supposed to restore him at once.

NGUZZUR.

The Nguzzur are a small tribe occupying the town of Gabai
in the Gujba Division.

They are probably an offshoot of the Kanuri and speak a
dialect of that language, but they claim to have come from
Ngusseri near Stambul, circ. 1580 A.D.

They are Muhammadans. but all devout people keep a special
pot outside the house into which water is poured every morning,
over which a prayer is uttered, and which is then used for washing
the person.

NIMALTO.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. J. H. C. Elder. Capt. J. ff. Hopkinson.

The Nimalto are located in the independent Biu District
in the Gujba Division, south-west of Bornu Province, where,

* Also Bedde.

312 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

together with the Tera, Hinna, Maga and Tangale, they number
some 23,263 They are probably an aboriginal tribe connected
with the Kanakuru.*

" Kworianga," the district-head of Tera, to whom they
owe allegiance, holds a fifth grade stave of office.

The Nimalto are a pagan people.

They own many cattle and horses, and are agriculturists.
The men and women have separate farms, but a woman may
be called upon to work on her husband's farm for three days
out of the seven. During that time he supplies her with food,
but otherwise each provides enough for his or her own require-
ments, the woman cooking for both. The relative value per
farm is, roughly speaking, /i los. 8d. as against i8s. 6d. Tobacco
is a favourite crop. They only trade locally.

The Nimalto tongue is spoken by the Tangale and has been
adopted by practically all the Tera. It bears resemblance to
that spoken by the Hinna. The Haussa language is generally
understood, many of the young men having worked on the
tin-fields.

NINGASHI.

AUTHORITY : Capt. H. L. Norton-Traill.

The Ningashi or Ningishi are a small group of pagans, num-
bering some 200 in the Jemaa Emirate (Nassarawa Province),
Their origin is unknown, but they speak a mixture of bad Haussa,
Bassa-Komo, and Igbira, and their tribal marks point to a
Haussa origin.

These consist of twelve faint lines, with their apex at the
corners of the lips continued up the temples. Crow's foot marks
have recentty been added at the corner of the mouth for adorn-
ment.

The head-man, fifth in succession, traces his descent to
his great-grandfather.

NINGAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. S. M. Grier.

The Ningi are situated in the north of Bauchi Province,
in and around the Ningi Hills, where they number some 2,000.
In the neighbouring district of Burra they number some 1,700,
while a small group of fifty have settled in the town of

* Compare Tera, p. 350.

TRIBES. 313

Bawa in the Hill Division, Kanam. (Ningawa are also
notified from the Jemaa Emirate, but beyond the fact that they
were conquered by the Filane, nothing is known of them.) They
show considerable affinity to the neighbouring Warjawa, Afawa,
Kudawa, and particularly Butawa tribes.

In the Ningi District, where they claim to have lived for
many generations, the people are subject to Mallam Ningi,
a Muhammadan of Kano origin. They form but a sixth part
of the population. In Burra they are under a Muhammadan
Chief of the Butawa tribe, and form rather more than a fourth
part of the population.

They are rapidly becoming converted to the Muhammadan
religion, but formerly worshipped an invisible god whose voice
might, however, be heard amongst the rocks. His chief property
is fertility. Every four years a big religious festival is held, when
boys of seven years and upwards are circumcised. They are
then left in the sacred grove for a period of two months, where
the men bring them food. On their return home, cattle, sheep,
goats and iowls are slaughtered, and a great feast is celebrated.

They worship the spirits of their ancestors, and believe
that a man who was great in this world can continue to influence
the fortune of the community throughout the years succeeding
his death. He is honoured according to the good they enjoy.

It is thought that certain families can take the shape of
certain beasts, whose flesh is therefore tabu to them, as also
that ceitain people can assume the form of animals, generally
that of elephants.

It is probable that the Chief was also the priest, for the head-
men of villages sometimes performed the duties of priesthood.

The head, i.e., the eldest male of each family or clan, settled
all disputes, the disputants being summoned to take oath in the
sacred groves. If the case could not be proved recourse was
had to ordeal, when the accused brought a cock to the sacred
grove, where it was beheaded. If it fell on its back the accused
was acquitted, if forwards he was condemned. This same test
was used to consult omens when the tribe was threatened with
misfortune, on these occasions libations were made and a festival
held.

All property was vested in the head of the family, who arranged
marriages, etc., paying the large dower by which a man acquired
his wife. If a junior member of the family were to go away he
had a right to take his wife with him, always supposing her
to be a free woman, and a proportion of the grain, but no live-
stock.

A widow might return to her own family, or might revert,
as did all concubines, to the family head. Divorce was prac-
tically unknown.

314 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Men were buried on their right, women on their left sides.
The knees were drawn up and the head rested on the hand. Wakes
were held, which in the case of an important man lasted for
four days after death.

The Ningi language is being abandoned in favour of Hauss
which children are first taught.

The use of tribal marking is dying out. They consisted of five
vertical lines above the eye, three long vertical lines on the cheek
and chin, broken by three horizontal lines on a level with the
lips; there are also two short lines on the cheek at the base of
the nose.

NINZAM.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. D. Cator. Mr. H. F. Mathews.

Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Ninzam occupy an area of ninety-five square miles in the
Jemaa Division of Nassarawa Province, where they have a
population of 4,325. There are also five villages in the
Independent Nungu District, under Sarkin Wamba; and a group
at Arum in the Mama District. Their origin is unknown, but
they were conquered by the Filane and owe allegiance to the
Sarkin Jemaa, who appointed his own man as district-head.
Each town has its Chief, who is assisted by a Council of Elders.

Every village has its own clearly defined boundaries, within
which hunting rights are jealously guarded.

Land is communal, and any man may take up unoccupie
farm lands within his own commune without reference to anyone,
but on his death the right of occupancy lapses to the Chief, who
likewise inherits all property, only giving to the heirs what he
thinks fit.

Trespass and poaching are alike punished by fine, whilst
a thief, together with, his whole family, is liable to slavery for
robbery of live-stock, or of corn from a granary.

Murder and manslaughter are atoned by the payment of
blood-money to the value of ten slaves.

Recourse may be had to trial by ordeal, which is regulated
and administered ~by the chief priest. It takes the form of a
calabash of poison; the innocent vomits and is saved, the guilty
dies. A man of importance is allowed to send a fowl to drink
the poison as a deputy for himself.

TRIBES. 315

A man who seduces a married woman is fined one goat,
six goats being the usual marriage dower for a virgin.

Should a woman die before she has become a mother, her
father is obliged to return the dower. All children belong to
their mother's first husband.

Girls wear a number of loose strings which are passed round
the hips and fastened at the back, some being brought between
the legs and tucked into the girdle in front, but it is customary
to exchange this on marriage for a bunch of leaves in front, and
a thick stem of plaited palm fibre with a broad base behind, hung
from two strings, vide the Kagoro, to whose apparel that of
the Ninzam is similar.

Three-cornered and round grass hats are worn.
There are no distinctive tribal markings.

As a race they are tall and athletic, though much given to
drunkenness. They are cannibals and probably head-hunters,
for skuDs are kept outside the house in a yard approached through
the outer hut. On the house side of the yard is a shelter of
matting, beneath which cooking is carried on. The huts them-
selves are circular in shape.

Pots with rough unfinished exteriors are made, and mats are
woven, otherwise the people devote themselves to agriculture
and hunting.

Cunningly concealed pits are dug by the side of the paths
to entrap an approaching enemy. Bows and arrows are the
principal weapons. The heads of the latter are made of soft
wood, sharpened to a point, which are then steeped in strophan-
thus (a poison that maintains its efficacy for three years),
and bound lightly on to the arrow stems, so that when the mark
is hit the head breaks off in the victim, thereby leaving him
exposed for a longer time to the effects of the poison before the
missile can be extracted. The axe is also used as a weapon.

War chants are sung during the actual fighting.

Sickness is attributed to the malignity of wizards, who are
in the employ of evil spirits. By the aid of the god, however,
the guilty wizard may be detected as each case arises. He is
seized and an attempt is made to drive out the evil spirit possessing
him. For this purpose he is put into a tightly closed hut, where
cotton soaked in red pepper has been placed. When quite ex-
hausted he is taken out and beaten, but if the sick man does
not recover, the wizard is put into a hole and pounded to death
with the ordinary domestic pestle.

There are remains of a duo-decimal system, everything being
sold in dozens, but twenty is also used as a unit, a system
followed by the Borroro and most of the neighbouring tribes.

3ib NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

NUMANA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. D. Cator. Mr. H. F. Mathews.

The Numana tribe have a population of 11,000, and are
situated in the Jemaa Emirate, Nassarawa Province.

They were conquered by the Filane, and the Sarkin Jemaa
appointed a district-head to administer them.

It is suggested that they are akin in language and customs
as in dress, to their neighbours the Ninzam and Mada. Lik
them they employ the duodecimal system of counting.

NUNGU.

AUTHORITIES :

Capt. A. S. Lawrance.

Mr. H. F. Mathews.

The Nungu are an independent tribe, occupying an area
of some 250 square miles in the Lafia Division of Nassarawa
Province.

They have a population approaching 8,480 in number (this
includes five Ninzam villages), the men being in preponderance
over women.

Their origin is unknown.

There is a considerable variation in the dialects spoken, which
contain an intermixture of Mada to the south-west, and of Mama
to the south-east, where they adjoin these tribes.

Like them they use the duodecimal numerical system,*
though the influence of the alien trader is gradually causing them
to drop the last two numerals.

The use of tribal marks is not universal, and when adopted
is guided by personal preference. There are, however, three
prevailing types.

Prior to the advent of the British the Nungu District was
exposed to slave-raids from the converging territories of the
Emirs of Keffi, Lafia and Jemaa, and the less strongly
situated southern villages paid intermittent tribute to Arikia
or Lafia — mostly in slaves — to avert these raids.

In 1914 A.D. a council was created consisting of the Madaiki
Wamba and seven village head-m.en , with Sarkin Wamba holding
the office of president and district-head. Prior to this the tribal
authority was vested in the heads of families, and was mainly

Also Kwoll, Mada, Mama, Ninzam, Kibyen.

TRIBES. 317

religious. The whole community was responsible for the actions
of any of their members, thus crime committed by one might
be avenged on any of his town-fellows, but there was no regular
system of trial or punishment. If a man stabbed or shot a
relative of his own, it was believed that he would become a
leper, but if he strangled him without touching the corpse this
fate would not overtake him.

A stranger could be murdered without this risk. If a woman
left her husband for another man he and his friends might either
shoot or kidnap a member of the seducer's township.

Their religion probably embraces ancestor worship, as they
swear by the spirits of their deceased ancestors. Each village
has its own tsafi grove, which consists of a ring of shady trees,
which may further be surrounded by a dry-built wall of stone,
encircling an upright stone in the centre. The heads of enemies
are deposited here, and all village ceremonies are held here.
The spirit's representative attends certain festivals 'dad in a
tightly fitting, closely-meshed net, which covers him from the
crown of his head to his thighs — he further wears a kilt of dried
grass and porcupine quills, and long stems of grass are thrust
through his nose and ears, projecting with peculiar effect through
the netting.

Women may not be present.

Rattles, either of iron*f or of bottle-shaped calabashes
enclosed in loose string netting, between the meshes of which
small pieces of bone or hardwood are strung. f are bound below
the knee on the occasion of religious dances. If one breaks the
dance is arrested until a chicken has been sacrificed.

Leaves of the male shea-butter tree have a peculiar signifi-
cance. Oaths are sworn on them ; they are used as flags of truce,
and a bunch of these leaves laid on property on the farms, or in the
bush, will secure them against theft.

Villages are, for the most part, situated on small plateaux at
the summits of hills. It is sometimes necessary to carry water
up a height of four to five hundred feet. Others are hidden in
the kurmis. As their sense of security increases the Nungu are
gradually beginning to move down to the plains. The compounds
consist of closely built, circular mud-huts, some four feet apart,
connected internally by small doorways, but on the outer side
they are joined together by walls of mad or stone. There are,
however, emergency exits where the wall is so loosely built
that it may be pushed down from the interior.

There is no open space in the compound, and granaries are
inside the houses. These occupy the centre and vary from three

* Also used by dancers of Sarkin Kaiama and Sarkin Borgu.
t Similar in Mada, Mama.

318 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

to twelve feet in 'height, the space between the granary and tl
outer wall being used as a living room.

The women wear loose girdles of string from which small
aprons, six inches wide by four inches long,' made of string
weighted by beads are appended. The centres of their upper and
lower lips are pierced, and long pieces of grass or porcupine
quills are inserted in the apertures.

Both men and women pierce the 'lobes of their ears and the
membranes of their nostrils, through which long grasses tir porcu-
pine quills are inserted. Women sometimes vary the nose adorn-
ment with sticks or nails of metallic tin.' The men used to, wear
nothing but 'girdles with or without phallic bags, but they are
now adopting the use of a loin-cloth or skin. On special occasions
they sling the skin of a goat or sheep across one shoulder. Native
caps, calabashes, or fibre hats are sometimes worn — these latter
are commonly, worn by youths at n'on-religious dances, but of
a diminutive size.

They do not shave, but gather their hair into crowns, enclosed
by circlets of broken cowries, which pass round their foreheads
to the back of their heads.. Thick necklaces of red string, or
of blue- beads, are worn. They file their teeth and were once
cannibals, but it is doubtful whether they did not confine their
orgies to the flesh of their enemies. It is also a moot point whether
or not they killed their captives for food. As has been seen
they preserved the heads of their enemies.

They smoke wooden and clay pipes, which are made locally,
and metal pipes bought from Haussa traders.

Their weapons are bows (of the short pagan type) and arrows.
The shafts of these latter are made of stout grass, which, being
lighter than the points, to some extent act as do feathers. The
wooden ends are hardened in fire, then pointed, and are cut
almost through half an inch above the point, so that they may
break off in the victim. They are heavily poisoned. The
poison is very deadly when fresh and remains good a long time.
Iron- tipped arrows are sometimes used when hunting, but they
are too scarce to be expended on war.

Game-pits are dug in groups of two or three along narrow
tracks, and are well concealed by light sticks, leaves, grass
and earth. They are dug to a depth of ten to twenty feet and
are some three feet six inches across.

The community is infected with gonorrhcea, and ophthalmia
is very common.

Mourning for a deceased relative, is denoted by many strands
of newly made string being worn round the neck, chest and
waist.

Marriage is exogamous, no person being allowed to marry
within his or her own community.

TRIBES. 319

Three kinds of drums are used : No. I is made from a hollowed
tree trunk and is about five feet long. • The skin is stretched
over one'end only. The instrument is laid on its side and struck
with the open palm. It is used for simple signalling, such as
a call to assemble, and to mark the rhythm at dances. No. 2 is
a cylindrical double-ended drum of varying size, which is slung
over the shoulder, and is commonly used in courting, or by a
deserted husband, who thus denotes to the runaway wife his
desire that she will return to him. Some third party comments
on his distress to her, and if she*is willing to reconsider her decision
she sends him some trinket through the intermediary. No.
3 is a kettledrum some fifteen inches in height and nine inches
in diameter. It has a wooden base, comprising three massive
feet, carved out of one piece of wood. It is laid on its side
and struck with two curved sticks with flattened heads. The
skins of these drums 'are stretched and 'adjusted by a series
of pegs driven into the sides, a little below the mouth, round which
the adjusting rope is passed in Nos. I and '2 whereas in No. 2
the rope is passed alternately through the edge of either skin.
Hollow reeds and wooden pipes with open stops are used at
dances — antelope horns are blown, and buffalo horns 'are shouted
into as resonators.

NUPE.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. T. A, G. Budgen. Mr. E. C. Duff.

Mr,. E. G. M. Dupigny.

The Nupe people are distributed over the southern part
of the Protectorate in clans that have little connection with
each other. Probably nearly half are pagans practising different
forms of religion, the remainder are Muhammadans. The Niger
Province is the headquarters of the tribe, who are to be found
in their greatest numbers in the vicinity of the Niger and Kaduna
Rivers. They claim to be indigenous, but some authorities
trace a connection between them and the Gabi. erstwhile in-
habitants of Egypt'. There is a legend to the effect that a certain
stranger, a hunter, called AbduazizL travelling from the east,
arrived with his family at the town of Doko Daji, where In-
settled amongst the Bini. He was given the title of Nefiu, the
Arabic wrord for fugitive, whence arises the corruption Nufe,
Nupe. It is also asserted that Nupe is not so much the name
of a tribe as of a language, and that, it may well be that the new
comers adopted the speech of the older inhabitants, the Gwari
or Gbari, between which and Nupe there are now only

320 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

dialectical differences. Many words are identical ; they have
similar custom of splitting the verb, and the main difference
is that where the Gbari form the negative by the terminal letter
R, the Nupe form it by M. It was at Nupiko where the Kaduna
flows into the Niger, that Edigi first consolidated the clans
under one Chief and founded the Nupe Kingdom (vide
History of the Niger Province). It was from that region
Rabba, that those Nupe came who now inhabit the upper
reaches of the Niger in Kontagora and Borgu to Yelwa and
beyond into Sokoto Province, where their tribal marks consist
of two deep scars on either side of the nose. From this northerly
point they follow the river down through Ilorin Province and
Kabba, though here Egga is the only place where they are of
pure race, as elsewhere they have intermarried f reel y with neigh-
bouring tribes. These Egga Nupe migrated there from Bida.
There are also settlements of Nupe right up the Benue as far
as the Ribado Division of Yola, for they are a great trading
people and take advantage of the markets on the waterways.
There are 1,047 m Nassarawa Emirate; elsewhere they have
not been censussed.

The distinctive tribal mark is a curved line from the bridge
of the nose to the corner of the mouth, on the right-hand side of
the face.

The Nupe population of Agaie number 24,335, and of Lapai
5,061.

The size of the clan may very roughly be assessed at over
100,000 in the Niger Province.

The Emir was chosen from one of the three royal families,
Osuman Zaki, Masaba, and Umaru Majigi, all descendants of
the Filane founder of the dynasty -Mallam Danyo, each of
the three families in succession having the right to rule the
clan. The elders would meet together and discuss who was
likely to make the best Chief, and having chosen would consult
the Mallamai as to the propriety of their selection. As some
amongst the Mallamai claimed the gift of foreknowledge, their
advice was almost invariably followed. Delay was avoided
as far as possible, because in the interval between the death
of the Nupe King and the appointment of his successor (which
might not be till after the burial), no law could be enforced.
If any crime were committed during that period the perpetrator
was safe even from subsequent punishment, and any prisoner
who escaped might not be recaptured.

Thus on the occasion of the death of Muhammadu in 1916,
which occurred at nine in the- evening, his wife performed the
last rites before his death was known outside the compound,
and he was buried at 3 a.m. in his house, the public not being
acquainted of the fact till later in the day.

TRIBES. 321

The successor's initiatory act is to go to the tombs of each
of his predecessors, where he offers prayer at the head of his
people. He would have three compounds to visit, the burial place
of each of the three family branches, one sepulchre being in
his own palace, as the chief resides in his own family mansion.

The Nupe King, entitled Etsu in pre-Filane days, now Emir
of Bida, has been a Muhammadan for some centuries and Koranic
law is, therefore, observed, but as it has been modified since
the advent of the British the following relates to the system
of punishment in vogue before that time. All cases were then,
as now, decided by the Alkali in court, and he informed the Emir
of all important sentences. If there were doubt as to the guilt
of the accused the Alkali would sometimes summon a Mallam
with the gift of second sight to assist him, but he would never
fail to come to a decision. Boys under seventeen were not
considered adult, and were riot subject to courts of law, but
were punished at home by their fathers or guardians — and the
same applied to unmarried women.

The theft of any food stuff eaten on the spot was considered
no offence, but if any objects worth 1,250 cowries (=6d.) or more
were stolen the thief had his hand cut off, for a second offence
his foot, for a third offence his second hand, for a fourth, his
second foot. It is so much recognised as a brand, that an innocent
man who has to have his hand amputated always has it done
at the elbow. If, however, there were extenuating circumstances,
if it was a first offence, and the man pleaded guilty, he might be
let off altogether, or imprisoned. Theft between husband and
wife is considered no offence. If the value of goods taken was
10,000 cowries or more his head was cut off, and the same punish-
ment was inflicted for highway robbery with violence. If no
bodily hurt were done, imprisonment was substituted for any
term up to four years.

For assault a fine of 50,000 cowries was levied.

For resisting a dogarai, or officer of the Alkali's court, a fine
of 100,000 cowries upwards was imposed.

Injudicious talk was punished by cutting off the mouth and
ears.

Murder was punished by decapitation.

Sentences of death were carried out by dogarai, who buried
the bodies, unless the families sent for them.

Adultery was heavily punished in old days, but not now.
Married women were liable to law. They suffered imprisonment
inside the Alkali's compound, in compliance with Muhammadan
decorum, and a murderess was put in a pit (in this compound),
from which her head alone emerged, and was kept there without
food or water till she died, for a woman might not be killed I
There were but few women criminals, as crime is ground for
divorce, and it is hard for a criminal to get another husband.

322 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

A woman may equally divorce her husband for crime, or she
may get special permission from the Court to marry someone
else, if he consents, for the period for which her husband is
imprisoned. She cannot obtain divorce on any other ground
except that of desertion for three years, or failure to keep her.
A man can obtain it for other causes, but rarely does so without
good cause, for he loses all the dower money he has paid for
his wife. Remarriage is permitted to both sexes after a three
months' interval.

Marriage plays an important part in the social life of the
Nupe and is de rigueur for both sexes. Until a man has married
a virgin with due ceremony, he is accounted a nobody and his
fellows will neither speak with him nor listen to him. No one
will bury an unmarried woman, even though she be a widow.
After much delay this degrading duty devolved upon the dogarai,
and now upon Government labourers.

The would-be bridegroom calls three times upon the girl's
parents, each time bringing with him some small present for
the father, mother and girl, and then makes known his intentions.
The girl's consent has to be obtained, and the parents generally
tell him to go and ask her, without mentioning that he has been
first to them. If she agrees she tells him to go to her people and
thus it is arranged. Indeed it is sometimes she who first suggests
to her father whom she would like to marry and he takes the
necessary steps. The engagement is formally recognised when
the suitor gives I2s. 6d. in money and two calabashes of kola
nuts to the father, and 75. 6d. in money and one calabash of
kola nuts to the mother, for them to distribute amongst the
male and female members of their family respectively. From
this time on the pretendant must work on his father-in-law's
farm or house, together with his friends, two or three times
a year, and every big Salla he gives his bride 55. worth of clothes
and 2s. to plait her hair. This may last for some years, as a
boy may be betrothed at the age of ten or twelve and a girl at
five or seven. These early engagements are, however, considered
undesirable, and the yearly cost to the groom effectually tends
to discourage them. A careful count is kept of all that he gives,
so that it may be returned if the girl should ultimately refuse
to consummate the marriage. Once they are engaged the boy
and girl may not play together, which up to the time of marriage
they may do with anyone else. In fact a boy and girl may declare
themselves " saranchi," or great friends, and they are allowed
to go to each other's houses until one or other of them marries.

When the time for consummating a marriage has come the
groom gives his wife three cloths and a handkerchief, at a minimum
value of 305., and if she does not like those he has selected, she
returns them and he must send others till she is satisfied. At
the same time he gives her parents £2 ios., which they spend on

TRIBES. 323

an outfit for their daughter, pots and pans, mats, etc. A rich
man gives something under £4, and spends perhaps as much as
£9 or £10 on cloths. If he is unable to raise all this money at
once an arrangement can be made in the Alkali's Court, by which
he is bound over to make up the deficit within a given time, and
so long always as he gives his wife 1,250 cowries, value 6d.
for her first chop money, they may marry at once.

The dowry is sometimes remitted in cases where the father-
in-law can afford to support the young couple, or a man may
marrv his first cousin without payment. Where no dower is
given the marriage is known as " salaka."

Girls do not marry as a rule before they are sixteen or seventeen
and often not till they are twenty, men when they are eighteen
or twenty, or later, according to their wealth. The customs
of the aboriginal pagan Nupe* differ slightly. The betrothal
be ng arranged by the heads of the respective families, and when
it is agreed upon, the boy's guardian assembles the whole family
and names the bride in their presence and in that of the prospective
groom. All presents are given through the guardian, whom
the suitor accompanies on his visits to the bride's people, but
he does not see the bride herself. A week before the marriage
is consummated both parties remain in their houses, the groom
to receive the salutations of his friends, the bride to stain her
hands and feet with henna, and to powder her face and body
with camwood. On the wedding day the suitor's friends escort
him to the hut of his betrothed, where they talk, but she sits
silent until the groom gives her presents/ which is a signal for
the departure of his friends. When the groom emerges he pro-
claims whether or not he has found his bride chaste. A feast
follows, and the groom is escorted back to his house by his friends,
where he is followed later by his bride, who is attended by women
carrying her outfit. The couple live together in one hut until
she conceives, when her husband builds himself another house.

The wedding festivities for a virgin are carried on for a week,
day and night. For the first three days they take place in her
own people's house , and on the fourth day she goes to her husband's
house, where the feasting continues for another four days and
four nights. Seven days of seclusion follow, when neither man
nor wife may be seen , and after this he is allowed the full honours
of a husband. The bride, however, may not go out till three
months have elapsed.

The ceremony is of a very much humbler description for
a second marriage.

In the Gurara District of Nupe (Lapai Emirate), a curious
custom exists, which, with minor modifications is practised

*Sapke and Mokwa. The differences only have been mentioned, not
the similarities.

324 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

as far east as Awtun (Ekiti), and from Yagba District to Ilorin.
*" A wealthy woman trader would sometimes go through the
form of marriage with one or more young women — reputed virgins.
These ' wives ' she would send out to various neighbouring
villages, ostensibly trading. When, in the expected course of
events, these ' wives ' formed illicit attachments, a careful
note was made of the resultant progeny. When the children
had reached five or six years, or more, they were claimed by
the woman ' husband ' as her children, based on the legal
fiction of all legal wives' children being the children of the legal
' father.' In almost every case, the real father compounded with
the legal ' father,' in the customary value of the child. The
profit to the woman capitalist was exceedingly great.

" This custom is not confined to the Pagan, nor to the female
sex. Many a reputed Mussulman (Bida-Pategi) will allow his
wife to go on three and four years' trading expeditions, fully
cognisant of the inevitable results. In due time he will apply
for the custody of the children, which are legally his until his
wife has sued for and obtained a legal divorce, which last is
seldom done, owing (in Nupe and Ilorin generally) to the high
' dowry ' money claimed. If the case is settled out of Court,
the husband enjoys substantial profits. On the other hand, if
the wife and children return to him , which is seldom nowadays,
he can always obtain a respectable ' dower ' from the suitors
to the girl children. As to the boys, he finds every use for them
on his farm."

The first wife is the head one, and advises the other women on
all household and commercial matters, and they have to apply
to her for permission to leave the compound. Each wife has
her own hut, but all the women have their meals together, when
they sit round the pot in a circle, in strict order of precedence,
counting from the right hand of the first wife . Next her is the second
wife, next her the third wife, next her the fourth wife, then come
their daughters and foster-daughters in order of age, dependants
and slaves. The first wife helps herself and passes the pot round
the table, hands only being used — she alone may sit upright,
while the others are obliged to crouch in her presence.

There are three meals in the day, at 7 a.m., mid-day, and sun-
down , each meal consisting of one dish only . For breakfast they have
" fura," a sort of porridge, with cow's milk where it is obtainable
(The Nupe will not drink goat's milk, though they eat its flesh).
At noon the poorer people have porridge again, the well-to-do
have guinea-corn, or rice, mixed with soup. Supper is
the principal meal, when soup is made with guinea-corn or rice,
and any meat or fish that may be available.

* Mr. E. C. Duff.

TRIBES. 325

The men eat together in a similar way, but apart from the
women, and tiny boys may feed with either. Any snacks such
as honey-cakes, or fruit, are eaten at odd times in the day, and
water is always drunk ?.fter meals, not at them. Eggs were
never eaten, but the practice of doing so is gradually creeping in.

In the ordinary routine of life people get up at 4 or 5 a.m.,
observe salla, and go about their respective avocations
which, with a two hours' interval at mid-day, they pursue until
6 p.m. when they again make salla and have their evening meal.
This ended, the children, boys and girls alike, go and dance in
the market, from which they are retrieved by their elders, with
some difficulty, about 9 p.m. and sent to bed. The men pay
each other visits, and sit talking in groups of three or four till
about ii p.m., or on bright nights as long as the moon is up.
Women do the same, but in their own compounds. They do
not pay many visits, but go to see their mothers once every
month and their sisters more rarely. Their husbands encourage
friendship between their wives and the wive? of th^ir friends.
If a man is at home when his wife receives a visitor he salutes
her and goes out, and when he goes to visit his friend he goes
in to salute the women of the house, and then either sits outside
with his friend or goes to his hut. A man is expected to call
on his parents-in-law every Friday, the Muhammadan holiday,
but is never accompanied by his wife, unless it is to accuse her
of some ill deed.

The incoming of the Muhammadan New Year is a time for
great rejoicing. On New Year's Eve everyone eats as much as
he or she can hold, and the poor can ask for a meal from anyone.
Next day they make prayer, and everyone contributes in alms
according to his means, with a minimum of a hundred cowries,
which the Mallams distribute amongst the needy. A Mallam
then foretells events of general interest for the coming year, when
the rains will come, and whether they will be heavy or light, the
success of the crops, whether there will be much sickness and
in what months, whether there will be fertility amongst the
stock, and amongst the people, and the best month for the purposes,
etc. It is a day for visiting amongst the grown-ups, and calls
are made on all persons of importance. On their return from
prayer the children play a game. They may raid the houses
of any uncle or aunt, grandparent, or one following the same
trade as their father, and take anything they can lay hands on,
unless and up to the time the person raided gives each child
twenty cowries. The elders may not defend their own property,
but the children of the household do, and battles are waged
between the young people. This custom is dying out where there
are white men.

Other games played by the children are hide-and-seek and
king-of-the-castle, but they rarely have toys, and never balls.

326 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The Nupe women have many occupations besides the ordinary
household duties. Her obligations as a wife are to prepare the
food, and bring firewood and water. They spin, weave, cook
little cakes for the market, or practise hair-dressing, a lucrative
profession, for a reputed coiffeuse receives 6d. to is. a head,
according to the elaboration of the dressing, though no client
presents herself more than once every moon. There are also
women doctors, who attend both male and female patients, and
receive the same fees that a man doctor would do. The Nupe
women are above all things traders, and will often travel great
distances on this behest. On these occasions they are accompanied
by their husbands, but the first wife is left at home by right of
her position. Usually she prefers so to remain ; if she rebels, her
husband asks her not to come on account of the loss of dignity,
but if she persists he yields. In the early days of her married
life, before there are other wives and dependants, she may trade
in the neighbourhood three months after her wedding, and when
there are two wives the elder will often take it in turns to go
out with the younger. At no time may she leave the compound,
however, without her husband's permission.

The women do a good deal of out-door work. They collect
the produce of all trees, except palm-oil and kola trees, the former
of which were a reserve of the Emirs, but are now divided between
the occupier and the Chief of the town, and the latter are kept
by the men. These they may sell for their own benefit, after
first deducting in every case what will be required by the house-
hold throughout the year. Women also cultivate and sell ground-
nuts and all root-crops, such as ochro, which do not require
transplanting. Men do all transplanting and, therefore, own
such crops as cassava, sweet potatoes, onions, etc., but it is
the women who have the right to sell them, and as they usually
keep a commission of 25 per cent, it is a valuable right. If,
however, a man finds he is being given unusually high prices
he rewards his wife by a liberal gift of cloth. It is the man who
tends and owns all grain and, therefore, sells it for himself,
but he is thought ill of if he does not first consult his wives as to
the price he is to accept for it. They sow the corn and help to
garner it after it is reaped, and each woman has charge of so
many bundles, as to the sale of which she must be consulted.
She expects some small present for her trouble.

When a household becomes rich, that is to say when their
property, if sold, would realise £20 to £40, a number of people
of both sexes ask leave to become their dependants. The master
of the house will take no children without the consent of their
parents, but a poor man will frequently desire his protection
for them. They are then treated as children of the house, they
are given food and clothes, and when the time for marriage
comes the master of the house provides the necessary money.

TRIBES. 327

They are then turned out of the house, but are allowed to live
in the vicinity, and continue to receive food and protection
in return for whatever work is required of them. There are
dependants of both sexes, and the unambitious often prefer to
spend their whole lives in this manner. Slaves were treated in
much the same manner, and children born in captivity were
accounted free.

Motherhood is the great desire of the women, and every New
Year the Mallams proclaim which will be the best months in
that year for child-bearing. They have a strong belief in a
medicine-man called " Soba," who lives in the bush at Lemo,
between Bida and Zungeru, and who gives medicines to produce
fertility. He is seldom to be found in person, but there are
guardians in the bush who act as intermediaries.

When a child is born it is nourished on water, in which the
leaves of the Aduruku tree (or the bark and leaves of some seven
to ten different kinds of trees, the mixture is termed
" dauri ") have been boiled for three to seven days. It
is poured into their mouths. This continues if the mother's
milk is not good, for infants are never given the milk
of any animal. After seven days the child is named,
and both boys and girls are called after their father and after
his father, though their first name be different. They are seldom
called after their mother. The aboriginal custom is somewhat
different, a girl being named on the eighth, a boy on the ninth
day after birth. All the relatives assemble after dawn, certain
roots are placed in a pot and beer poured over them. Some
is poured as a libation on the ground, the head of the family
then drinks some himself, conjuring the good spirit of medicine
to protect the child's life, which he designates by name. The
guests then consume two pots of beer, and a feast is held with the
usual dancing, drumming and singing.

Boys are circumcised by the barber at the age of six or seven,
after which they commence working on the farms. When they
approach the age of puberty they leave their parents' house,
and build themselves a separate hut.*

The eldest child, whether boy or girl, is hated by its parents;
they will not look at it, and a large percentage die of neglect.
They never call it anything individual, only " boy " or "' girl,"
and the mother would refuse to feed it but that her husband's
parents come and live with her for three months to see that she
fulfils that duty. Sometimes they take the baby away with
them and give it to some wet-nurse, but in no case is the first-
born left with its parents after it is wearied. The grandfather
always takes it . It has been asserted that the mother will not
suckle her first-born child because her milk is unwholesome.

* Sapke and Mokwa.

328 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

This is tested by an ant (chinaka) being placed therein, am
if it drowns the child is given to a wet-nurse and the mother
is medically treated. This custom is particularly prevalent
amongst riverain Nupe.

Subsequent children are thoroughly spoilt until they reach
the age of three or four years when, amongst the well-to-do, at
all events, the mother is thought to be too fond to make a good
guardian. Girls are usually weaned at the ag^ of three years,
boys not until they are four. The children may, therefore, be
sent right away to a boarding school for some ten years, or
the relations may take them to a day school, arranging their
marriages, and in fact divorcing them so entirely from their own
parents that the only connection left is inheritance. If the
grandfather is alive he distributes the children amongst their
male uncles and aunts, generally in order of seniority. They call
them father and mother, and when grown-up would visit them
and give them money before going to their true parents. The
foster-parents would equally go to their foster children for support
in their old age, and only to their own children in the last resort.

A successful Mallam will have a school containing fifty or
sixty children, amongst whom he keeps up a rigid discipline
by means of the rod, and if a child attempts to run away it is
put into leg-irons. There are whole holidays on Thursdays
and Fridays, but on working days the hours are 4 to 6 and
7 to ii a.m., and 2 to 4 and 7 to 8 p.m. Day scholars
miss the first two hours. The children learn the Koran,
and reading and writing in Arabic characters, then their
own language, and then Haussa; sewing, and at a later stage
sums. Boys and girls work and play together, but when girls
reach a marriageable age they are taught by the Mallam's wives.
There are no regular holidays, and children remain for some ten
years without a break. When they leave the school the Mallam
receives a fee of 20,000 cowries, in addition to which there may
or may not be complimentary presents given. The young scholar,
on reaching home, goes to salute the Sarki and all elders, and
receives a dash from each to celebrate the home-coming.

The same customs that apply to the commoner apply to the
Chiefs and Emirs. His children are also sent to school, and he
never keeps his first-born. In questions of marriage it is he
who takes the first step, and he will often give his daughters in
marriage to the merest talaka, and may even marry a peasant
girl himself without incurring reproach.

The Emir of Bida keeps up elaborate state. He sends food to
all visitors to his capital and provides them with accommodation.
He summons Chiefs to audiences, and holds a levee in the palace
courtyard every Friday morning between 7 and 8 a.m., where all
or any of his subjects assemble to salute him, but he does
not enter into conversation with anyone then.

TRIBES. 329

He may go out to war himself, but more often puts the
operations under the War-Chief, Sarkin Yaki, who is himself
advised by the Wari-Yaki, a man chosen by the Mallamai for
this purpose, and often of so humble a position that the warriors
do not know who he is. The Sarkin Yaki, however, obeys him
invariably, and indeed it is the Mallamai who direct when and
where an attack should be delivered or a retreat made. If the
Sarkin Yaki should be killed in war, the army retires to await
another appointment by the Emir. It was the custom for the
two eldest daughters of the Sarkin Nupe to go to war, each
arrayed in two thick rigas, a cummerbund, and carrying a sword
and spear. They had large followings, for they gave a big pro-
portion of the spoils to their retinue, but they followed the
direction of the Sarkin Yaki. No woman was allowed to accom-
pany them into battle, but many of the sex were discontented
with the restriction and, in consequence, the practice became
unpopular amongst the Nupe men. The general feeling became
so strong that on the death of the Chief, Umoru Majigi, in 1884,
these ladies were no longer allowed to go out to war. Their
names were Atiba and Wodiko, names invariably given to the
Chief's two eldest daughters. In other respects they lived
ordinarily, and were married, but their husbands would never
fight in the same war with their wives. Each Chieftain brings
his following, and there are bodies of horsemen and footmen,
the former armed with spears, the latter with bows and arrows.
A war-camp is formed some seven to ten miles from where
hostilities are expected to take place, and here the stores and
women are left. The Mallamai and a large number of civilian
hangers-on advance to the verge of the fight, and wait till success
is attained, when they dash in to secure a share of the spoil, the
Mallamai giving the word when it is safe to do so. Needless to
say their presence is often resented. Envoys may be sent from
one army to another in perfect safety, protected by the waving
of a white flag, or of green branches; they generally dress in
white for additional surety.

Before any campaign is undertaken the Emir consults a
Mallam gifted with the power of prophecy, and he says whether the
results would be good or bad. A hundred years ago the advent
of a fair race from the west was foretold by the prophets in a
MS. still extant, and resistance to their arms was forbidden.
That was why the present Emir of Bida and his family, together
with all the Mallamai, refused to come out against the British.
There are some prophets who are above worldly interest and
desire, and others who give advice for 1,000 cowries, or perhaps
sixpence. It is a special art in which they receive instruction as
youths, and there are books on the subject. The Mallams are
consulted on such questions as marriage, trade ventures, and
sickness. They look on the ground for about ten minutes and

33° NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

sometimes consult a book before speaking ; if it concerns anyone
who is absent and unknown to the Mallam, the questioner lays
his hand on the ground, at which the Mallam gazes.

In the case of illness the Is-sabi is consulted, as if death is
certain it would be mere waste to spend money on doctors and
on medicine, as is otherwise done.

Some doctors have acquired great reputations, and people
travel long distances to consult them. As they are not paid unless
they effect a cure, they will not undertake hopeless cases.

When a man dies he is buried in the compound in a rectangular-
shaped grave, which has three depths, one within the other. The
body, which is wrapped in a large new cloth, is laid on a mat
on one side in the deepest part, the centre, facing eastwards;
wood is placed over it to prevent the earth touching the corpse.
Some of the more important men have a special burial-room in
their compound, but with this exception it is the same for men,
women, and children. Those who die of small-pox or who commit
suicide are, however, taken out and thrown into the bush by
dogarai, for no one else will touch them. If a body is being
carried home it may never be laid down, so a large number
of bearers are provided to relieve one another. The pagan
Nupe pour beer upon the grave, and offer prayers to the spirits.*

For seven days after a death the brothers, sons, daughters,
and other near relations and friends, come and sit with the
bereaved principal from six in the morning till six in the evening.
Dirty , white clothes constitute mourning apparel, and this is
worn for children, parents and spouse.

A widower may go out after seven days and work a little,
but not much till forty days have elapsed, when he may resume
his ordinary habits, though he continues to wear white for five
months. Widows, however, remain shut up in the compound
for five months, during which time they may not dress their
hair, or remove their sandals, or see any man. This over they
remarry, and can exercise their own choice as to a groom, being
allowed forty days within which to make their arrangements.
By the end of this time the law of the country insists on marriage,
an old woman getting an old husband, for no one will bury an
unmarried woman and, of course, she has no home where she
has a right to lie. It is a terror to the widows during their
enforced five months of singleness lest they may fall ill or
die, for even sickness, following so hard on the tragedy of
death, would be considered a sign of evil, and possibly witch-
dom, so the woman would find difficulty in securing another
husband.

The heirs are responsible for all debts incurred by the deceased,
whose property is divided between his eldest son, his other

*Sapke and Mokwa.

TRIBES. 331

sons, his whole brothers, and his daughters in a fixed and
decreasing proportion. If the children are infants the money is
held in trust for them by the brothers of the deceased. A woman's
money is inherited in the same way, but either sex may leave
their money as they choose, by declaring their wishes in the
presence of a large number of responsible witnesses. If there
is no family, a woman may inherit from her husband, and in
some cases where there are no children, and she is known to have
been a specially good wife, the brothers of the deceased forego
their right in her favour. If she has no children her property
goes to her husband. In no case does an illegitimate child
inherit.

In old times the people did not dare live outside walled
villages, but the neighbouring lands were apportioned by the
village-head amongst the various heads of families, according
to the amount he and his could beneficially occupy. The family
head in his turn granted the right of occupancy to individuals
of his family, and, as no tree was of value before the virgin
forest was cleared, each occupant had also the right to the sylvan
produce of his land. As, however, virgin forest diminished and
land became less plentiful, the heads reserved the use of the
oil-palm to themselves, though at one time they held it in trust
for the Emir.

Land cannot be sold, but it may be redistributed either on
the migration of the holder, or on the extinction of the whole
family. The village-head has a right to ask the family-head
to give him back some land that he may grant it to a new comer,
always supposing that this land is not at the time fully occupied.
The right of occupancy passes on the death of the holder to
the successive head of the family.

Amongst the pagan Nupe* the guardian spirit " Gunu "
is worshipped. Sheep, dogs and fowls are sacrificed in his honour,
their blood being poured out as a libation to him, whilst their
flesh is consumed by the worshippers. Every eleven months
the men go to his altar, beneath which sacred relics have been
buried since time immemorial, where they kneel down in a wide
circle, joining hands, and bowing their foreheads to the ground.
The elders address the spirit, and a feast and special dance
follows. Other festivals are held at harvest time, and on the
appointment of a new head-man, each village head-man being
also village priest. There is a semi-religious institution called
' Ndakogboiya." A meeting is held at the chief's house, when
a man may complain of his wife's conduct and beg that she
may be taken to task, together with any other ill-doer. A man
then mounts on stilts, and appears amongst the people after
dark, proclaiming their evil deeds, and receiving propitiatory

* Sapke and Mokwa.

332

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

offerings of goats and fowls. The " Ndakogboiya " is, however,
losing its efficacy, and indeed Muhammadanism is rapidly replacing
the ancient faith.

The influence of the Nupe is great, as may be seen from the
following lists of septs who speak the Nupe language, or a dialect
thereof, and are probably of Nupe origin. These dialects are
intelligible to all Nupe. The first three mentioned were by far
the largest and most important.

1. Pateji.

2. Kupa.

3. Baedeji.*

4. Kede.

5. Bangawa.f

6. Bata.

7. Batachi.

8. Bini.

9. Dibo.J

10. Duchu.

11. Ebe.

12. Etsu.§

13. Kakanda.f

14. Kusopa.

15. Zumbufu.

16. Kutegi.§

17. Enegi,§

18. Gbachi.§

19. Ganagana.J

The Nupe of Pateji are situated in Ilorin Province. They are
the descendants of the original Nupe Sarakuna, who are now
scattered all over the country and are called " Agabi," the
name for their distinctive mark of one broad scar on each side
of the nose (on the cheek). The custom of cicatrization has
become optional.

The Nupe of Kupa inhabit the Agbaja District of Kabba
Province ; there are also a few in the Bunu District. Their
distinctive mark is two lines on each side of the face, from the
temple to the lip ; within these are a series of small cuts. Their
population number some 3,600. Their name is said to be a
contraction of ' Oku-pari " (= canoe-men of Oku), a river in
Kontagora Province. Their weapons are flint locks and spears,
arrows only being used in small numbers.

The Kede are a riverain section who have spread along the
river banks in the Niger and Ilorin Provinces. The word " Kede "
signifies ' Dan Sarki," and is connected with a tradition that
dates back to the sixteenth century, circ. 1505 A.D., when Edigi,
who was travelling up the river, received assistance with his
canoe from a man whom he found seated upon a stone fishing,
gowned in two robes, one black, the other white. Edigi, when
he had established himself as King, conferred upon this man
the title of Kuta (which means the man who wears gowns of
black and white). One of the Kuta's salutions is ' takun "

*The Baedeji are of Yoruba extraction, though, having settled in
Nupe territory at Jebba, they have adopted the Nupe language.

f Their Nupe origin is disputed.

I The Dibo, Ganagana and Kakanda are sometimes claimed as Nupe,
but their languages are different, and it is unlikely that their connection is
closer than that induced by neighbourhood.

§ Naturalised Nupe.

TRIBES. 333

(a stone) , in commemoration of the legend. Only a man who lives
by the river and is a canoe-man can be a Kede. The men never
marry outside the clan, though the women will sometimes do
so. They keep very much to themselves, and no stranger was
permitted to enter the town of Pojo, not even the Emir of Bida,
whose suzerainty they recognised.

They are pagans and pray to gods or departed spirits in
the rivers. Many hundreds of men will enter the water together
and gaze into it, for hours and even days together, while they
make prayer. They say that a race of people inhabit the rivers,
that they are very fine people, but small, and that they have
power over all things in the water. The Kede are great swimmers,
and can see things in the water that are hidden from other men.
For instance, a girl at Egga, who was bathing in the early morn-
ing, in company with many others, was caught in an eddy and
disappeared. People searched for her body all day, but they could
not find it. They summoned a Kede from Pojo. He arrived the
following morning and brought her body to the surface in half
an hour. Her hands and feet were locked, so that no one could
unclench them, and her mouth was tightly shut. She was laid
in a hut and the people gathered round her and mourned her,
for they believed her to be dead. The Kede man told them that
she was not dead, and he had her carried to his house, where he
gave her medicines, and in three days she was well.

The Bangawa are a riverain section, practising the trade
of canoe-men and fishermen in the Bida Emirate. Their Nupe
origin is disputed.

There is a Haussa tribe of the same name, who came from
Katsina, but it is unlikely that there is any connection between
them and the Nupe off-set.

In Lapai Emirate the Bata tribe number some 5,000 to
6,000. They are an agricultural people and collect sylvan produce,
i.e., shea-nuts and palm kernels, from which they extract oil.
The only industry extensively practised is weaving. Their
vSarakuna form a judicial council, presided over by a head-man,
which is directly responsible to the Emir.

The Batachi are a riverain section in the Bida Emirate.
The name means " talaka," and is descriptive of their social
position towards the Nupe.

The Bini section are the aboriginal occupants of Bida. Their
other principal towns are Doko, Eyagi, Tua, Pichi and Wuya.
The name Bini signifies, " he who opens his mouth fully to
speak the truth." They are a pagan race, and practised their
rites on the Hill of Tua some three or four miles out of Bida town.
The sacrifice of a black ox, etc., was part of the formula, and
the dead were buried in pots at the base of the hill. These
practices were put an end to by the father of the present Emir
of Bida. The Bini are fast dying out. There are two sub-sections,

334 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

the Isaji, who are now distributed over the Pateji Division of
Ilorin Province, Kontagora Province, and the Bida Emirate,
having been dispersed at the beginning of the nineteenth century
from G'bara (now Jimunli) ; and the Gwagbaji who fled from
Jengi near Rabba, north to Kontagora Province on the Filane
aggression. They are now to be found in the Zuguma District,
in Yelwa north-west of N'Gaski, and in the Bussa District below
Wawa. They are described as a very dark race, good looking
and well built.

The tribal marks consist of a scar on one cheek, stretching
from the nose to the corner of the mouth. Some people, in
addition, wear three small cuts at each corner of the mouth, and
three small cuts on the chin. They practise circumcision.

The Nupe of Duchu, a town south of the Kaduna river, on
the western angle of the Bako and Niger rivers, are talakawa
to the Nupe. They are pagans and hold the " echu" snake
(probably a python) as sacred. This snake is said to emerge
from the bush whenever it is wanted, which is always on the
birth of a child, for a mother may not suckle her infant until the
" echu " has touched her breasts.

The Ebe are settled in the Yelwa District of Kontagora,
but are now almost extinct. They speak Haussa, as well as
a dialect of Nupe. They practise circumcision. Their tribal
mark is a scar on each cheek from the nose to the corner of the
mouth.

Etsu is the name given to a group of Gboda, Kupari, and
Gbangiri from Kukuruku (Kabba Province), and Yoruba, who
settled in the Sapke District and built the town of Etsu, becoming
naturalised Nupe.

" Kuso " is the Nupe word for a kola plantation and
" Kusopa " means ' the man who guards the kola trees."
They live in the Labohzi District, an area celebrated for its
kola trees, and a place where palm-oil flourishes, in the south-
west of the province. They are pagans. They believe that each
individual lives four times, in different existences of which
this is the second. They believe that this life is an improvement
on the last, where all people were very big and thickly made.
In the next life they believe that people will be very tall, but thin,
and in the fourth and last life that they will be tiny people,
only one or two feet in height. This fourth phase comes at the
end of the world when everybody has died, and it is regarded as
a heaven, but it is not permanent, being followed by extinction.
It is only the good people who can attain to it, as the wicked
become bush-beasts. It is not clear whether they believe that
the soul is immediately translated to the succeeding sphere or
not, but they appear to think that a period of death comes
between each phase.

TRIBES. 335

In this world they sacrifice to a god called Dako-Gwoya,
who takes visible form after harvest, when a big feast is held
and much beer is drunk. He has the appearance of a man, but
is higher than a double-storeyed house. He speaks and tells
the people what to do in business and social matters, but though
the women may hear him they may not see him.

The Nupe of Zumbufu (on the Niger) are of mixed blood,
having intermarried freely with the Yoruba. Zumbufu was
founded by a hunter early in the nineteenth century, who came
from the Lafiaji District, but they were never tributary to any
but the Bini of Bida. They were incorporated in the Share
District of Ilorin Province in 1910. They too are pagans and
worship a god called Bakoboya, who is recognised as far away
as Padda in the Pategi Division, an evil spirit who brings sickness
and famine. He appears in visible forms at festivals, in the guise
(with the aid of a ten foot pole) of a very tall man. His repre-
sentative dances round the town, surrounded by the head-men
of Zumbufu, and throughout the dance they beat each other
violently, but are said to feel no pain.

The inhabitants of Kutegi, Enegi, and Gbachi, are immigrants
from Bornu. They still wear the Kanuri tribal marks, but they
have adopted the Nupe language.

OGUGU.

AUTHORITY : Capt. F. Byng-Hall.

The Ogugu have a population of some 12,815, in the eastern
division of Bassa Province. They are administered by a Kanawa
Chief introduced by the British Government.

They are farmers and potters.

The women wear a cloth wrapped round their bodies, and
the men wear a cloth, one end of which is passed over the shoulder.

The tribal weapon is the bow and poisoned arrows.

They speak an individual language.

Their religion comprises the use of images and they have a
profound belief in witchcraft.

PAKA.

The Paka are a small pagan community who live on the
plains of Bauchi Emirate north of Badiko.

PAKARA.

The Pakara inhabit the Bukuru District of Bauchi Province,
They have a population of 740.

PIRI.

The Piri are situated partly in the south-east of Gombe, and
partly in the adjacent territory of the independent pagan division
of Yola. They inhabit the hills north of Lamurde and south
to the borders of Bashamma.

They are probably related to the Tangale, Longuda, and
Yunguru.

They are cannibals.

Slings are the tribal weapon.

In Yola Province they owe allegiance to the Chief of Bashamma,
but practically they recognise no authority but that of the local
village head-man.

They are a small tribe.

PITTI.

The Pitti pagans are situated in the southern division of
Zaria Emirate, where, at a rough estimate, they number some
5,000.

They are essentially farmers. They breed ponies, which they
ride bare-backed.

Rubber is found in the locality.

They were first brought under control in 1907.

These people may belong to the Rebinawa group.

338 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

PYEMAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. H. M. Frewen.

The Pyemawa occupy a strip of plateau to the west of Leri,
south of the Shere and Maigemu hills in Bauchi Emirate, where
they number some 8,285 ; and Vodni, Pankshin, with a population
of 2,007.

Physically they are strong and well built •,• but they are of a
low type and were probably cannibals.

Hundreds of human skulls have been found in a hole near
a cave, whilst others were placed outside on ledges of rock. In
another compartment a number of canine skulls and jaw bones
were suspended from the roof.

The compounds are invariably surrounded with prickly
cactus hedges, which served as fortification against the attacks
of the dreaded Sura horsemen.

The Pyemawa possess no ponies, their tribal weapon being
bows and arrows.

No stock is reared, with the exception of goats, but they are
all agriculturists, and they weave mats skilfully.

Many of the men have Haussa tobes, but their ordinary
costume is a scanty torn cloth and skin apron. The women
wear bunches of leaves.

The tribal marks consist of two short thick lines at the corners
of the mouth.

RIANGA.

There are a group of ninety-five Rianga in Bauchi Emirate.

RON or BORAM.

AUTHORITY : Mr. J. H. M. Molyneux.

The Ron occupy an area of 310 square miles called Boram
or Baron, in the south of Bauchi plateau, Pankshin Division.
It is bounded on the north by Burrum, west by Kaleri (two
towns in Kaleri are Ron), and south and east by Sura. The
population, numbering some 7,029, are descendants of the Hill-
Angas, a section of whom migrated from Lankan, circ. 1836-46
A.D., under the leadership of one Womtass, who founded Bokkos.
Circ. 1840 A.D. Yakuba, Emir of Bauchi, repulsed Bukuru
and proceeded against Ron, but retired before the warlike attitude
of its inhabitants. The Ron people were continually fighting
amongst themselves, and against their neighbours the Burrum
and Sura, both under Womtass and under his two sons, Jul
and Mundun, who succeeded him. In 1914, however, all the
Ron agreed to follow Mudun.

They speak Ron, except on the southern fringe of the plateau
where a dialect of Sura, interspersed with some Ron words
and expressions, has replaced it, and at Rushere where Ankwe
is the prevailing tongue.

They have no tribal marks.

Administration was conducted through the village heads,
whose office was hereditary from father to son, except in the case
where the son was not of age, when the deceased Chief's brother
acted for him. He mixed freely with the populace, but per-
formed no farm labour himself, and might not eat in company.

Men saluted him formally by kneeling and strewing dust
and leaves on their heads. He decided disputes, either alone
or in council with the village elders. A murderer was liable
to death or slavery, but might provide a slave as proxy. Theft
was punished by death, but the sentence might be commuted
to a fine where assets were available. Rape was punished by
a payment of stock to the parents of the girl. Adultery as above,
but by payment to the aggrieved husband. An offence against
religion was punished by death.

340 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Little is known as to the Ron religion. Each ungwa has
its sacred grove, and at least one in each village is regarded with
special reverence. Outside the main entrance to every compound
is an upright stone, such as is erected by the Angas to their
god ' Kum "* (see page 13), often supplemented by a temple
which is decorated with the horns of cows, buck, and bush-cow.

The villages are situated on rocky knolls, at an average
height of 4,200 feet above sea-level. The buildings are of mud,
strengthened with layers of large stones ; they are circular in
shape and roofed with grass. Intervals between the houses
are filled in with stone dykes, so that admission is obtained through
one winding passage only. Close to the entrance of the average
compound are small huts in which fuel is stored. Each household
in the compound has at least two double-store yed houses in its
centre, the ground floor serving as living room, the upper,
which is approached by a circular opening from without, being
used as a granary where the grain is loosely heaped. The con-
ditions are insanitary, each ungwa containing large stagnant
cesspools.

There are no defined boundaries between the towns.
Each man has a right to cultivate farm lands and either chooses
virgin soil or takes over a corner of his father's farm on his marriage .
His right of occupancy passes on his death to his heirs, i.e.,
his sons. Slaves farm within the households.

A man commonly marries at the age of seventeen, a girl when
she is fifteen, but they are betrothed much earlier and inter-
course is permitted. There is no religious ceremony, but
the bride is lightly tattooed with dotted lines on the breast and
stomach shortly before the wedding. The young couple either
occupy a new compound or live with the groom's father.
A wife may eat with her husband in private, but in public
the sexes remain apart. Marriage between near relations
is forbidden. The dower commonly consisted of a horse and
ten goats, which was paid in instalments. If she died without
issue the dower was returned ; if she died young, but left issue,
her father returned the horse only. If she deserted her husband
the dower price was returned. Children belong to their fathers.
Twins were killed.

Boys are circumcised at the age of three or four.

The working dress of both sexes consists of an'untanned hide
worn round the loins. At other times the men add a bag of
goat-skins suspended from the shoulders, and the women a
finely woven string net round the loins with loose hanging ends .

The men wear a sanitary sheath.

The tribal weapons are spears, knives, and sharpened poles.

Festivals take place outside the Sarki's house, the two biggest

* Compare Montol, Sura.

TRIBES. 341

being before and after harvest, when there are beer drinking
orgies for several days together. The sexes dance separately,
in a ring, all together making a slow movement of one foot at a
time to the strains of the tom-tom and singing.

When a death occurs the women and girls wail, and the
deceased, if a man of importance, is shrouded in goat-skins,
and a large number of goats are killed and eaten. He and all
others, whatever their degree, are buried in the compound, with
the exception of the inhabitants of Batura, who have a cemetery
outside the town.

The father, or nearest relation, of the deceased wears grass
ropes round his head, chest, and loins, and leaves his hair uncut
for one year, in sign of mourning, at the end of which time the
friends and relatives of the deceased are invited to a final feast
when much beer is consumed.

RUBU.

AUTHORITY : Mr. W. Morgan.

The remnants of Rubu — seventy-five in number — inhabit
Abuja in Nassarawa Province.

They originally lived in the neighbourhood of Birnin Gwari,
and when Kontagora made war on the country (probably at the
end of the nineteenth century), their leaders Jermai and Sintili
received permission to bring the Rubu within the walls of that
city. There they remained for nine years, but when an alliance
was declared between Kontagora and Birnin Gwari the Rubu
retired to Abuja,* seeking escape from slavery, by which their
numbers had been already seriously thinned. Jermai, however,
sold more of his people on their arrival in Abuja, and hence their
practical annihilation as a unit.

RUMADA.

AUTHORITY : Capt. T. W. P. Dyer.

The Rumada are distributed throughout the Zaria Emirate,
with the exception of the districts of Sarkin Zana, Waenga,
Kajuru and Kaura. Some 4,000 are located in the Lemme District
of Bauchi Emirate.

They are a pagan people, and were originally slaves of the
Filane Bororo, but Yakubu, Emir of Bauchi (1833 A.D.), freed
them on account of their loyalty to him in the absence of their
masters.

' These events are said to have occurred in the time of Abubakr
(Chief of Birnin Gwari, 1895 A.D. ?) and of Abukwaka (Abukwaka was Chief
of Abuja for seven years circ. 1870 A.D.)

SAGOAWA.

The Sagoawa are a small community of hill-pagans, located
in the north of Bauchi Emirate.

SANGAWA.

The Sangawa are distributed over the Bauchi Emirate,
where they number some 340 ; over the Bukuru Division of
Bauchi, where they have a population of 750, and over the
adjacent Jemaa Emirate in Nassarawa Province. Nothing is
recorded of them, but that they were conquered by the Filane,
are pagans, and are administered by the Emir of Jemaa under
a district head-man appointed by him. It has been suggested
that they reached Jemaa from the Niger valley.

SARAWA.

The Sarawa are a very backward group of hill-pagans, situated
in Bauchi Emirate in the Sara hills south of Leri.

SEGIDDAWA.

The Segiddawa are a small tribe situated in the south-western
plains of Bauchi Emirate, near Ler.

Their language bears affinity to that of their neighbour
the Seiyawa* an offshoot of Jarawa.

SHALLAWA.

There are 1,760 Shallawa in Bauchi Emirate.

SHANGAWA.

The Shangawa occupy the banks and islands of the River
Niger in the south of Sokoto (Gando Emirate), and the north
of Kontagora (Yelwa and Bussa).

* Mr. W. F. Cowers.

TRIBES. 343

They are a branch of Kengawa, having broken off, in the
early half of the nineteenth century, when the Emir of Gando
broke their town of Kaoji. Its inhabitants fled to Shenga (in
the Yelwa Division of Kontagora) — hence their name — and
when the Filane Chief, N'gwamache, subsequently Emir of
Kontagora, captured Shenga they scattered to the islands on
the Niger.

SHO or SHAU.

The Sho or Shau are a small pagan community inhabiting
the plains of Bauchi Emirate north of Badiko.

SIRAWA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. H. S. W. Edwardes.

The Sirawa are a small pagan tribe, numbering about a
hundred, inhabiting the Ari District of Bauchi Province.

SURA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. J. H. M. Molyneux.

The Sura are situated in the south-west of Bauchi Province,
in the Pankshin Division, where they number some 17,722, and
occupy an area of 375 square miles, showing an average density
per square mile of 47.25 ; and in South Sura, Bauchi Emirate,
where they number some 2,250, giving a total population of
19,972 (probably underestimated).

They say that they came from far to the south and they
belong to the Angas, Ankwe, Montol and Yergum group, tribes
who speak the same language though with wide dialectical
differences, and, like the Angas, Montol and Yergum, they
worship the same god, 'Nan." The whole tribe gather together
to celebrate religious rites, but do not commingle in ordinary
life.

The principal town of Panyam was founded circ. 1830 A.D.
by Chertu', who was accompanied by fellow-tribesmen, and
Angas, from Gun, who settled there and in that neighbourhood,
where they were joined by a small number of Burrum (Kibyen).
Kereng,* and other settlements in its vicinity, was founded about
the same date by colonists frorr^ Jepel, who are of Ankwe stock,

* Kerang = man, is the name by which the Angas tribe describe thcm-
sdves ; Angas being a Filane appellation.

344 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

and these various groups were first united as Sura or Mavul
in repelling a Filane invasion under Yakubu about 1830-1840
A.D., since which time they have intermarried.

They are essentially horsemen, riding bare-backed, and rely
on the charges of their mounted spearmen, but they have bows
and arrows, and knives also. The weapons are never poisoned.
The Sarkin Wari, who ranked next to the Sarakuna, declared
peace or war formally.

The villages are built amongst shade-trees and each cluster
of huts has its complement of nicely laid out fields surrounded
with cactus hedges. The latter are of great age, their branches
intertwine and form a shady avenue. The slopes are cultivated
nearly half way up the hills to the craters, the soil being of a
ferruginous nature and very fertile.

All the members of a family live in the same compound.
The houses, though built of mud, are strengthened by layers of
stone, and are circular in shape. Grain is stored in funnel-shaped
rumbus inside the huts. The women sleep together in one round
hut, which is encircled in the interior by a raised mud dais which
serves as their couch, and a fire is kept burning in the centre.
There is an inner chamber, approachable only through a narrow
entrance out of the married women's sleeping apartment, where
the girls sleep.

A girl's dress consists of string passed round and round
the waist, with tassels hanging from it before and behind.

The women wear loin-cloths of plaited string fastened by
big metal buttons.

The men smear their bodies with a greasy paint, made from
red oxide of iron, that is found in the streams. They are naked
but for cloth bags and perhaps an untanned goat skin, and the
sarakuna wear metal greaves from below the knees to the ankle
with projecting spurs. The use of Haussa clothes is gradually
penetrating.

They have abandoned the practice of tribal markings.

Their physique is fine and they are a frank, straightforward
people.

They were cannibals, and invariably ate the bodies of enemies
killed in war, even were they those of their fellow-tribesmen.
The Chief ate women convicted of adultery, and purchased
slaves to fatten and eat them. The Chieftainship passes from
father to eldest son (?), the deceased's brother acting as regent
for a minor.

On the great occasions of village life all repair to the Sarki's
house, where also judicial cases are tried. By tribal law a murderer
was given to the relatives of the deceased to be enslaved for
life. Rape was punished by a fine of ten goats, the usual marriage
fee. Theft, by compensation according to the value stolen, but
if the deed were done at night the aggrieved householder had a

TRIBES. 345

right to the robber's life. Crimes against religion were punished
by death.

There is household worship in a temple facing the entrance
to each compound ; it consists of a circular hut, the walls of
which are hung with horns, the entrance being barred by an up-
right slab of stone.* In addition there are farm jujus, represented
by knotted grass, sticks, stones, and small uncultivated patches
in the centre of the farms.

In old days the Sura and Baron or Ron had common worship
at Lankan.

Early betrothals were practised and intercourse before
marriage is permitted. Prior to the ceremony the bride is lightly
tattooed on the breast and stomach, and the groom gives a
big feast of goat's meat, salt and oil. He gives the parents
ten bags of acha, which can be recovered if the girl refuses to
consummate the marriage ; or, if she afterwards deserts him for
another man, that man must give him not only the acha, but
a horse as well. The usual age for marriage is seventeen for a
man, fifteen for a woman. Marriage is permitted between near
relations. Husband and wife may eat together in private, but
not in public. Twins are killed.

Circumcision is not practised.

When a death occurs the women raise the death wail. The
deceased are buried in the compounds, the principal men having
as shroud the skins of their favourite horses. The nearest relative
alone enjoys the privilege of mourning, the outward token
of which is shaving the head. The period of mourning is three
days, and for a Chief seven days.

All property goes to the eldest son, who is bound to supply
his brothers and sisters with means of subsistence and the loan
of agricultural implements. If they be minors their uncle tills
the land until they are of age. Until marriage, children farm
for the parents, and after marriage husband and wife farm
together on ground given them by the husband's father. They
are good farmers.

The principal industries are smelting and smithying, for
the Sura supply the whole of the neighbouring tribes. Rope is
woven out of ramma fibre, and grass mats and baskets made.

The average height of their land above sea-level is 4,200 feet,
and there are eight volcano craters between Ampam and Panyam,
where the ground is very fertile. The streams are numerous
but small.

The country is mostly bare of trees except in the vicinity
of the villages, but on the north-east border there is a belt of
fan palm, two miles in depth by four in length.

A few oil-palms are scattered here and there.

* Compare Angas household god, Kum.

34<~>

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The Sura have some nine hundred horses and mares, sturdy
little beasts, rarely exceeding thirteen hands. There are some
281 oxen; they do not use cattle for milking purposes.

The recognised value of stock is :

i horse =2 cows =20 big goats=3O hoes =40 kororo of salt ;
i mare =i cow =12 goats =20 hoes=3O kororo of salt.

TANGALE.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. T. F. Carlyle. The Hon. Oliver Howard.

The Tangale tribe are situated in the extreme south of the
Gombe Division of Bauchi Province, where they number some
12,000 and, together with the affiliated Wurkum town of Pero,
some 15,000, which may be further increased to 28,200 by
including the Ture, an offset of the Tangale. In the Gujba
Division, to the extreme south-west of Bornu Province, they
may be roughly assessed at 20,000, and there are others in the
independent pagan division of Yola Province, where the}7 are
under the Chief of the Bashamma. The- total strength may,
therefore, be roughly estimated at 50,000.

The Tangale were the earliest known dominant occupants
of what is now Gombe Emirate.* There is mention of an earlier
people who were in occupation of the southern hills, from which
they were driven southwards, but it is possible that they were
related to the Tangale, as were also the people known as Yaffudawa
who inhabited Kalam prior to the arrival of the Bolewa, and
the Rogdo, inhabitants of Kafaretti (or Kwom), who also spoke
a dialect of Tangale. The Tangale dialects bear a resemblance to
the speech of the Kanakuru of Shillem and Gasi (it is sometimes
known as Nimaltu*), as also to Bolenshi, and possibly to Haussa.

Legend ascribes the origin of the tribe to two men named
Giddigiddi and Abdu, who were persuaded to come and reside
at Pindika,f a Jukon state, where they were given Jukon wives.
After a year's residence they were afraid and fled to their present
location in the hills, where they founded the Tangale clan. After
the lapse of some years the Jukon entered into relationship
with them, and confirmed Giddigiddi as Chief of the Tangale,
with Abdu as his Madaiki, they in return agreeing to recognise
the suzerainty of Pindika.

At the very beginning of the nineteenth century the head-
quarters of the tribe was at Kalshingi on the Gombe plain,
to the north-east of Pindika. Their capital was Kumbe, a name
sometimes applied to the tribe. An act of treachery resulting

* Vide Tera, p. 350, 352
f Vide Jukon, p. 173.

348 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

in a blood-feud caused a split in the tribe, and one half of them
trekked south to their present location in the neighbourhood
of Chongwom, where they again divided, the majority going
to the Ture and Kaltungo vicinage, where they formed the
group now known as Ture, and a small number went still further
east to Boule, where their identity became merged with that
of the original inhabitants, the Tula, though these maintained
friendship with the Tangale and paid tribute to Pindika. Mean-
while those Tangale who had remained at Kumbe found themselves
so weakened that they, too, sought safety in the hills west of
Chongwom. The feud between the two sections is still maintained.
It is probable that a small section moved north and west finding
a natural protection from invaders in the deep canyons of Dal
(or Dulli) and Gabuka, in the fly-infested bush of Kafaretti
(or Kwom), and from the Gongola River to Kupto. In these
places a dialect of the Tangale language is still spoken. When
a few years later the Filane broke the Jukon power at Pindika
and over- ran the plain country, the Tangale resisted their
incursions on the hills, though the section at Ture on the plains
were overcome. From that time onwards, the Tangale have
been subjected to constant raids, but have successfully main-
tained their independence, even against the united forces of
Gombe, Katagum, and Messau. On one occasion, when Sali,
Emir of Messau, was killed, the Filane horsemen, struggling over
broken ground that was well-nigh impassable on horseback,
became so disorganised that the pagans were able to follow so
close upon them as to dock the horses' tails. They have, however,
never been able to descend from their fastnesses to seek peaceful
development, and have, therefore, been driven to a prolonged
course of rapine and feud.

They are cannibals, but observe certain reservations. For
instance, they will not eat the body of a murderer, or of their
own dead; but they eat all enemies slain in battle, the breast
being preserved for the Chief, the head, as the least desirable
portion, for the women. The tenderer parts are dried in the
sun, then pulverised and mixed with the ordinary gruel.*

The heads of all victims are jealously preserved.

The tribal marks consist of a St. Andrew's cross with a straight
line through it from above the nose, four lines above each eye,
four diagonal lines on each temple, four diagonal lines from the
jawbone towards the back of the neck, on each side, and three
diagonal lines towards the chin on each side ; all the lines being
protuberant. There are, in addition, small dots in series of three
down the belly.

They wear no clothing.

* Letter from Vogel translated by Mr. P. A. Benton in
Songs and Historical Notes."

TRIBES. 349

In times of shortage, children are sold, the accepted value
of a toy of ten being three oxen or four and a half Spanish
dollars.

When an ox is killed the fat is melted down and drunk in large
quantities.

" After death the corpse is interred up to the neck in a sitting
position for seven days, during which time a proper catacomb
is dug for it some twenty feet long by four to six feet broad
and high, with three entrances, which are afterwards blocked
with stones. On the seventh day the corpse's head is cut off
and the body laid to rest in numerous mats, which must be
as soft and good as possible, for if it does not lie easy it will
" walk." On the grave a sort of monument of bundles of straw
is erected, and the head is put near by, wrapped in straw in
the case of a male, inside a pot in the case of a female.

" The hut in which a man dies is at once abandoned by his
relatives and soon falls to ruin."*

Storks, in one village at all events, are regarded as sacred.
' They worship a god (Yaruba), who is the personification
of all the souls of the dead. A temple, i.e., a hut, is erected
for him under a cotton-tree, in which is a post branching out
at the top into three arms, on which are a small pot and two
small earthen vessels, and an earthen ball adorned with small
white feathers. When the guinea-corn is ripe this god leaves
his shrine for seven days and nights, when he dances in the bush,
and the men of the neighbourhood take advantage of his absence
to come to the temple with three offerings : beer, which they
poured into the upper pot ; fowls, which they sacrificed, placing
their blood and heads in one of the earthen vessels ; and gruel,
which has been cooked by a man. On this occasion a man
wreathes his head and waist with guinea-corn, and dances to
the sound of drums, whilst his attendants collect small presents
for him.

' ' A similar triple branched pole bearing a small pot is erected
in front of every house, and is the receptacle for periodical offerings
of beer."* Part of the ritual is to throw dust on their persons and,
as the wind blows it away, they pray that as the wind cleanses
them from dust, so may it cleanse them from sickness.

Wizards who possess the evil eye are known as " Sambo,"
and live in a quarter apart from the rest of the tribe. It is thought
that a fit is. caused by a wizard seizing a person's shadow; if
the victim is able to name the aggressor, the accused wizard
brings a certain root which, when soaked in water, restores
the patient if his guess is right, but kills him if he is wrong (Boule) .

* Letter from Vogel translated by Mr. P. A. Benton in " Kanuri
Songs and Historical Notes."

350 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The office of priest, or ' Iku," is hereditary, passing first
to the brother, secondly to the son and thirdly to the nephew.
It is he who administers law, and for each case receives a fee
of one goat. Murder is punished by the payment of seven goats,
three hundred small hoes, and a boy to the bereaved family.
A thief must restore the goods stolen.

When a marriage takes place the groom gives a dower of
a hundred large hoes to the bride's father, which must be returned
to him should his wife leave him without having borne him a
child. He also gives one goat to the priest that he may intercede
with " Yaruba " to give him a son, and another to the head-men
that they may make a feast.

They have an elaborate system of drumming,* by which
they convey various meanings by the change of notes, not by
rhythm as is more commonly the custom.

(i) ' Time " is a deep-toned drum used together with

(2) ' Dukur ' in calling women and boys to dance. (3) '" Kuk-
wala," a medium-toned drum, together with (4) " Kwalakatum,"
a little drum, are beaten after a head-taking fight. Numbers
2, 3, and 4 are shaped like an elongated hour-glass. (5) " Ka-
kanga " is a small drum with a thin high note, which is beaten
in quick time as a call to arms.

There are four principal dances, (i) the head-dance, which
takes place after a fight ; (2) to celebrate a cannibal feast ;

(3) on killing an elephant, and (4) for women and boys.

TAURAWA.

The Taurawa are a small tribe of hill pagans, inhabiting
the northern districts of Bauchi Emirate, near Jengre.

TERA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. J. H. C. Elder. Capt. J. ff. Hopkinson.
Mr. G. W. Webster.

The origin of the Tera is somewhat obscure, but it appears
probable that they are an offshoot of the Bolewa. They came
from Fika to that part of the country which is on the Yola-
Gombe border, the inhabitants of which have been nicknamed
Kanakuru by the Haussa. These tribes claim the original owner-

Ditto Tula.

TRIBES. . , 351

ship of most of those lands that now constitute the Gombe Emirate,
and are known individually as the ' Dera " and ' Jera."

One of this group, Gomtal by name, left Shani in Yola Province
with.,a small following, and made a settlement at the town of
Kono, three miles to the south-east of Gulani, circ. 1610 A.D.,
thus founding what is now known as the Tera District in the
south-west of the Gujba Division of Bornu Province. The
twelfth Chief (Mai), moved to Ohogeshi, one mile west of Gulani,
a town then inhabited by the Maga tribe, who agreed to follow
him. The people intermarried and the Tera language was
displaced by that of the Maga. Makoi, the seventeenth Mai, built
the town of Gulani, which has remained the headquarters of
the district, and a subsequent Chief married a daughter of the
Mai of Biu, who henceforth excluded Gulani itself from his
frequent raids upon the Tera vicinage.

A more comprehensive account of the Tera history comes
from Gombe.* They claim to have come from the neighbourhood
of Mecca, passing through Bornu to Fika, whence they travelled
down the Gongola to Shinga, where they found Bima Hill inhabited.
Shinga was without a head-man, so the three leaders (who were
brothers) left a relative there in charge. Passing by Gwani
they crossed the Gongola, where one brother settled on the
right bank, remaining thus in touch with Shinga, and founded
the town of Hinna, which, as the oldest, henceforth took prece-
dence over all other Tera settlements.

The Hinna have their headquarters now on the left bank
in the Gujba Division of Bornu Province. They speak a somewhat
similar language to that spoken by the Nimalto, and in addition
Haussa is commonly understood, owing to the fact that many
of the young men have recently worked on the tin fields. They
are agriculturists and also own considerable numbers of cattle
and horses. Men and women have separate farms, but a man
has the right to demand three days work in every seven from
his wife. During the time that she works on his farm, she receives
her food from her husband's store, but at other times each supplies
the corn for their own needs, though the woman cooks for both.
The second brother took up his abode at the old site of Kurba,
whilst the third brother turned back and founded Deba Habe.
Another member of their family was placed on Liji Hill to form
a connecting link with Deba Habe and Kurba.

Gwani was then harassed into submission. Later, when the
Jukon formed the Kingdom of Pindika in that neighbourhood,
Gwani became tributary to them and adopted their religion.

On the advance of the Filane in the nineteenth century both
Gwani and Debe Habe paid them blackmail, in slaves and in
kind, to save themselves from invasion.

* Sarkin Gwani and others.

352 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

A detachment of Tera went from Shinga to Bage, where they
found pagans (possibly Tangale), already established on the
hill tops. They took up their abode amongst them, adopting their
tongue, Nimalto, which is that still spoken by the Tangale.
This speech, Nimalto, was adopted by practically all the Tera,
whom it is probable had previously spoken Bolenshi. The
vernacular in Panda is, however, known as Tera.

Shinga and Bage continued to exchange gifts on the appoint-
ment of a new head-man, though now the people of Bage deny
all connection with other Tera.

The facial marks of the Tera consist of a number of close
perpendicular lines from the temples to the level of the mouth.
They are identical to those of the Bole, and are an exaggerated
form of the Kanuri markings.

They are sometimes called ' men of Nimettio."

The population of the Tera District number some 23,263,
which includes Hinna, Nimalto, Maga, and Tangale. Probably
the Tera number some 1,938 only.

Their Chief ' Kworianga " holds a fifth grade stave of
office.

Some 6,785 Tera are located in the Gombe Emirate, having
originally migrated thither from the western boundary of Yola
Province. It has been stated that the original settlers, despite
the proximity of iron-ore, had only wooden staves as weapons
of defence.

Gado, or death-duty, to the value of one horse, was raised
on the Sarakuna by the Chief. He had also the right to claim
any widow.

On a man's death his estate was divided between his sons
and daughters in unequal parts, according to their sex and seniority ,
the sons receiving the larger share. Were a son to predecease
his father, his issue received no share in the inheritance, unless
all the previous generation had died without issue. If, however,
he died while they were yet children, his brother inherited the
fortune and acted as guardian to the children. On his death his
estate was divided between his own and his deceased brother's
children, as if they were all of one family. The family might
agree together that it was better that the whole estate should
go to the eldest son for his life, when he was bound to fulfil
the duties of the head of the family, i.e., pay all fines, maintain
the young, give marriage dowers, etc.*

If not claimed by the Sarki or Sarakuna, the widows might
marry their step-sons, or anyone they liked.

They are a pagan people, and during the principal religious
feast of the year the large towns are closed to all outsiders.

* Compare Bolewa.

TRIBES. 353

TONI.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. H. Cadman. Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Toni are located in Keffi Emirate, Nassarawa Province
(Toni District), their population being 1,351.

Sarkin Dari is the district and tribal Chief.

It is said that they were the^ original inhabitants of Kano,
whence they were driven by the Filane,* or, by another version,
that they came from Zamfara (Sokoto)f and that they were
settled in their present location as agriculturists and talakawa
to the Gwandara by (if not before) 1750 A.D.f The Emir of
Keffi does something to link these theories by the statement that
a long time ago, Fara, a daughter of the Sarkin Kano, quarrelled
with her husband and ran away to the bush where some Zamfara
hunters found her and brought her to their town of Zurumi
(now Kaura-na-Moda) . Presently the Chief and his wife went
to visit the Sarkin Kano and were well received by him. The
Zamfara increased greatly in numbers, and when some huntsmen
penetrated to the country east of Keffi, they determined to
settle down and remain there.

Yet another version has it that the Toni came from Bornu.J

It appears that they arrived in Toni District after the Gwan-
dara, and it seems probable that they were both preceded by
Gwari.

The Toni speak a distinct language, but they know Gwandara
also, and appear to have identical customs.

They practise rotation of crops, guinea-corn being cultivated
two years in succession and then acha. These are stored in
bins, which have no resemblance to those used by the surrounding
tribes. They build a large cylindrical corn-bin, some nine feet
in height, which acts as the central pillar of the house, and on
which the roof rests. There are no vertical wooden supports to
the roof at all. Around it are six to eight smaller bins, about
five feet high, which support the outer edge of the roof, the
space between the two being commonly used for grinding corn
and cooking. The men attend to the inner bins, whilst the
women fill the outer bins, which they do through a small opening
off the circular passage.

Their other occupations are weaving and hunting.

They are a dirty, but peaceful race, as is evidenced by their
tribal law, which permits no slavery or capital punishment.

* Major Blakeney.
f Mr. J. C. Sciortino.
Sarkin Mandara.

354 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Murder and arson are unknown. A thief must return the goods
he has stolen, and is further shamed by young girls singing of
his crime. Rape is punished by a fine of 20,000 cowries and one
goat. A woman may, however, leave her husband without
penalty. No interest is charged on debts, and it is optional to an
heir whether he will pay the debts of the deceased. A debtor
may, however, be called upon by the head-man to make payment,
and if he is unable to meet the call himself, he contracts to work
for some richer man who will take over the debt.

All property passes to a man's children, failing them to his
nearest male relation, failing them to his nearest female relation,
but under no circumstance may a woman hold land.

Individuals have rights over certain trees.

Orphans may be adopted by their own or any other family.

All blood relations by male descent constitute the family,
and marriage inside the family is not permitted.

Early marriages are customary. The first wife has authority
over subsequent ones, though each has her own house.

The suitor works on the farm of his betrothed's father, and
gives him beer and food in one calabash when the wedding
takes place.

Circumcision is practised.

The Toni are a pagan people with a profound belief in witch-
craft. At the town of Bokwako there are two shrines, open
spaces encircled with zana mats in groves of trees. The one
contains a straw figure, the other three or four small boulders.

TULA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. T. F. Carlyle. The Hon. Oliver Howard.

The Tula are a group of diverse origin , who inhabit a region
in the immediate neighbourhood of the Tangale, in the south-
east of the Gombe Division of Bauchi Province, where they have
a population of some 14,800.

It is doubtful who the original inhabitants of this region
were, possibly the Dadia, who speak a dialect of what is now
known as the Tula language. There is also mention of an immi-
grant people from Bellaku in Muri Province, some of whom
remain in the town of ' Wange," the main population of which,
together with that of the town of Iri, came from Tuar, near the
Benue, some three generations ago.* It is, on the other hand,
suggested that the inhabitants of Wange are of the same origin

* The Hon. O. Howard.

TRIBES. 355

as the Waja, with whom they are friendly.* It is agreed, however,
that the Boule (Tangale) came to Tula country at the same
time as the Wange, that they overcame the original inhabitants,
but acquired their language in the process.

They paid tribute to the Jukon of Pindika, but when the
latter were conquered by the Filane, gained complete inde-
pendence.

The succession of Chiefs passes first to the deceased's brothers,
failing them to his sons, failing them to his nephews.

Their tribal marks, which apply to all Tula, except those
of Boule, consist of small dots, very lightly marked. On the
left side of the face there are some six lines of dots, converging
from either end of the ear to the eye, and some seven rows of
dots from the nose to the jaw. On the right side of the face there
are three horizontal rows of dots on a level with the eye, two
semi-oval rows of dots opposite the ear, and three semi-oval
rows of dots opposite the mouth.

The Tula worship a god called ' Kwama," and their chief
priest is hight ' Burno." The religious customs, law and its
administration, marriage customs, music, and dancing ?.re
identical with those of the Tangale, vide pages 349, 350,
the only differences being that a murderer must pay thirty
goats (in place of seven goats and three hundred small hoes),*
as well as a boy of his family as blood money, and that the
ordinary marriage dower consists of nine large hoes and six
goats (instead of a hundred large hoes.)

TURETA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. F. Daniels.

The Tureta, extinct as an entity, are said to have been one
of a group of aboriginal pagans inhabiting what is now the district
of Tureta, in Sokoto, where they had a considerable population,
occupying seventy towns, of which Fagwab was the chief.

Every year the men gathered at Dutsin -Disa and the women
at Samya (in Shuni) to practise their religious rites, which,
it is said, included human sacrifice.

When Shefu dan Fodio established the rule of the Filane,
he called upon the tribes to bring him gaisua. Each one brought
him of the fruits of their labours, but the Tureta alone brought
him the produce of the bush, dogondaji, shea-nuts, hog- plums,
locust-beans and Taura (Detarium Senegalense). The Shefu
was very angry and cursed them and their land. They fled
terrified and their country was left desolate.

* Mr. T. F. Carlyle.

356 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

«

TURU or TURUMAWA.

AUTHORITIES :
Capt. C. F. Rowe. Capt. U. F. Ruxton.

The Turu are a riverain tribe, living on the lower swamps
of the Katsena River in the Munshi Division of Muri Province.

Together with the Aragu (Igara), the people of Igbira and
neighbouring countries, and the riverain Jukon, they were
nicknamed Koto by the Haussa, Kotokori by the Yoruba, and
together with them, i.e., with the immigrants from around
Ida to Doma and Keana (Nassarawa Province), spoke a lingua
franca which held sway all the way thence to the Dama neigh-
bourhood in Southern Nigeria,* whence the Turu originally came.

They intermarried with both Munshi and Jukon.

They practise riverain pursuits, fishing and ferrying, act
as middlemen between the Munshi and Haussa markets, and
make pots. As farmers, they grow barely enough to satisfy
their own wants, yams being the principal crop, though a con-
siderable quantity of guinea-corn is grown for consumption
as beer.

No horses or oxen can survive in that locality, but each
village has a flock of goats, sheep and fowls.

The towns were formerly surrounded by mud walls and
ditches, which are no longer kept in repair.

The women eat openly in their compounds, but the men
invariably repair to the fetish groves.

They are a pagan people, whose ceremonies comprise heavy
drinking bouts. They are united under a paramount Chief,
who has, however, little real authority. Each town has its
council of elders, who, under the chairmanship jof the village-
head, conduct the affairs of their people.

* The late Right Rev. S. A. C. Cro\\ther

VERE.

AUTHORITIES :
Capt. C. V. Boyle. Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Vere tribe inhabit the hills bearing their name, twenty
miles south of Yola, and occupy an area of some 500 square
miles.

Those residing on the plains below were conquered by the
Emir of Yola and became his private slaves. Those in the hills
remained independent until recently, when they were placed
in the Emirate under a Filane district-head. These are divided
into two sections, the Vere and Chamba — the latter being an
inferior type to, though connected with, the main body of Chamba
in the west. They are also related to the Bura, Hona, Kilba,
Kugamma, Lala and Mumbake.

The population numbers some 18,440.

The Vere are believed to be indigenous to their present
location, and were once under a paramount Chief, named " Donda
Gwiji Gwiji," who was the founder of the tribe. There is no
longer a tribal chief, but there are " donda " or village-chiefs, whose
principal duty is to take the lead in war. They summon the
elders to consultation on any matter of general importance, by
sending round an iron rod with two or more hoops forming
the head, or with two spirals half-way down from the head.
These assemblies are made the occasion of a big feast , where
much beer is consumed.

What central authority there is is vested in the high priest,
by name, Yakunor, who alone, with one acolyte (who ultimately
succeeds him), may enter the shrine of the great god Yakumam.
He is the god of rain and thunder, and it might be said of purity,
for he will tolerate no dirt. The three outer skins are scraped
off a corpse before burial with this view, and lepers, being unclean,
are straightway buried alive. Black fowls and goats and other
offerings are brought by the people to Yakunor that he may
lay them before Yakumam in the temple, but no symbol is ever
paraded. The office of high priest is hereditary. Next in
importance is Doju, the god of agriculture, who is symbolised
by a hoop of iron with long conical iron bells hung round it.
He, in common with the other gods, is served by a special guild
of priests, and sacrifices of corn and stock are offered to him.

358 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

In his name they detect wizards, whose guilt is judged by recou
to sasswood ordeal, which, however, is not strong enough
to kill; the innocent vomit while the guilty purge. The detected
wizard is ordered to remove his spells, and if he has not done so
by the new moon, is mysteriously killed by the affronted god.

Circumcision is another duty performed by the priests of
Doju and Yakumam. It takes place at the harvest festival,
when boys of nine or ten years of age are operated upon. They
are held by a stick with a brass bound crook round the neck,
and should they flinch are shamed for ever.

Ulla is both god of the sun and god of hunting, and a ceremony
is enacted before each hunt when the chief priest of Ulla's guild,
takesanyella(a vegetable resembling an onion), chews it and spits
it out so that the fragments fall all round him. He then says
words to the effect, ' I pray to the sun above, I pray for meat."
The hunt proceeds and the priest receives the brisket of all
game, while the rest is divided amongst the slayers, the first
to draw blood gets the whole of the remainder, with the exception
of a shoulder, which goes to the second and the neck to the
third.

Oaths are also taken on Ulla and bear some semblance to
an ordeal, for the swearer, after holding his bow towards the
sun and praying that death may overtake him that very day
if what he says is untrue, is obliged to go out and hunt lion,
leopard, or bush-cow, armed with his bow and arrows.

Suru, the god of birth, is a minor deity, to whom women make
intercession for a child. A certain formula of worship is believed
to be infallible. It consists in the applicant laying a calabash
of water, or a decoction of herbs on his shrine. She returns
and drinks it next day, after which she must remain at home
and speak with no one but her husband for six days.

Sacrilege is punished by death, the offender being buried
alive.

It is believed that disease is caused by the anger of the gods,
or by witch-craft, and an epidemic is attributed to the former
cause. Therefore when an outbreak of small-pox occurs, fires
?,re burnt, and ceremonial dances performed on the paths to
unaffected villages that the evil may be averted. The patients
are isolated, and all drumming, drinking and fighting is forbidden.
The same observances apply to a threatened attack in war.

The Vere observe ancestor worship, and the heads of the
departed are kept in the houses of their relatives.

The man is head of the house, but descent is traced through
the female line, and, therefore, a man's property passes to his
sisters, daughters, or nearest female relatives, while a woman's
possessions go to her children. Further, it is her family who
are responsible for her children and her grown-up daughters,
while the grown-up sons become independent. Thus when a

TRIBES. 359

girl marries, which she does on reaching puberty, her mother's
brother receives the bride price, thirty hoes or their equivalent,
rats being a common substitute; he generally gives a share
to the girl's mother and sometimes to her father also. There is
no divorce. A man may not marry his wife's sister.

A woman gives birth to her child at her mother's house.
For a month both she and the infant are washed twice daily
in warm water, impregnated with aromatic herbs. At the end
of that time her husband comes to bring her home and presents
her mother with two hoes. The child is suckled for two years,
during which time she abstains. The Vere are a prolific race.

The women's dress consists of a bunch of leaves worn behind,
and sometimes another is added in front. They wear a lot of
beads, bangles, and anklets of jingling brass.

A man may choose between leaves, a leather apron, or nothing.

Bows and arrows and short swords are the habitual arms,
and some possess throwing weapons, but these are not peculiar
to the tribe.

They hunt, weave, make good pottery, and are superior
blacksmiths; these work in brass as well as iron, but par ex-
cellence they are farmers. Land is communal, and both men
and women may clear and farm unoccupied land, which remains
theirs and their heirs, subject to compliance with certain laws.
They have peculiar farming chants, sung either in canon or
harmony, with distinct parts for the different voices. All fruits
and crops grown on his land belong to the occupier. Should
any other pick and eat, unless he immediately pleads hunger
and offers compensation, he is enslaved, which penalty also
applies to breaking a pot or calabash.

Slavery is commonly practised, and orphans and kidnapped
children are sold. Slavery is, moreover, the punishment for
trespass, damage and seduction, but it can only be put in force
if the aggrieved parties are sufficiently strong to do so.

Debt, theft and some land disputes are appealed to ordeal,
and oaths also are made on sasswood, or the seeds of loofa.

Yams, guinea-corn and beer are the staple foods, and they
are heavy drinkers. Meat is rarely eaten, except after hunts,
or that which is sacrificed to the gods.

The ordinary currency is cigar-shaped iron bars and cowries,
while strips of cloth, spools of cotton-thread and baskets of
corn have fixed values. There are the remains of several numerical
systems, including two decimal, one with a base of four and
another with a base of five.

Before burial, which takes place three days after death,
the three outer skins are scraped off and are buried anywhere.
The body is put into a deep pit — in the case of a Chief, inside
the hut, of a commoner outside the village. It is placed in an
upright position, and the head is secured by stones, so that it

360

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

cannot fall and a pot is put over it, a precaution taken for men
of importance. The grave is then filled in, and at a later period
the relatives return to remove the head to their own house.
A woman is buried by her own people in her native village.

WAJA.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. T. F. Carlyle. The Hon. Oliver Howard.

The Waja occupy a district of some 330 square miles in
the south of Gombe Emirate (Bauchi Province), to the west of
the Gongola River, where, including some Kitiji Filane, they
have a population of 22,170. The district is well watered and
embraces a plateau i,oooft. high, and rich plain-lands running
down to the Waja River. Rubber is found and cotton is cultivated ,
strips of cloth being a form of currency. The Waja are good
farmers and grow the ordinary foodstuffs and tobacco. Potash
is worked in the district.

The people are of good physique and intelligent, but there
is evidence that they were once of a higher type.

Their origin is unknown, but it is probable that they have
been resident in their present location for a long time. It has
been suggested that those occupying the town of Balungo resemble
the Tera tribe, whilst the majority follow their southern neigh-
bours (the Longuda). It is possible that the inhabitants of Wange
(Tula) and the Chum are of Waja extraction.

They speak a language connected with that of the Tera, Dera,
and Jera, and their tribal marks consist of perpendicular cuts
down the front and back of the face.

The first Filane Emir of Gombe, Buba Yero, gave their
land to a Filane named Hamma Takko of Kunde, circ. 1820 A.D.,
but they had never been conquered, and Hamma Takko never
approached them save in force on pillaging expeditions. They
were then raided by the Filane of Gombe and of Messau, but
resisted the invasions with more or less success, though a few
of the plain towns were at one time reduced to paying a small
tribute to Kunde.

They were first visited by the British in 1906. They have
now accepted the suzerainty of the Emir of Gombe, and their
district-head is a Filane on the paternal, a Waja on the maternal,
side.

The succession passes (i) to the brothers, (2) to the sons,
(3) to the nephews.

362 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Their religion is identical with that of the TangaL'* vide
page 349, and, like them, the priest, entitled ' Kuril," tries
all cases, receiving a fee of one goat on each occasion.

A murderer has to give the bereaved family one gown, one
goat, and one girl. A thief must make good what he has stolen, f

Girls do not marry under the age of eighteen or nineteen.
The groom gives his mother-in-law one goat with which to
make a feast, and his father-in-law three live goats. He also
gives a goat to the priest, that prayer may be made to the god
' Yakuba " that he may beget a son. Should his wife leave
him without having given birth to a child, her father must
return the dower. f

The practice of circumcision is gradually being adopted.

The Waja use the same musical instruments, and dance the
same dances as do the Tangale,* vide page 350.

They practise cannibalism.

WARJAWA.

AUTHORITIES : .
Mr. E. G. M. Dupigny. Mr. S. M. Grier.

The Warjawa have a population of over 19,000 in the north
of Bauchi, and an uncertain number in the south of Kano
Provinces. In the Kanam District (Pankshin), their most
southerly point, they number some 1,260, in the Ganjua District
of Bauchi Emirate they number some 1,745, in the independent
state of Ari they number some 1,500, in the independent state
of Warji, where they live under their own tribal Chief, they have
a population of 14,600. Over the Kano border near the river
Bungo, with Gwarum (Birnin-Kudu) as a centre, they are also
to be found in considerable numbers. They show affinity to
the neighbouring Kudawa, Ningawa, Butawa, and particularly
Afawa tribes.

They state that they have lived -in the Ganjua and Warji
Districts for many generations. The latter is a fertile state,
comprising an area of 160 square miles, where a large quantity
of guinea-corn is raised, averaging, at a low computation, 3,200
Ibs. (unthreshed) per man. The women take a considerable
share in the field work. There is good pasturage, and the people
own great numbers of goats and sheep, besides some cattle and
mares.

Other occupations are hunting, fishing, and dyeing.

* Also Tula, Awok.

f Compare Tangale, Tula, Awok.

TRIBES. 363

The ordinary costume is a loin-cloth and sometimes a tobe.

The tribal marks (with the exception of the Warjawa of
Kanam, who have none) consist of three short lines above the
eye, five short lines on a level with the lip, and five longer lines
from the brow to chin.

They speak the Warji language, which is, however, being
abandoned in favour of Haussa.

Their pagan beliefs are giving way before the advance of
Muhammadanism. The principal thesis of their creed was the
worship of ancestors. The spirit of the late high priest, who
was also Chief of Gella (Ganjua District), held the principal
place as Magajin-Dodo, and was called by the personal name
of the last deceased Sarkin Gella. He was sometimes spoken
of as Sarkin Rua, for they believed he had the power of
influencing the rainfall. In Kano certain trees are worshipped,
particularly the Wakiri and Masoyi. Each family, or clan,
worshipped its own individual ancestor, who was elevated to
the rank of a god.

Every four years a ceremony of circumcision is held in the
sacred grove, where boys (of seven years old and upwards) remain
for two months, the men bringing them food. At the end of
that period they return home again, when cattle, sheep, goats
and fowls are slaughtered, and a great feast is held.

Some Muhammadan emigrants from Shira and Birnin-Kudu
(Kano Province) settled amongst the Warjawa, and adopted
their language, customs and tribal marks, but not their religion,
though they lost their own. To them is attributed the practice
of driving a three feet high stake into ^the ground, outside the
house of the family head. It represents the family dodo, and
is surrounded by others two and a half feet high. Blood and
beer r.r< periodically poured over them, and other rites performed.

The Warjawa believe that certain people have the power
of assuming animal form, particularly that of the elephant, but
each family observes tabu for some special animal, because the
members of that clan can take its shape.

In the past any person who violated tribal law was sacrificed
in the sacred grove, his blood was offered as a libation, and his
flesh was eaten.

Disputes are settled by the family head, the disputants
being summoned to take oath in the sacred groves. If the case
could not be proved, recourse was had to ordeal , when the accused
brought a cock to the sacred grove, where it was beheaded. If
it fell on its back the accused was acquitted, if forward he was
condemned.

This same test was used to consult omens when the tribe
was threatened with misfortune. On these occasions libations
were made and a festival held.

364 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Suitors give a large dower for their brides. Desertion is
practically unknown.

The dead are buried in a recumbent position, with the legs
straight out. Pots are placed on the grave, in which libations
of beer are poured from time to time in the case of an important
man, in whose honour a wake is held shortly after his death.

WURBO.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. K. V. Elphinstone. Capt. U. F. Ruxton.

The Wurbo are situated on the banks of the Benue between
Lau and Ibi, and on the Taraba and Donga Rivers, in Muri
Province.

They are divided into clans, the Jiru and Wursan on the
Benue ; and the Sundai, Sesi, Kindabi and Kwampi, of whom
the latter are now the most numerous.

It seems probable that they were the original inhabitants
of these river banks, but despite a tall, broad physique, they
were not a combative race and were subject to the Kororofa,
to whom they paid a tribute of fish. At the end of the eighteenth
century, when the Jukon power was declining, the Wurbo were
invaded by the Chamba. They did not attempt to beat back
their enemy, but constructed a pile village in the centre of Kundi
lake, whither they retreated. In the dry season the depth of
water was never less than six feet and the town was two hundred
yards away from the shore. It measured 250 yards by 150,
and two lanes traversed its length and breadth. Cross pieces
were bound over the piles and several thicknesses of zana matting
were spread over the top.

Each family had a separate hut, and each householder owned
two canoes. This town was occupied as recently as between the
years 1860-70 A.D.

The Filane invaded the country about the middle of the
nineteenth century, and Burba, of the Muri family, settled there
about 1870 A.D.

The remnants of the Jukon had by then removed to Wukari,
and thither the Wurbo followed them, stopping first at Donga.

Burba,, the Filane, had, however, been smitten with madness,
which was attributed to the malign influence of ' Di," god
of the Wurbo, and it was thought that if the Wurbo returned to
their own country the anger of the god would be appeased and
the curse removed. Therefore they were recalled and became
serfs to the Filane, but recently, in 1907, they complained of the

TRIBES. 365

Filane successors to Burba, and migrated to the neighbouring
District of Wurio.

Their staple food is maize, of which they raise two crops
each year, and they also cultivate pumpkin (guna), cassava,
and sweet potatoes.

They are a riverain people and eat quantities of smoked
fish, manatee, and crocodile. They do not eat hippopotami,
though they frequently kill them with poisoned arrows for the
use of their Filane masters.

Their canoes are very small, being made out of two pieces
of wood which are sewn together in the centre ; the bows are
ornamented with a tracery design, and there is a rest for the
fish-spears. The paddler stands.

They live in small hamlets, and are employed as builders
and thatchers by their Filane masters.

As has been already mentioned they worship a god named
" Di," whose temple is a rocky hill called by his name,
11 Kun-di."

The Wurbo speak a distinct language.

WURKUM.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. H. R. Brice-Smith. Mr. T. F. Carlyle.

The Hon. Oliver Howard.

The Wurkum live in rugged, mountainous country in the
Lau Division, to the north-east of Muri Province, occupying
an area of some 300 square miles with a population of 15,178.
There is also a Wurkum town in the Combe Division of Bauchi
Province. The Wurkum used to raid the Tangale farms some
twelve miles west of their headquarters at Chongwom, and a
small number asked leave of the Tangale to settle there. They
are called ' Pero " after the town they occupy, and speak a
dialect of Tangale, though they adhere to the Wurkum tribal
marks. They, like the Tangale, were subject to the Jukon of
Pindika, but were never raided by the Filane. They number
some 2,800.

The Wurkum state that they migrated from Gwendon in
the north-east about the middle of the eighteenth century,
and Jukon, from Kwona, arriving there at the same time, the
two peoples intermarried, the Wurkum preponderating, and
pushed out joint colonies to the west.

At the time of the Filane Jihad Yakubu, first Emir of Bauchi ,
conquered them and exacted an annual tribute of slaves and
hoes, but on his death in 1833 A.D., the payment was discontinued.

366 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

With the exception of some 1,700, who have settled soutl
of their own country in the Muri Emirate, the Wurkum are an
independent tribe. They first paid tribute to the British Govern-
ment in 1906, to the extent of ten black cloths from each of
their villages, but in 1909 were assessed and brought under
control. They are now under a tribal Chief named " Sambo."

Their criminal law provides for the punishment of a murderer
by the payment of three slaves or their equivalent value, in
default of which war is made on his village and one of his family
killed. A thief is tied up until the articles he has stolen are
recovered, or their equivalent paid. A debtor is regarded as
a thief. An adulterer of either sex was under penalty of death
by burning, but the sentence was commonly commuted to the
payment of a fine. If there is doubt as to the guilt of the accused
party, recourse may be had to trial by ordeal, when water,
poisoned by the Gwaska bean, is administered to him.

The Wurkum are a negro type of good physique, but both
sexes suffer from elephantiasis, leprosy is not uncommon, arid
a large percentage become blind in their old age.

The majority of men wear blue and white striped loin-cloths,
whilst the Chiefs wear gowns and turbans. Haussa clothing is
gradually being adopted.

They all insert wooden discs, three inches wide, in the lobes
of their ears, and the tribal mark consists of a number of small
protuberant cuts on the forehead. The women tattoo their
stomachs, and wear a bunch of leaves before and behind. Girls
are nude.

Guinea-corn is the staple product, but they do not grow
more than enough for their own needs. All the field-work is
done by men, but the women help to carry the produce.

There is a salt area which is held in trust for the people by
Sarkin Kirum ; it is worked by women for local consumption
only. A little smithying is done, the ore being imported from
Mumuye country. The only other industries are pot-making
and mat-weaving, but only for local use.

The villages are commonly situated on the spurs of the hills ,
and a few are on the summits. They are stockaded by stone
dykes.

Circular shields of buffalo hide are used for defensive purposes,
and spears, bows and arrows are the weapons of the country.

There are no perennial streams in the country, so that \vater
is scarce and, in the dry season, bad. The capital is Kirum,
where a population of 1,050 reside, while the chief fetish town
is Balassa, population 960.

In the event of drought or pestilence the deity Eku is pro-
pitiated by the sacrifice of sheep and goats. He is sometimes
represented as fully clothed, sometimes as stark naked.

TRIBES. 367

There is a secret society of " Eku." to which the elders
alone may belong. They perform certain rites outside the villages,
accompanied by heavy carousing. There is a second secret
society named " Zuget." which is of a judicial character, and
is mainly used to terrorise the women.

There are temples in every village, which consist of huts
supported by poles cut from the Ararabi tree, and surrounded
by zana matting. They are half the size of the habitable huts
and contain wooden effigies of the dead, two to four feet in height,
representing both males and females, in which their spirits are
supposed to reside, and offerings of food are made to them.
Certain ceremonies of initiation, etc., are held in these temples.

Death and sickness are attributed to witchcraft or to the
machinations of evil spirits.

They believe in re-incarnation, but not in transmigration.

Before a boy is admitted as a full member of the tribe, he
has to undergo certain tests of manhood and endurance. He
is lashed by a whip, and deep incisions are made in his arms, into
which, in the case of the wealthy, the blood of the bravest man
in the village is poured.

'Marriage is regulated by exchange, the groom providing
a corresponding female relation, whom he hands over to the
bride's uncle, but the Muhammadan system of payment of
a dower is gradually superseding the tribal custom. Should an
unmarried girl give birth to a child, it will belong to her subsequent
husband. The birth of twins is thought lucky.

When a death occurs the women wail until the time of burial,
which takes place within a few hours of death. The grave consists
of a circular hole, which is closed by a rectangular stone. A
pot of beer is placed on the top.

Brothers inherit the bulk of the property, including the
widows, but the eldest son gets a share if he is more than a child,
and sometimes the younger widows may be given to the sons.

WUTANA.

There are 1,075 Wutana in Bauchi Emirate.

YAGBA.

The Yagba are situated in the north-west of Kabba Province,
where they have a population of some 17,872, and over the
border in the Pateji Division of Ilorin Province.

It is doubtful whether or not they are of Yoruba extraction,
though they speak a dialect of Yoruba.

They practise a similar custom to that of the Nupe (Gurara
District) and of the Ekiti, which permits a woman to marry
young girls, whom she subsequently lets out to some man or
men — herself as legal husband retaining the right of possession
to any children they may bear.

They are a pagan people, and the priests have charms for
scattering the rain-clouds.

The women weave good cloth, but agriculture is the main
occupation.

They eat dogs.

Their principal weapons are flint-locks and poisoned arrows,
but they are a cowardly race.

YAURI.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. J. C. D. Clarke. Major W. Hamilton-Browne.

The Yauri, a Muhammadan people, inhabit an area of some
2,400 square miles in what is no wtheYelwa District of Kontagora
Province — stretching from the banks of the river Niger to within
a few miles of Kontagora town. It has been said that they were
originally a branch of the Gungawa tribe, who settled in Yauri
under the Chieftainship of a Kano mallam. See notes on Yelwa.

YEMAWA.

The Yemawa, with a population of 731, inhabit the Kanam
District of Bauchi Province.

They were wholly or partially conquered by the Filane,
but had re-asserted their independence before the British occu-
pation.

TRIBES. 369

They are pagans, but many of the Chiefs have adopted Islam.
They are a fairly organised community, and the majority
wear clothing.

They are a sub-section of Jarawa.

YERGUM.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. A. L. Auchinleck. Mr. J. F. Fitzpatrick.

The Yergum owe their name to the Filane, who nicknamed
them thus, the tribal name being Tarok. They inhabit Birua
and Karfel in the Kanam District and other parts of the Pankshin
Division of Bauchi Pro.vince, including the Dollong or Pe District,
where, together with those Angasawa, who live there as their
neighbours, they are commonly known as Dollong or Pe, their
numbers being respectively 750, 1,596, and 730, making a total
of 3,076. The four Yergum Districts in Pankshin have recognised
(1914) Sarkin Pankshin, a Hill Angas man, as their head. The
majority of the tribe, however, live over the border in Muri
Province, where they may be roughly divided into three sections,
that of Langtang, with a population of 5,619, that of Borot
with a population of 2,524, and that of Gani with a population
of 5,119 — numbering in all 13,262, the total number of Yergum
being 16,338. These three sections comprise twelve clans,
eight of whom came from the Tal District of Pankshin and
constitute the ' Tarok " proper, whilst the remaining four
clans followed them at a later period, circ. 1815-30 A.D., from
the neighbouring Angas country. They are known collectively
as the ' Sayirr," individually as Jatt, Laka, Bundun and
Gongon.

The Yergum at first acknowledged the suzerainty of the
Ankwe Chief, Sarkin Tshendam, but when he was conquered
by the Filane in 1815 they paid tribute to the Filane at Wase
for the space of two years, that is to say, until the Filane with-
drew from the country.

Of the eight Tarok clans the Langtang is the principal, for
they were the first settlers in their present locality.

The Borot are an influential clan.

The Gani, more commonly called Sa, after the second son
of Gani, are also powerful. When the Filane retired from the
neighbourhood, and the Yergum once more regained their inde-
pendence, the Gani went to Bauchi and obtained permission
from the Emir to occupy the plainlands between the Yergum
Hills and Wase River, in return for which they were to pay 100,000
bundles of guinea-corn each year. This agreement was made
AA

370 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

when the Gani numbered some four hundred householders only,
but as they increased in strength, they rose against the Filane
at Wase and inflicted a severe defeat upon them, after which
they paid the nominal tithe of 1,200 bundles.

The Gazum clan found a branch of the Tal Angas, the Dubur,
already established in their new quarters. These men were
a religious sect who were governed by a council of five head-men,
whose office was hereditary, passing to their eldest sons. As
original occupiers of the land, the Dubur claimed that the Gazum
Chief should be elected by these five men, and this has always
been done, the government of the district devolving upon the
council between each election. No minor ranks are recognised.

They practise cannibalism, as do the Gyun and Kolak.
Another branch of the Yergum, known as ' Tehe " or " Pit,"
from the deep valley they occupied — now succeeded by the
Tumot — broke off from the parent clan in consequence of a dispute
concerning chieftainship, and trekking East settled in a district
inhabited by the Nazuam, whose language and burial customs
they adopted. The Nazuam are now extinct, the last of that
tribe dying in 1904.

The eighth clan are the Kumbon.

The Yergum are closely allied to the Angas, Sura, Ankwe
and Montol, all of whom speak dialects of the same language,
and have many of their religious and secular customs in common.

Their tribal mark consists of three pairs of two-inch-long
lines, radiating from the outer corner of each eye, or of four short
horizontal lines at the corners of the eye, or the Angas mark of
a stripe on each side of the face from above the temple to above
the chin.

The Yergum of Muri are under one paramount Chief, the
Sarkin Langtang, and two sub-Chiefs, those of Borot and Gani
(Sa). These offices are hereditary, the succession going first
through all the brothers of one generation and then to the eldest
son of the next generation — subject to the Sarakuna and elders
finding the candidate suitable. Before electing the Sarkin
Langtang they meet in council for four days to decide this point.
A Chief cannot be deprived of his rank, but may be turned out
and driven away should he prove unsuitable.

The heir to the Chieftainship bears the Filane title of Chiroma
and there is also a Galadima , but the Borot alone have a Madawaki .

The Chief holds the land in trust for his people, but settles
no tribal question except in conjunction with the council of
elders. He receives no tribute beyond a percentage of the fines
imposed on criminals , and the heads and skins of all lions, leopards,
and hyenas that a member of the Langtang tribe may kill.
Hunters of other clans bring him some meat, but give the heads
and skins to their own Chiefs.

TRIBES. 371

No man may be arrested, but if he fails to appear when
summoned, the spirits turn him out of his house, and he has to
fly the community. A murderer is fined, the price being usually
tenv sheep ; and for theft also a fine is inflicted. If a man's guilt
is disputed, he is subjected to the ordeal of taking out an iron
axe from a pot of boiling water in which it has been placed before
the pot was put on the fire. If he is innocent he suffers no hurt.

The principal duty of the Sarkin Langtang is in connection
with religious ceremonies. Each year at the beginning of the
dry season he summons the chiefs together, and they drink beer
by the burial-place of the Chiefs. The stone is then rolled from
the mouth of the vault, and the Sarki descends into it and hands
up all the skulls of his ancestors, calling upon each by name
to intercede with the god Nan to send a good harvest. After
they are replaced and the vault closed, a sheep and fowl are
killed and their blood is sprinkled over the tomb. The Chief,
who has been assisted throughout by a boy, rubs the blood on both
temples, the inner part of the elbow joint, and the bottom of the
breastbone. His acolyte does the same, and the ceremony ends
with the usual feast. Similar rights are performed by the sub-
Chiefs, each appealing to his own ancestors. Thus it will be
seen that the Yergum regard the spirits of the dead as powerful
intermediaries, and believe that they are accessible through
the skulls of their dead bodies. These skulls are carefully kept
in white cloths, and are handed down from one generation to
another. They are taken out and consulted or prayed to in
times of difficulty. A man will occasionally bequeath his own
head, in which case, though it is kept with the others, it is put
into an earthen pot, which is sealed up. They believe the
good are reincarnated into a Yergum of the same sex.

Each village has a tsafi house, where the skulls of enemies,
and of lions, leopards and hyenas are kept. The former are
marked with a red cross. The building is decorated with marks
in red earth, so that no woman may pretend ignorance and
enter. In 1900 a woman went in, despite the prohibition, and
was never seen again.

The chief and elders commonly meet in the tsafi house.

All the men have to be initiated, and spend three years in
the tsafi house before they are allowed to marry. When a
boy enters it for the first time he is preceded by the man last
initiated, who carries some flour, ground by the noviciate's
mother from corn given her by the father, which he offers to
Nan, calling upon the lad's father, grandfather and Nan as he
does so.

There is no circumcision.

Besides the worship of the great god Nan, who lives in the
sky, each person has one or more ju-ju. These may be wooden
images of men and of women, stones, sticks, or earthen pots, all of

372 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

which are invoked in the name of their possessor. After the
death of their owner the objects are rendered inoperative by
being laid from an upright into an horizontal position. It is
a moot point how much sanctity attaches to the tsafi houses
in the minds of the male population, or, at all events, amongst
the chiefs and elders. The Sarkin Langtang owns to using
it as a means to coerce the women. He says that women are
very strong, and that they like to believe the men stronger,
whereas it is only through tsafi that a man can make himself
obeyed.

No woman is ever allowed to leave her own country.

A father has authority to marry his daughter to whomever
he likes, provided it is not to a blood relation, but he rarely
exercises his right against the girl's wishes.

The women do not marry until they are about twenty years
old, but for some years previously their suitors bring presents
of two sheep, every wet season and every dry season, to the
girl's father. This is done by night, except where there has been
a long intimacy, when the sheep are brought by day. When the
marriage is about to be consummated the suitor sends his
father-in-law five sheep, together with the meat of five others,
with which he makes a feast that is attended by all his relations,
but not by the young man himself. All these sheep are provided
by the groom's father, who gives him in addition ten sheep
with which to start his own flock. A man may have any number
of wives, sometimes as many as twenty. On the other hand,
some never attain sufficient wealth to buy themselves one, but
on an average there are three or four. All the wives have equal
status, though special duties are allocated to the first three. The
first has charge of the guinea-corn, the second of the gero, and
the third of the bean bins.

The women trade freely and bring the sheep which are
tended by the men. There is no divorce, and if a woman runs
away she is forced to return to her husband, who may either
keep her or send her back to her people, with whom she must
live unwed till after her husband's death. In this case the
co-respondent's life is forfeit to the injured man, but if the
woman has not run away he is let off with a fine of four baskets
of gero and a sheep. Beer is made from the former, and five
pots of it are drunk, and the sheep eaten by the elders at the
tsafi house.

The marriage customs of the Gazum clan are somewhat
different. The suitor cooks the meat of a sheep, and sends it
to the girl's mother at sowing, and again at reaping time. He
gives the father twenty or thirty hoes (a form of currency), six
baskets of gero, and the flesh of five sheep and a dog, which he
divides amongst his family. To his bride he gives a few strips
of black cloth.

TRIBES. 373

After the birth of a child the women choose a suitable name,
but if there is no circumstance to guide their choice they wait
until it falls sick, when a medicine man is summoned, and he
consults his oracles and selects a name. On that same day
a small earthen pot with a cover is put near the mother's house,
and an offering of flour is placed inside it whenever the child
is sick. When the baby is weaned it is taken by its mother's
brother, and inherits wealth, but not rank, as his child. Its
father may, however, redeem it at the price of one big ram or
two sheep. The Langtang and Borot do not, however, venture
to press this claim with a Jatt or Hill Kolak, with whom they
are on unfriendly terms.

A woman does not cohabit for three years after the birth
of her baby.

The Yergum possess big flocks of sheep, which are of a larger
breed than those of neighbouring tribes, but which are never
killed except for sacrifice or for marriage feasts. A rich man
will have as many as four hundred, and they have a regular
value as currency, one sheep, the equivalent of a black cloth,
being worth 3*. in money. A male slave was valued at thirty,
a female slave at twenty sheep. The latter did the same work
as any other woman, but was never freed, whereas a man
automatically regained his liberty on the death of his master,
when he was given land to make a farrn. A Yergum would
never enslave one of his own tribe.

It is one of the principal grain-producing districts in the
Province, and large quantities of dawa and gero are sold. The
acreage of land under cultivation works out at about five acres
per adult.

The following is an account of the burial of the Sarkin
Langtang. The senior male member of the family, alone and
after dark, prepares the body for burial. He wraps it in a white
cloth, like a mummy is wrapped, and places a white cap on the
head. In the right hand is placed some flour and guinea-corn
mixed. The body is laid at full length on the left side and the
cheek is rested on the left palm. The elders then bring a bier
of guinea-corn stalks, on which the body is carried to the south
face of the Durr Hill, to a vault just below the crest line.
There the dead man is laid with his head cushioned upon all
his clothing. A big fire had been kindled outside, and in it
the bier is burned. All this is done at night. The next day the
women, who were in strict seclusion, and who make no wailing,
brew beer, and for five days no one comes to the house. At
the end of that period all the men assemble to drink, the Sarkuna
feast off gia made from gero, the talakawa off gia made from
guinea-corn. After forty days the head, wrapped in a white
cloth, is placed with those of his ancestors.

374 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

In the case of commoners the dead man is placed in the
entrance hut of his compound, and a drum is beaten to keep away
evil spirits. The young men go out and fire arrows with the
intention of shooting the hidden death. The corpse is then
laid in a trench, but chieftains are buried in their family vaults.
Anyone who has died of small-pox is buried in the bush ; of snake-
bite the body is buried outside his compound, and the head
alone taken to the vault. If in war, the head is brought home,
buried in the house, and forty days later taken to the vault.
This applied to the Sarkin Langtang also.

Widows may marry the slaves of their late husbands, but
otherwise are apportioned amongst the dead man's sons. The
eldest son, who inherits the largest share, gives his mother to
his father's brothers, and this allotment takes place immediately
after the burial feast.

At feasts men dance, but the women look on. The musical
instruments of the people are zithers, made from split guinea-
corn stalks, tuned in a minor key ; wooden pipes, and drums.
In inter-tribal war these latter are not beaten, only against
foreigners.

A peculiar weapon is a wooden throwing club.

YESKWA.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. E. J. Arnett. Mr. W. Morgan.

Mr. H. F. Mathews. Commander B. E. M. Waters.

The Yeskwa are distributed through the Kem, Jemaa and
Abuja Emirates in Nassarawa Province. In the Kem Emirate
they inhabit the Yeskwa district, which has an area of 450 square
miles. The population per square mile is 14.6, giving a total
of 4,757, including 1,336 Gwandara, men being in preponderance
over women. The district is situated to the north, east and
west of the Gitata Hills. It is undulating, well watered,
with fertile soil, and is thickly wooded in parts. There are
thousands of oil-palms, valued at £5 per head, every whisky
bottle full of palm-oil fetching over one shilling. It is good
pastoral land, and ten thousand head of cattle may be found
there in the dry season, besides large flocks of sheep and goats.

Only a small quantity of tobacco is cultivated, for the
people are not great smokers. Though they drink to excess
on occasions, they are not habitual drunkards.

The tribal Chief is Sarkin Bagaji.

Their origin is unknown, though it is a significant fact that
ninety-eight per cent, understand Haussa. It is said that some

TRIBES. 375

came from Panda (the extreme east of Bauchi Province), via
Jagindi to Abuja, in flight before the Filane invasion, but
that large numbers of these immigrants died of small-pox, and
few are to be found in Abuja now. The majority were tributary
to the Haussa Kings of Zozo, and when the Sarkin Zozo was
forced to flee to the Abuja neighbourhood, the Yeskwa continued
to pay him tribute there. Those in Kefn were presently
conquered by Mohaman Sani, a Filane of Zaria, who came to
that neighbourhood to break the Gwandara, but ultimately
returned home, leaving the Yeskwa in peace to descend from
their hill habitations to the plains, where the villages are now
hidden away in small belts of forests (kurmi).

The tribe Yesko or Yeskwa figures largely in the early
accounts of slave-raiding in the country south of Zaria. They
have been mentioned as resident in Sokoto Province, but can
only have been brought thither as slaves, and cannot be
considered as a unit.

The compounds are circular in shape, and are approached
through one entrance, each hut being connected with its
neighbour by a corn-bin ; the living rooms are to the outside,
and within each is a smaller apartment.

The Yeskwa are timid in character, relying on pits for their
defence more than on arms. They are of poor physique, being
particularly prone to leprosy. A man's average height is five
feet nine inches.

In the Yeskwa district they wear Haussa gowns, and the
women locally woven cloths, but in wilder parts the latter wear
a girdle of string, with the loose ends falling in front and a bunch
of leaves hanging behind. Their tribal marks consist of an
inverted 3 , a perpendicular line I and an E on either side of the
nose. (3 IE)

When a child is born its father assembles his friends, and
a feast is held, at which a considerable quantity of beer is
consumed.

Girls are betrothed as small children, but before reaching
marriageable age they have the right to break off the engage-
ment, in which case the dower of twelve goats, which has been
paid to the bride's father, is returned to the suitor. A woman
may leave her husband, but if she has not borne him children,
and has offspring by some other man, they belong to her first
husband.

Burial follows on death with all possible speed. The deceased
is mourned for a few hours and then a wake is held, at which
much beer is consumed. The widows usually marry again.

Succession is to the eldest son only.

They believe in the power of their ancestors to avert harm
from them, and they bring pots of beer to the shrines as offerings
to the spirits of the dead, and there converse with them.

376 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

YORUBA.

The origin of the Yoruba is unknown, but according to the
Sarkin Illo (Sokoto) and his council, the Yoruba were, together
with the Bussawa, Kengawa and Gurumawa (at that time one
race) , part of a great migration from the neighbourhood of
Mecca. Their sovereign, Kishera, King of Badar, opposed the
advance of the Prophet Mahomet, in which he sought the
assistance of his relative the Sarkin Bornu, but in vain. He
was defeated and killed, and his son led the people westwards
in flight across the Sudan. One section broke off and settled
at Bussa, another at Nikki, and a third at Illo, under three
brothers, descendants of Kishera, while a fourth party, the
Yoruba, pushed on further down the Niger River and overran
Ilorin and the countries of the south.*

This may be compared with what Mohammed Bello, of
Sokoto, writes of them : f" The inhabitants of this Province,
it is supposed, originated from the remnant of the children of
Canaan, who were of the tribe of Nimrod. The cause of their
establishment in the West of Africa was, as it is stated, in conse-
quence of their being driven by Yaarooba (Yaruba), son of
Kahtan, out of Arabia to the western coast between Egypt
and Abyssinia. Fron that spot they advanced to the interior
of Africa till they reached Yarba, where they fixed their
residence. On their way, they left in every place where they
stopped at, a tribe of their own people. Thus it is supposed
that all the tribes of Sudan, who inhabit the mountains, are
originated from them, as also the inhabitants of Yauri." In
confirmation of this a more recent authority writes : " They them-
selves, who know nothing of Nimrod, claim to be descended
from ' the mother of the hunter's children ' . . . . . and
at Ife and in Abeokuta, the great mother of the six tribes is
still worshipped under the name of lya ommohod deh — the
mother of the hunter's children." One of their first princes
was named Yoruba.

In a paper read before the Lagos Institute in 1901, Dr. O.
Johnson, B.A., M.D., said: ''The Yorubas claim to have
emigrated originally from the East at a very early period. To
them the East is Mecca and Mecca is the East ; hence we not
unfrequently hear from old people that their ancestors came
originally from Mecca.

It is more likely, however, that Upper Egypt, or Nubia,
was their original home, apart from their habits and mode of
thought, which are peculiarly Eastern, their manners and
customs also point in the same direction. If one notices the

* See History of Illo.

f Denham and Clapperton.

TRIBES. 377

way they bind their dead for interment, and see how exactly
it is in the manner Egyptian mummies are wound, the truth
will impress itself in his mind that they are of the same stock
as the ancient Egyptians. We may even go further, and notice
the kind of cloth the mummies are bound with, and we shall
easily recognise in them our Samaya cloths.

Again, in what are known as the If e marble stones, we see carv-
ings not unlike Egyptian carvings, and they must have been done
by people from those parts, the art being lost to their degenerate
descendants of these days."

The leaders of the people first settled at Ife, or He Ife, which
still remains the spiritual headquarters of the tribe, and the
next settlement was at Igboho, which became the administrative
capital for a while, though it appears doubtful whether Shango,
the fourth King, moved thence or from He Ife to Oyo, a few
miles north of Igboho, in the extreme north of Southern
Nigeria. Thenceforth Oyo (= metropolis) was the accepted
name for the capital, which signified the town where the Chief
resided, which he might not leave. At that time the Yoruba
Kingdom extended from Ketu and Sabe on the borders of
Dahomey in the west, to Benin in the east, from the Niger in
the north, to the Atlantic Ocean in the south; and the unity
of the nation is shown by the fact that Shango the Chief is to
this day worshipped as Shango the god in all those countries.
For recent events see historical notes on Ilorin.

The Yoruba are a nation numbering some four million, and
though the majority live in Southern Nigeria, large numbers
are distributed over the Provinces of Ilorin, Kontagora, and
Niger, and a few hundreds in Nassarawa and Sokoto.

There are various clans of Yoruba, speaking the same
language, but with different tribal marks. The most
important of these are the Egba at Abeokuta, Jebu or Gebu,
north of Abeokuta, Badan at Ibadan, Bumaso — also in
Southern Nigeria, Ileboro or Igboro — at Offa.

The Ekiti, 'Gbona and Yagba also speak dialects of Yoruba,
and are probably offshoots, though it. is sometimes asserted that
they are not. The Baedegi at Jebba are also Yoruba from Ilorin.

The monarchical system of government prevails in most
of the Yoruba tribes, but the King is merely the nominal head
of the State, and has little real power, which remains in the hands
of the chiefs and elders, without whom the King can do nothing.
In each State there is a council of elders, without whose
concurrence the King can issue no edict, and a two-thirds majority
of which is required for any new law. The sovereignty of a

* The following and other passages in asterisks are quoted from Colonel
H. B. Ellis' "The Yoruba-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West
Africa." — Chapman and Hall.

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

State is hereditary in one family, but the individual who is
to succeed to the office is selected by the Council. The monarchy
is thus elective, though only men of a certain blood descent are
qualified for election. The council of elders, besides electing
a king, controls his actions, and should he show any disposition
to make himself independent of it, invites him to "go to sleep "
by sending him a present of parrots' eggs. The King is never
allowed to see foreigners without some members of the Council
being present, and all his actions are closely watched. The
King and Council make laws and decide all ordinary affairs,
but, should any question of vital importance to the nation arise,
the whole people is assembled for its discussion and settlement,
and every individual, regardless of position, is allowed to express
his opinion. The emblem of royalty is a conical head-dress of
beads, from which hang long strings of beads, so arranged as
to conceal the face of the wearer. An epithet applied to kings
is " Alaiye, Owner of the World."

The chief officers of the State are the Bashorun, or prime
minister, the chief adviser of the King, who has the title of
Emewa, (Eni-mo-ewa) . 'He who knows the mind/' and the
Balogun (Oba-ni-ogun) , or " Chief of the Army." The military
officer second in command is styled the Seriki. Next to these
high officials come the civil governors of towns (Bale*), each
of whom exercises rule in his own domain. Under the Bales
of towns are the Bales of town-quarters and villages, and under
these again are the Bales of households.

The Bale of a household is responsible for the preservation
of order in the group of dwellings occupied by his family and
dependents. He settles all minor disputes between those under
his control, but if the matter involves the subordinates of
another household Bale, it is taken before the Bale of the
town-quarter, who is responsible for peace and order within that
area. If it be an ordinary " palaver," this functionary settles it,
but if it be serious he must refer it to the Bale of the town.
Unless the affair concerns another district also, or is of national
importance, it need go no further, for in his own domain the
town Bale is almost independent. Persons subject to a Bale
address him as "Baba," "Father," or "Master," and he
in turn calls them " My children."

In every town there is, besides the Bale, an lyalode ;
(lya-ni-ode), 'Mistress of the street," to whom all disputes
between women are brought in the first instance, only those which
she is unable to deal with being referred to the Bale. The lyalode
has as coadjutors an Oton-Iyalode (right-hand lyalode) and an
Osin-Iyalode (left-hand lyalode).

*B-ale = Oba ile, literally "Chief of the house, or town."

TRIBES. 379

Members of council and town-Bales are Oloris, " chiefs,"
and form the aristocracy. Every Olori has in his service certain
men termed Onses, who act as messengers, heralds, bailiffs, and
police, and, at a pinch, as executioners. A King's Onse is
called an Ilari, whence the proverb, "As no subject, however
rich, may have an Ilari, so it is not every man who may own
a palace."

Respect to the Kings and Chiefs is shown by prostration,
followed by rising and clapping the hands. Before entering
the presence of a King or Chief, the cloth is removed from the
shoulder, over which it is usually worn, and wrapped round
the waist. When a new title is conferred on a man a leaf of
the Akoko tree is given to the recipient as a sign of honour. All
officers of state, members of council, and town-Bales have
Ekejis, " seconds," who assist in the management of affairs
and rule in the absence of their principals. The King also has
an Ekeji, and it is he who is usually selected to succeed him."

The Yoruba chiefs used to employ many hunters, or
gun-men, who acted as their bodyguards and did police work.
Now their only duty is connected with Shongo worship. On the
festival celebrating the cutting of the first yam they all come in
to headquarters and fire off their guns at stated intervals, the chief
in return giving them a feast. They are employed at Offa, and
also by the Nupe Nda Pottaw at Share, where they number
130. Zumbufu employs fifteen.

The Ogboni is a religious council of great influence amongst
some of the Southern Yoruba, but its existence is now denied
(probably falsely) by the Yoruba of Ilorin. It is undoubtedly
a force amongst the Ekiti and in Yagba, though the head-
quarters of the latter is in Southern Nigeria at Ayede.

By Yoruban law, both before and after the Filane occupation,
all cases were heard by the village-head and chieftains, in the
presence of the public. The most important of the Elders
would cross-question the prisoner and witnesses, and the village-
head gave judgment. In the case of fines half the amount went
to the Court, half to the aggrieved family.

Murder by a man was punishable by the payment of goods
equivalent to £12 ios., or by decapitation. In the latter case
the criminal was brought to the market place, and there stunned
by some heavy irons called " uduro," his head was then cut off,
and, together with the body, was exposed for twenty-four hours.
Next day he was buried, naked, at the place of execution.

A murderess was likewise fined £12 ios., or, as a woman
might not be killed, was imprisoned for one year.

The punishment for theft was more severe, being decapitation
(as above), which in no case could be bought off by payment of
a fine. If a woman stole, her husband took her back to her
father, who took her to the Chief, who had her flogged and put

380 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

in prison for two or three days, after which she returned to her
husband. If she had been convicted five times she was put
in prison for two or three years. A man caught at the time
of committing adultery was liable to be put to death, but if he
escaped for a while, the punishment was commuted to a very
heavy fine, or imprisonment for a term varying from five months
to one year. A woman was put in prison for one year, where
she was given very hard work.

Land was granted by the chiefs to natives and their heirs,
who retained the right of occupancy so long only as it was
cultivated. The right of occupancy could be sub-granted, but
the land could never be sold. Forest products went with the
land, except for kola and oil-palm trees, which, it was argued,
were unproductive unless they were cared for, and therefore
the right to their fruit remained with the planter and his heirs.
In some places he was, however, forbidden to sell the products
of the oil-palm to any non-native.

When the land was owned by a Chief it was usual for him
to waive his rights over those trees in the case of a native
occupier.

Women do not work upon the farms, though they may cut
and sell firewood. They trade and may keep the money they
earn. On her death a woman's money passes to her own
children — in smaller proportion to her daughters than to her
sons — and to her own family.

Both sexes weave cloth and dye, the women in pots, the
men in pits. The former make excellent pottery, and the
latter are blacksmiths and basket makers.

The buildings are rectangular in shape, the mud houses
with their thatched roofs being built round a large courtyard,
into which there is one gateway. An open corridor runs in
front of the building, within which are the rooms allocated
each to some member of the family. In large compounds there
may be more entrances, and the owner has a superior house
for himself, which opens into a small inner courtyard private
to himself and his immediate family, and there may be many
of these smaller yards leading off the principal one, for eight
or ten full-grown men with their wives and families will often
live together. A plot, or garden, partially farmed, and usually
containing a small copse, for building purposes or for firewood,
is generally attached to the town buildings, which are at a little
distance one from the other. In the farms particularly a number
of bins, elevated on four or five mud legs, are clustered round
the houses.

An infant is shaved by its father seven or eight days after
its birth, and a feast is given, when it is named after any bygone
relation on the paternal side whom it is considered to resemble.
The name may be frequently changed if, as it grows up, a closer

TRIBES. 381

resemblance is found to some other forebear, for the Yoruba
believe that each birth is a reincarnation, and consequently
the child is obliged to observe the tabu of its namesake.

This is not the case in Northern Nigeria, where there is no
belief in reincarnation. There the child is named, eight days
after its birth, after some deceased relative, or, if there is no
suitable family name a Mallam is called in to provide one. The
name is never changed, but several are given by way of com-
pliment, though none but the first is used. A ram is offered
to Shango by his votaries on this occasion.

Should either or both of twins die the mother orders an image
of the same sex from the carpenter to represent the infant she
has lost. It is called Asshe, and has no religious significance,
but if she does not get one she believes that she would never
give birth to another child.

Circumcision is practised, but at no special season. The
clitheris is removed from young girls as an aid to chastity.

As children grow older, boys and girls alike form themselves
into associations,, under a young matron or an old man,
according to their sex, respectively entitled Yegbe and Babegbe.
These officials each appoint a staff of twelve boys or girls
under them, and superintend alike the morals and amusements
of the members of the society. The children elect the Yegbe and
Babegbe themselves, but the appiontments have to be confirmed
by their parents. The Egbe mates assist each other at all times,
though when a girl marries it is less easy for her to do so. These
societies are unknown in Northern Nigeria. Infant engagements
are gradually being abandoned, and marriages generally take
place now when youths are about fifteen and girls about
thirteen years of age. The young people make their own
selection, with the co-operation of their Yegbe and Babegbe,
who recommend the alliance to the parents of the children,
without whose consent the marriage cannot take place. Relations
on the male side, i.e., worshippers of the same orisha,* may not
intermarry. An engagement having taken place the Egbe
mates assist each other to perform the tasks expected of a suitor
— i.e., to perform field labour on the farm of the bride's father
every season for five or six years, to build the groom's house,
etc. In addition the groom himself gives a large present of
sweet potatoes and a fifth of the bride's money (in cowries) each
year before the marriage is consummated. In Northern
Nigeria, though parents will sometimes promise their children
on or after the christening day, it is more usual to let the young
people choose for themselves. Marriage is, however, com-

* Deified personages, some 401 in number, called " Orisa "= fortunate."

382 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

pulsory. A man's first wife has precedence over the others
and can give them orders, but each has her separate apartments.

A man never eats with his women.

The dead are prepared for burial in the same mummified
fashion customary amongst the Egyptians* and are buried
beneath the hut or verandah. A ram and cock are commonly
sacrificed, and drums are beaten for seven days. The Northern
Yoruba do not believe in an after life, wherein they differ from
their Southern tribesmen. A widow mourns for five months
in her late husband's compound, after wh ch she ordinarily
becomes the wife of his brother, but she may refuse to marry
again. If she does so as a young woman she is liable to be turned
out of her people's compound, but as an old woman her children,
her husband's family, or her father's family, are bound to keep
her.

The gods of the Yorubaf are mythological in character and
conception. Olorun, the heaven or sky-god, corresponds to
Zeus or Jupiter; his name means " Oni "=" One who possesses";
" Orun "=" Sky firmament cloud." (The " n " in " oni " or " ni "
always changes to " 1 " before the vowels '• a, e, o, u.") He is
remote from mankind in his greatness, and is in no sense omni-
potent ; consequently he is not worshipped either by populace or
priesthood. In Ilorin, and probably in Northern Nigeria generally,
his name is now unknown. He created ObatalaJ orOshalla, a more
anthropomorphic conception of himself. The name means
" Oba-ti-ala "=" Lord .of the White Cloth " -and white is the
colour sacred to him. The priests are distinguished by neck-
laces of white beads. He is styled " Protector of the Town
Gates," and in this capacity is represented on horseback
armed with a spear, and surrounded by a leopard, tortoise,
fish and serpent. He forms the child in the mother's womb,
and any congenital deformity is held to be his handiwork The
fifth and last day in the Yoruba week is sacred to Obatala,
and out of respect to him his votaries are not permitted to work
thereon. Besides being a sky-god, he is particularly god of the
South. There is one " denge " (= family) who worship Oshalla
in Northern Nigeria. He married a goddess named Odudua, or
Odua, who was coeval with Olorun, and who represents the
earth. Her name means 'Black One." She is patroness of
love, and her chief temple is at Ado, in Southern Nigeria; she
is not known in Northern Nigeria. She bore to her husband

*Mr. J. A. S. Gibson.

f The following notes have been taken from " The Yoruba
speaking peoples on the Slave Coast of West Africa" (Chapman & Hall), by
Col. A. B. Ellis, and from Babba Magba of Ilorin, who has been appointed
official representative of the pagan religions by the Emir of Ilorin.

I The name given by Major Ellis, but his functions appear to be
identical with those of the god named Oshalla by Babba M?gba of Ilorin.

TRIBES. 383

a boy and a girl; Aganju, whose name means "uninhabited
tract of country, wilderness, plain, or forest," god of the dry
soil, whose worship has fallen into desuetude; and Yemaja (yeye=
mother, eja=fish), who is goddess of the moist soil and of streams,
presiding over ordeals by water. She is represented by a female
figure, yellow in colour, wearing blue beads and a white cloth.
She married her brother Aganju and bore a son named Orungan
(orun=sky, gan=to be high), god of the space between sky^and
earth. Thus we see that from the union of heaven and earth
sprang land and water, and from land and water air.
Orungan fell in love with his mother and ravished her. She
fled from him in loathing, but as he was about to seize her she
fell backward to the ground. Her body swelled, and streams
of water gushed from her breasts till they formed a lagoon,
whilst her body burst open and she gave birth to fifteen gods
in the following order :

(1) Dada (god of vegetation).

(2) Shango (god of lightning).

(3) Ogun (god of iron and war).

(4) Olokun (god of the sea).

(5) Olosa (goddess of the lagoon).

(6) Oya (goddess of the River Niger).

(7) Oshun (goddess of the River Oshun).

(8) Oba (goddess of the River Oba).

(9) Orisha Oko (god of agriculture).
(10) Oshosi (god of hunters).

(n) Oke (god of mountains).

(12) Aje Shaluga (god of wealth).

(13) Shankpanna (god of small-pox).

(14) Orun (the sun-god).

(15) Oshu * (the moon).

On the place where she fell a town named Ife (meaning
distension or swelling up) was built in commemoration of the
event, and became the holy city of the Yoruba-speaking tribes.

Throughout Northern Nigeria Yemagya is worshipped as
Shango's mother, and a feast is held annually in her honour
seven days after that of her illustrious offspring. A temple
is dedicated to her in each compound, and petitions are made
to her for wealth and for children. Shango is the most powerful
god of the Yorubas in Northern Nigeria, and is second only to
Oshalla in the south. His name signifies " Shan "="to str'ke
violently," " go "=to bewilder," for he is god of thunder and
lightning. He is also god of the West.

* According to some the order was Olukon, Olosa, Shango, Oya, Oshun,
Oba, Ogun, Dada, and the remainder as above

384 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

He lives in a big palace in the clouds, where he maintains
a large retinue and a great number of horses, for he is also god
of pillage and the chase.

He has three of his sisters as wives : Oya, the River Niger,
Oshun, the River Oshun, and Oba, the River Oba. But in
Northern Nigeria Yemagya, his mother, is regarded as his only
relation.

Whenever he goes out he is attended by his wives, Oya
being accompanied by her messenger " Afefe," the wind, whilst
Oshun and Oba carry his bow and sword. His slave, " Biri,"
the darkness, is always in attendance. ' Ara," the " thunder-
clap," is his messenger, and (according to some natives)
' Oshumare," the " rainbow," is his servant, who carries water
from the earth to the palace in the sky. Shango himself usually
goes armed with a club— " Oshe," made from the hard-wooded
" ayan," a tree which is therefore sacred to him.

There is a legend to the .effect that he visited the earth many
centuries ago, in the guise of a very old man, who supported his
failing footsteps on a staff the height of his shoulder. This
staff, which had certain properties, had two faces carved on
it, representing a finer caste of countenance than that of the
negro. Ever since the staff has been constantly reproduced,
both in the original size and in miniatures a few inches high. Their
makers' tribal-marks are carved upon them.* They are used
in the ceremony of dedication, for it is customary for a votary
of Shango, if barren, to visit his shrine, together with her
husband, and pray that she may become fruitful ; if subsequently
she bears a child it is dedicated to Shango, and at the time of
puberty its body is smeared with cam-wood, fine clothes are
put upon it, and the staff is placed in its hand. Silence then
becomes imperative for seven days, and should anyone accost
the child it holds up the staff to show why it may not speak.*

In amplification of this accountf it is said that the descendants
of all followers of Shango have to go through a noviciate termed
' yawosa," on becoming adult. A red thread is wound round
their ears, and three brass bracelets are placed on their arms,
so that everyone may know they are ' yawosa." For seven
days they may not speak, and should anyone address them
they shake down the three brass bracelets to show why they may
not answer. Some novices carry an " asshe," i.e., a wooden
image with two heads as described above. These are the only
images connected with Shango or any other worship, and are
symbols of a state, in no way idols.

* Mr. P. M. Dwyer.

f Babba Magba of Ilorin.

TRIBES 385

Should a man or woman, who is not born of Shango worshippers,
desire to become his votary, he or she goes to Babba Magba
and receives certain medicines, and observes the ordinary
' yawosa " for a period of three months. The votaries of
Shango may be recognised by the peculiar manner in which
they do their hair, it being piled up in a cres:ent along the axis
of the head ; also by the red and white beads worn round the
neck and wrists.* His priests and followers wear a wallet
emblematic of the god's plundering propensities, and the title
of his chief priest, Magba, signifies " receiver." The priesthood
Oni Shango shave the crown of the head and wear necklaces
of black, red and white beads.

Shango is ordinarily represented as a man, standing amidst his
three wives, who are in miniature around him, with the
palms of their hands joined in front of their bosoms. Kuso,
in Southern Nigeria, . is their headquarters, where the
Magba and his twelve assistants reside, but with the
spread of Muhammadanism there has come to be a Magba
(chief priest) in every township. f Shango is sometimes termed
Ja-Kuta (=" to fight, hurl ' —stones), and he marks his dis-
pleasure by sending the lightning or a thunderbolt amongst
those who neglect his service."]" The " adura," stone axe-heads
or celts, are regarded as his messengers and as possessed of
peculiar properties when freshly fallen. Should a house be
struck the owner must leave the place for at least three years,
and the chief priest must extract the thunder-stone from amongst
the ruins.

" A big feast is held, and then the priest, with a couple of his
confidential followers enters the house or ruin, which is surrounded
by a howling mob of men and women, who lift up their voices
in praise of the god. The head priest indicates the spot where
the bolt has fallen, and his followers dig it up; the priest seizes
it in a pair of iron pincers, and holding it aloft emerges from
the house. A scene of the wildest excitement ensues. The
women and men seem to become delirious. The priest places
the stone on an iron plate, which appears to contain liquid cow
dung, and hands it to a man, naked with the exception of a
loin cloth, who is covered with the same filth. He presents
an extraordinary spectacle. His limbs and muscles are thrown
into a state of riotous tremors and twitches, and he appears
to be suffering from St. Vitus' dance, grafted on to every other
known form of nervous irritation. The natives attribute this
weird disturbance to the newly-fallen stone, but probably some
powerful nervine drug is administered to cause this peculiar
condition. The owners of the house pay certain fees to the priest

* Mr. P. M. Dwyer.
BB | Babba Magba of Ilorin.

386 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

that he may intercede with Shango for pardon, for the crime they
have committed."*

Individuals rendered insensible by lightning are at once
despatched by the priests, the accident being regarded as proof
positive that Shango requires them. Persons killed by lightning
may not, properly speaking, be buried ; but if the relation of the
deceased offer a sufficient payment, the priests usually allow
the corpse to be redeemed and buried. The religion is a means
of deciding cases, or rather was in the past. The chief method
employed was by trial Agbarisi, in this the skull of a person
killed by lightning is placed on the ground, base upwards, in
front of a priest ; by the skull is a calabash of water, and standing
by the priest is a man with a loud sounding rattle. The accused
strips naked, and prostrating himself before the skull declares
his innocence, and asks that he may die before seven days if
he is lying. During this time the priest is chanting the praise
of Shango, while the rattle is furiously shaken. The priest
then places the skull in the water, and the accused has to drink.
Another form of the ordeal takes place in the tsafi house, when
the accused drinks water in which a thunder-stone has been
dipped. The priest who administers the ordeal has previously
smeared the stone with medicine, poisonous or otherwise,
according to the character of the accused.

All members of this religion are very prone to the crime
of arson. They, however, before resorting to this, generally
send a warning in the shape of a fire sign. This is a symbolical
letter, and is translated with ease ; as an example, a man
brought to the resident's court, a native broom, the end of
which was burnt. Attached to this were (a) a male lizard split
down the middle, (b) a few threads from the loin cloth of a
woman, (c) some red pepper, (d) pieces of broken calabash, (e)
a small bag of sand, (/) an arrow head. The translation was : the
receiver would be brushed out of the way by fire, the lizard repre-
sented the sender, a butcher, by reason of the way it was cut,
the threads, that his woman was torn from him, the red pepper,
that his eyes would be sore from weeping for the troubles that
would come, as many as the grains of sand, the broken pieces
of calabash, that calabashes would be worn away carrying away
the ashes of his burnt house ; the arrow head that, if fire failed, he
would be shot. Another custom is, for any person who wishes
to secure another's death, to make a clay model and injure it
in the way they desire the object of their enmity may surfer.

As Shango can cause ill, so can he cause good, and may send his
people wealth, fortune and many children. A hut is set aside
as his shrine in every compound, and there sacrifice is made
to him on occasions such as birth, death and marriage. At
the yearly festival, which takes place when the yams are ripe,

* Mr. P. M. Dwyer.

TRIBES. 387

all the people gather in the compound of the high priest, where
sacrifice is made. When the religious ceremonies are ended
they all go out drumming and dancing. At times of great
pressure it is probable that human sacrifice was offered.

The fourth day out of their five-days' week is known as the
Ojo-Shango, and is observed as a day of rest by all his votaries.

A small bird called " papagori " is sacred to him, and his
worshippers profess to be able to understand its call. He is
consulted through the medium of sixteen cowries, which are
thrown on the ground, those lying with back uppermost being
of favourable omen and vice versa.

Shango is said to be the ancestor, by his sister- wife Ojo, the
River Niger, of the Alafin of Oyo, erstwhile the Chief of all the
Yoruba. His temple and tomb are believed to be at Barra, a royal
hierarchical village, half an hour distant from Oyo, where the
skulls of the Alafins are also concealed. It must presumably
have been carried away from old Ojo or Oyo when the Filane
drove out the Yoruba. A great mound remains, which covers
a trench, with passages dug to it from east to west.

Ogun, son of Yemagya, is the god of iron and of war, and,
like Shango, is also a patron of hunters. Iron is sacred to him,
and when swearing by Ogun it is usual to touch an iron implement
with the tongue. His name signifies " One who pierces." He
is worshipped in Northern Nigeria as in Southern, by hunters,
brass-makers and blacksmiths. At his yearly festival a dog
and cock are sacrificed, some of the blood being sprinkled on
the gowns of the votaries, who also cut their hands that some
of their own blood may be mingled with the offering, which
is further augmented by some food, palm-oil or kola. Each
man takes some of the sacrifice into his wounded hand, and
eats it.* A dog's head, emblematic of the sacrifice, is usually
to be found fastened up in every smithy. When war had been
decided upon a human sacrifice was offered, commonly in the
person of a slave who was purchased for the purpose by the
tribe or town. The victim's head was struck off upon Ogun's
stool, the entrails exposed before his image, and the body hung
from a tree. For the previous twenty-four hours the victim is
given complete licence, and the corpse is treated with great respect,
as it is believed that he will be born again and become
a king. Ogun's priests shave the crowns of their heads and wear
an iron bracelet on their left arms. The third day in the
Yoruba week is called " Ojo-Ogun," and must be observed
as the Sabbath by his votaries. t

If a, of unexplained origin, is the god of divination and
fecundity, and in Southern Nigeria is second only to Shango
in order of eminence. He is unknown in Northern Nigeria.

* Babba Magba of Ilorin.

388 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Elegba, Edju or Eshu, is a phallic deity of malevolent
propensities. He is one of the principal gods of Southern
Nigeria, but is unknown in the north.

Shankpanna (or Enissapponna) , born of Yemagya, is the
god of small-pox. The name appears to be derived from
" Shan=to daub, smear or plaster," which probably has
reference to the pustules with which a small-pox patient is
covered; " Kpa=to kill; enia=a person." He is accompanied
by an assistant named " Buka " signifying " bu=to rot, emit
a stench ; iku= death," who wrings the neck of those whom
his master attacks. Flies and mosquitoes are the god's
messengers, and his emblem is a stick covered with red and
white blotches. His temples are built in the bush, away from
all human habitations, where, on the occasion of his annual
feast, a concoction of beans, cooked in palm-oil and salt, is
offered to him. In Filane towns the Emir has forbidden pagan
worship to be carried on outside the compounds, so that the
people are obliged to sacrifice to him in special small pots inside
the compound.*

Orisha Oko or Oko (signifying "farm, garden, plantation")
a son of Yemagya, is the god of agriculture. Though
his first care is fertility of the earth, he is also a phallic
divinity, and general licence prevails at his annual festival.
He also cures malarial fevers. He is widely worshipped both
in the north and south. His priests are distinguished by a
small white mark painted on the forehead.

Osanhin or Ossenj (from " san— to benefit ") is the god of
medicine, who is always applied to in cases of sickness. In
the north he has come to be regarded as the god of divination
and witchcraft, attributes for which the gods If a and Elegba
are worshipped in the : outh. His emblem is the figure of a
bird perched upon an iron bar.

Oye, the god of the harmattan wind, is a giant who,
according to some, lives in a cavern to the north of Ilorin, while
others say that he resides on the mountain named Igbeti, where
Elegba is supposed to have his palace. He is not known in
the north.*

Orun, the sun god, and Oshu, the moon god, sprang
from Yemagya, together with the stars, wrrch have never been
deified. Orun is no longer worshipped, but Oshu still has
votaries in Northern Nigeria, who conduct her rites by running
water, where young trees of only one or two feet in height grow.*
To see the new moon is, however, considered lucky, and its
appearance is everywhere commonly celebrated by a festival.
A myth has it that the stars are Oshu's daughters, by Orun
the Sun, and that that is why they always accompany her by
night.

* Babba Magba of Ilorin.

TRIBES. 389

Besides the above gods, and those listed as the offspring of
Yemagya, are the following minor deities, who are, however,
unknown in Northern Nigeria.

Shigidi, god of nightmare, who is of evil propensities.

Olarosa (? " Alarense= helper ") is the tutelary deity of
houses.

Aroni, the forest god.

Aja (signifying "wild vine"), a gentle and diminutive goddess
of the forest.

Ibeji (signifying " bi "—to beget, " eji "—two) is the tutelary
deity of twins.

Olori-merin, whose worship is obsolete, was a four-headed
god with the legs and feet of a goat, who watched the four points
of the compass from the top of a mound, and averted war and
pestilence. Every three months a new-born child was sacrificed
to him.

Every god has its special priesthood, the office being
hereditary, in so far as a suitable representative of the family
is forthcoming, otherwise it passes to some other family.

The Oni of Ife (Benin) is the religious head of the Yoruba,
but is only possessed of shadowy power. The priests, besides
acting as intermediaries between the gods and men, preside
at all trials. by ordeal, and prepare and sell charms, amulets, etc.

A woman must embrace her husband's " Orisha " (god), but
also continues to worship that of her family. When she marries
the symbol of her :< Orisha " is brought to her new home by
her people, who make festival and place it in a niche in the
house. Her husband is henceforth bound to provide what
is requisite for her to sacrifice, i.e., the firstling of stock and the
first-fruits of crops. Burnt offerings are made to all deities
except the god of rain, and the Yoruba are, Herr Frobenius says,
the only Sudanese people who, like the ancient races of the
Mediterranean, practise this custom. The will of the " Orisha "
influences every action and includes, moreover, a definite food
tabu . There is a shrine to the ' ' Orisha ' ' in every compound , where
a priest conducts a ceremony on such occasions as birth and
death, which is attended by all members of the clan living in
that neighbourhood. In addition to their own family " Orisha,"
the people commonly worship other of the gods, to whom
general shrines are erected in the towns.

The Baedegi, of Yoruba extraction, migrated across
the River Niger to the Island of Jebba after the Nupe had raided
and despoiled their country (Ilorin). Baedegi is a corruption
of the Yoruba " Enya, to Gbode "='• the man who speaks two
languages," and this title was conferred on them after their
migration . They are now a Nupe-speaking people, who occupyjebba.

39° NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

They are pagans, and worship two bronze idols, which are said
to have been sent there from Old Oyo, for the sake of safe keeping,
about 1780 A.D. They are kept outside the tsafi house. The
male figure is named " Dako Tako," and several days in each
year are dedicated as festivals to him. On these occasions
a sheep is sacrificed and its blood is smeared over the idol, while
the blood of a goat is placed in a calabash before it. Drums
are beaten, and there is much dancing and beer drinking.

The chief priest is named ' Borom Tako." When an
individual desires to offer a petition to the spirits he brings a
white sheep or black goat; the priest sacrifices it, and the blood
is rubbed on the threshold, while a part of the flesh is put inside.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. V. F. Biscoe. Mr. P. M. Dwyer.

The Igbona, or Igbolo, inhabit Central and South Ilorin,
principally in the Offa Division, where they number some twenty
thousand, and in the Emirate of Lafiaji.

Before the Filane invasion they occupied some nine hundred
square miles between the south-west boundary of the Province
to the Yagba district on the east, and to within a few miles of
Ilorin town on the north.

They were divided into five sub-sections: (i) Omu, (2) Isanlu,
both of whom migrated from Ife, (3) Ijara, (4) Oke-Abba, who
came from Oyo, and (5) Ala, who came from near Ora. Each
section was independent of the other, and paid tribute direct
to the Alafin of Oyo, though all recognised the Olupo of Ajasse
Po as the principal Chief amongst them.

Interspersed amongst them were many small independent
tribes, who had probably migrated thither in the early part
of the eighteenth century, but who were confederated by the Alafin
and named Niagba (meaning " we come together ") . Thus the Osi
and Idofin people, originally of Ekiti stock, became Niagba.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century the Nupe raider,
Mai-ajia, ravaged the country, and many of its inhabitants fled
south, but it was not until some half century later that they
became involved in the Filane-Yoruba wars, and were conquered
by the first Filane Emir of Ilorin, Abdul Salami.

The Olupo of Ajasse Po paid fealty to the Emir and was
allowed to retain his position, but Isanlu, Omu, Ijara, Oke-Abba
and Ala were given to an Ajia — Gaju — as his fief. He had
a house at Isanlu, and representatives in the principal towns,
but did not altogether deprive the Olomu of Omu of his power.
Successive Ajias lived in Ilorin until, in 1904, the British Govern-
ment brought this system to an end.

TRIBES. 391

The Igbona speak a dialect of Yoruba, and their religion
is similar to that of the parent stock, Ogun (the god of iron)
and Oke Nilu being the deities most commonly worshipped.
An Ogboni society is in existence, but does not exercise political
influence.

Trees are owned by the farmers on whose land they grow,
but in the bush the fruits may be gathered by any members
of the tribe resident in that district. One individual may permit
another to farm his land, in acknowledgment of which privilege
he customarily receives a load of yams or of maize, or a cash-
bowl full of guinea-corn.

The dower ordinarily given by a man for a virgin is £6 155. od.,
in addition to a court fee of 155. When a woman obtains a
divorce from her husband she hands him £5, and herself pays
the court fee of io/-.

YUNGUR, or YUNGURU.

PRINCIPAL AUTHORITY, Mr. G. W. Webster.

The Yunguru, together with the Gaanda, Dingai, Mboi,
Robba, and Gabun are kindred tribes, commonly known
as Lala (vide Lala), a nickname meaning " naked." Though
each section speaks a different language or dialect, they own a
common lingua franca ; and at times of war used to unite under
the leadership of the strongest man amongst them. The Yunguru
are more closely related to the Dingai, Robba and Mboi than
to other members of the Lala group. They occupy an area
of ten square miles between Shillem and Song. Their farms
extend, however, in all directions for fifteen miles. The villages
are situated on plateaux in a small range of hills, but throughout
the farming months the people live in rough shelters on their
farms. The townships are surrounded by thick cactus hedges.

They own a few cattle, sheep and goats, and grow enough
guinea-corn for their own consumption, though the supply of
both food and water is not plentiful.

They are hunters, and combine for big game drives, which
may cover the whole tribal lands.

The village lands are communal, on which individuals have
rights of occupancy only. Trees are communal, but the fruits
of those growing on cultivated land belong to the occupier. He
is, however, restricted in the branches he may cut to a certain
number each year. The right to cut wood, or to collect so many
cords of brushwood, is frequently let or sold. Of the timber
growing on communal lands certain areas are set aside for fuel-
cutting each year.

392 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Iron ore is found in the river beds, and is smelted local
the farm implements of hoe and adze being made from it.

The Yunguru were head-hunters, and in old days no man
was allowed to marry until he had taken the head of an enemy.
The skulls were converted into drinking cups, and a general carouse
took place in the village of the head- winner.

The weapons commonly used are bows and arrows (poisoned
with acrocanthera), spears, short heavy swords, and light axes.
They are a powerful tribe and fearless ; it is said that no man
ever ran away.

The village chiefs lead in war and have little authority at
other times. There is a tribal chief, and the Sarkin Haussawa
of Pirrambe (the headquarters of that district, where a Haussa
town has recently sprung up) was made district-head at the
end of 1912. Previously Arnado Shellen, district-head of the
Kan?.kuru, was their overlord.

Though of varying influence the man whom the tribe has
always looked to as the central authority is the hereditary chief
priest of Pirrambe.

Their religion is a form of phallic worship, and they recognise
two gods, " Daha-Fa," a god of good attributes, and " Daha-
Nafshiya," a younger brother of the former, but a god of evil.
The two gods reside at a certain rock in Gaanda country, and
the Yunguru look to the Gaanda tribe as their chief religious
centre, and they therefore gave gifts to the Gaanda Chief.

The men have no tribal marks, but a series of long parallel
cuts are made down the backs of girls at an annual ceremony,
when they reach a marriageable age. A phallic dance is
performed the while.

Hollowed elephants' tusks and long thin drums are the
principal musical instruments.

Both sexes commonly go naked, though some men wear
a leather apron or short gown, and women a strip of cloth, which
is attached to the waist by a leather thong.

Men and women alike plait their hair as young people and
shave the head as they grow older. The men wear their beards
in one or more plaits, the ends of which are bound with iron.
For customs vide " Lala."

The men are great drunkards. They also chew and smoke
tobacco.

Slavery was common, but slaves were treated as members
of the family, and the Lala group would not even permit the
passage through their country of anyone who was bound.

Slaves were procured by capture, by purchase, or in payment
of debt.

ZABIRMAWA.

AUTHORITIES :
Major F. Edgar. Mr. R. McAllister.

The Zabirrnawa are situated in the Illo District of Sokoto
Province, where they number some 4,000. They came from the
west and formed the principal fighting force of the King Mamara
at the rise of the Songhay power. They remained in the country
around the Upper Niger, and their language is still commonly
spoken by the surrounding tribes. Some have settled amongst the
Jukon on the Benue in Muri Province, The men intermarry
with Haussa tribes, but the women will only marry one of their
own race. It is not considered necessary for a widow to marry
again, nor will she do so if she has children.

They are a very moral race— a man will not cohabit with
his wife for six weeks after the birth of their child ; nor will a
woman drink milk because to do so is to desire.

A woman makes tuo for her husband, but not fura, nor does
she salute him when he returns from a journey.

No Ba-Zabarme will eat the flesh of a camel.

ZAKSHAWA.

AUTHORITIES:
Captain T. W. P. Dyer. Mr. F. B. Gall.

The Zakshawa have a population of 2,940, 1,390 of whom
inhabit the eastern edge of the Maigemu Hills in Bauchi Emirate
and 1,550 Jemaa in Gcmhe Emirate. The latter claim that
they have always inhabited a small range of hills to the south
of their present location.

They are a fairly advanced and well-clothed people.

Their tribal marks consist of horizontal incisions extending
from the eyes across the temples to the ears, and short horizontal
incisions on the cheeks from the nostrils downwards at an angle
of forty-five degrees.

They are distinct from, though akin to, the Jarawa:

394 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

ZARIWA.
AUTHORITY: Mr. F. B. Gall.

The Zariwa (or Zarshiwa) inhabit the village of Zari, on
the south-eastern edge of the Maigemu Hills in theBauchi Emirate.
They are a fairly advanced and well-clothed pagan community.
They are said to be practically the same as the Zakshawa and
to be akin to, though distinct from, the Jarawa.

ZIGAMAWA.

A backward but very warlike section of the Hill Jarawa,
inhabiting the fastnesses of the Maigemu Hills in Bauchi Province.

ZUMPERR.

AUTHORITIES :

Capt. U. F. Ruxton. Major A. E. Churcher.
Mr. A. Auchinleck. Mr. K. Hamilton.

The Zumperr are located in the mountainous region south
of Takum, on the Kamerun border, in Muri Province, where the
hills have an elevation of 3,000 to 4,000 feet. It appears that
at one time they occupied the plains of Takum, having come
from Wukari, but the Tikk'r migrated thither in great force,
and after much fighting conquered and enslaved the Zumperr,
ultimately ordering them to retire to the hilltops, but to con-
tinue the payment of tribute to Takum. Their real name is
Likam, Zumperr being a nickname, meaning "cannibals."

The tribe numbers some 9,524, and is divided into four clans,
the Lissan, Igibe, Pambo and Acha, each of which has its own
head and council of elders, who all recognise the authority of
the tribal chief, Amadu. Each clan is practically independent,
but questions affecting the whole tribe are discussed by the
elders in concert, and all meet for certain religious ceremonies.

The chief god is that of the Jukon, Tshamba and Gurkawa,
' Bussom," to whom there is a temple on every hilltop. A
great ceremony is held at the beginning of the rains in April,
when every man brings a handful of corn to the temple. A
goat is sacrificed and its blood sprinkled on the corn, which
is then mixed with the seed that is about to be sown. The
principal industries are agricultural, the main farms being situated
in the valleys, though the villages are on the tops of the hills
and all available space around them is cutlivated. A hard

TRIBES. 395

cloth is woven, though for the most part the men dress in skins,
the women in leaves. In the districts of Pambu and Rente
marriage is arranged by exchange, that is to say, a girl from
one family is given to a man as wife in exchange for a girl of
his family. In other places when the groom is a small boy
his father makes presents of hoes, or goats,, according to his
wealth, to the father of the future bride. The wedding takes
place when the couple have attained marriageable age, a feast
is given and the bride goes to the groom's house. Before
marriage she has complete personal liberty, but afterwards
adultery is considered a serious offence, which is punishable by
a fine of ten goats. If she runs away to another man a heavy
fine is imposed, in addition to the repayment of the dower-money;
if she runs away to her father the dower-money alone need be
returned.

An infant is suckled for two or three years, and boys are
circumcised as soon as they are old enough to be washed without
crying.

When a death occurs both men and women wail and a drum
is beaten.

Succession passes to a man's son, but if the son is a child
his brother acts as trustee.

Cannibalism is practised. The people of Bika and Kunabai
set man-traps for the sake of the flesh ; and at Pambu prisoners
of war are skinned, roasted and eaten — a habit said to be
valuable in its moral effect of inspiring terror.

ZUNGURAWA.

The Zungurawa are located in Bauchi Emirate, near the
Fanshanu Pass, where they have a population of 10,855.

ZYEMAWA.

The Zyemawa are located in Bauchi Emirate, where they
number some 240.

NOTES ON THE FILANE.

The origin of the race, termed by the Haussa-speaking natives
of West Africa Filane, and by the French Penis, and by them-
selves Pulo, is uncertain. The fact that when unmixed with
negro blood the Filane has straight hair, a light bronze com-
plexion, aquiline profile and high cheek-bones, would appear
to indicate that he is of Semitic stock. Indeed, especially in
old age, these people strikingly resemble the Jewish type. At
the same time, the mode of doing the hair (in small spirals)
and certain facial characteristics, especially in youth, lend to
some a striking resemblance to the Egyptian portraits of the
Hyksos shepherd Kings of Egypt.

Their language bears no resemblance to any Semitic tongue,
but the tribe may easily have picked up the tongue of one or
other of the natives among whom it sojourned.*

It seems reasonable to assume, therefore, that the home
of the Filane was in the east, and that the original emigration
from the east to the west followed the northern borders of the
Sahara; until it reached the sea and the neighbourhood of Futa
Jallon, north of Sierra Leone.

The original Filane having, we will assume, travelled along
the northern coast of Africa, did not mix with the Berbers, but
one section began to mix with the negro inhabitants, and the
other retained its purity.

As we have certain knowledge that the Filane at the extreme
limit of the present distribution of the race — that is to say, to
the east of Yola — came there from the west, i.e., Senegal, we
may assume. Next a flow of emigrants back from west to
east occurred, but this time following a course to the south
of the Sahara. The Toronkawa, for instance, which is the
Royal Family of Sokoto, came from Futa Toro to the nqrth
of Sierra Leone. The emigrations probably occurred in waves
dating from the sixteenth century. One such emigration we
actually found in process in 1901. The section known as the
Tejane came from Melle in Senegal. Defeated in battle by the
French they started travelling west. In 1901 they reached a point
just north of Gombe. In 1903 they joined the Sarkin Musulmi

* Mr. H. R. Palmer traces some resemblance between the Filane
language and that of the aborigines of the Canary islands. Tilde, for
instance, means a hill in both tongues.

NOTES ON FILANE. 397

at Burmi, where they shared his defeat. They are now scattered
over the Haussa States among the other Filanen Gidda.

As found to-day in West Africa, the Filane are divided into
two sections. One is termed " Cattle Filane/' or Borroroje.
These are wandering shepherds, who have kept their stock
more or less pure, and retain the Semitic physical characteristics.
They are not, for the most part, Muslims. They are very shy
and difficult of access; they avoid all towns and villages, and
are not happy unless they are in the bush pasturing their
cattle.

The other section is known in Haussa as the Filanen Gidda
(gidda= house) ; they are all Muslims. These settled Filane
are the product of a mixture between the original Semitic
immigrants and the various tribes amongst whom they travelled.
They are extremely numerous, spreading in a chain right
across from Dakar to the Kamerun, and across the Shari
River.

The celebrated French troops known as " Senegales " (real
Senegales, that is to say), and the Toucouleurs speak a dialect
of Filane, and are exactly similar to the Filanen Gidda of
Haussaland, excepting that the negro mixture is a di fferent
one. It will be seen that the Filanen Gidda are very numerous
arid that the Filane language and its dialect is very widely
spoken, possibly even more widely spoken than is Haussa.

The Filane emigrants in what we now term Nigeria,
appear to have lived at peace for many years with the
aboriginal tribes, some intermarrying whilst the Borroroje retained
their seclusive habits. They were, indeed, somewhat looked
down upon by the Gobirawa and Daura people, and even
oppression is indicated by the words of a very spirited war-song
(translated by Major J. A. Burdon), composed after a Filane
victory, in which it is said: "Those who were compelled to
quarrel with the hare for its lair have now conquered you."

By the year of the Filane Jihad (when our first really
accurate records begin) the Filane had penetrated in a
peaceful fashion all over Haussaland into Bornu, and as far as
Yola, and Lere in the Kamerun.* This peaceful state of affairs
was interrupted in 1804, when the Filane of Sokoto revolted
against the Chief of Gobir, and inflicted a notable defeat on the
Gobirawa at Kwoto. A Jihad was then declared, and the revolt

* Abdullah!, brother of Osuman Dan Fodio, founder of the Filane
Sokoto dynasty, writes (in a poem translated by Mr. H. R. Palmer) : " The
tribes of Islam are our Turuba tribe, our Filane and our Haussa tribes
.... and the Turuba are brothers of the Filane, brethren of the
Arabs, and they sprang from Room, son of Esau. And Ocba, the ancestor
of the Filane, was of Arab blood and their mother, Baju-Maju, was
from Toro."

398 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

of the Muslims (Filane and those of the tribes who had accepl
Islam combined) against the pagan overlords occurred through-
out those areas from Gando to Yola. The Muslims were
extensively successful, only the hill fastnesses such as Abuja,
Sura, etc., were successfully held by the pagans. In these
wars the Filane fought on foot and with bows. The panoplies
of war, horses, cotton armour, mounted spearmen, and towns
converted into strongholds by immense clay ramparts, all these
were on the side of the pagans. Osuman Dan Fodio, of the
Toronkawa family, which, as we have seen, came from Futa
Toro, and was probably mixed with Jolof blood, was elected
Sarkin Musulmi. He appointed flag-bearers, from whom the
present Emirs are mostly descended, who represented him
in various places, and amongst whom he portioned out the land
in what are the present Emirates. These were really Governors,
and though the office very generally descended from father
to son or brother, or at least one of the family, yet the hereditary
principle was not actually acknowledged, and each Emir's
appointment was made up, to the very date of the occupation
of Sokoto by the British, by the Sarkin Musulmi at Sokoto.
The principal of the Governorships were Gando, Kano, Katsina,
Zaria, Bauchi, Yola (Adamawa), Gombe, Bida (Nupe), Ilorin.
There were in addition smaller units such as Katagum, Hadeija,
Keffi, Kazaure, Daura, Jemaa, Messau, Agaie, Lapai. Later on
an unruly member of the Sokoto family founded Kontagora. In
all, the Sarkin Musulmi, at the height of the Filane power, ruled
over from four to five million subjects scattered over some 100,000
to 150,000 square miles.

The conquering Jihad was stopped by the Yoruba, south
of Oyo to the south-west, to the west by the Kebbawa (Argungu),
all along the south by the hill tribes, such as the Sura, Abuja,
Tangale, living in the hills to the north of the Benue, though
in some places such as Loko and Ibi the invaders* broke through
to the river, when they were checked by the Munshi to the
south. They penetrated to the east via Ibi to Yola and beyond,
where they were checked by the Kamerun natives, and in the
north-east they were checked by Bornu, which they conquered,
but did not finally occupy.

The height of the Filane power began to dwindle so soon
as the original flag-bearers died. The Governors or Emirs
became slack, departed from the simplicity and austere mode
of life of their forebears, adopted more and more the ostentatious
habits of the pagan chiefs among whom they lived, and to whose
power they succeeded, oppressed their own people, destroyed their
subjects with the object of getting the women and children as
slaves. Forgetting the words of their great leader, when he
said on accepting the office : ' Let no man think that I accept
this office that I may be greater than another or that my slave

NOTES ON FILANE. 399

may lord it over others." They became haughty, avaricious
and so greedy of power that some, notably the Emirs of Kano
and Bauchi, questioned the authority of Sokoto itself. They
became also effeminate, with the result that many of their pagan
subjects threw off their yoke. Thus it was a diminished kingdom,
from which the glory had departed, when the British arrived
on the scene at the end of the nineteenth century.

As the result of the successful wars the section of the Filane
race termed Filanen Gidda increased in wealth and importance.
The Borroroje or Cattle Filane, on the other hand, remained
much as they were. It is doubtful whether they took much
part in the campaigns of their relations. It is more probable
that they, for the most part, remained with their cattle, avoiding
scenes of disturbance. Though the racial connection exists
these people have no more desire to live in contact with the
settled Filane than with the pagans. It is not probable that
they have greatly altered since the earliest days of their first
emigration, though now it is said there are isolated cases of
families settling down.

Throughout the Filane Emirates we found the Filanen Gidda
in positions of power and responsibility, such as Emirs, District
Chiefs, Village Heads, Tax Collectors, and a large number were
wealthy private folk. It must not be thought, however, that
they were all in the position of members of a ruling caste.
There are whole districts of peasant Filane, and many Filane
are very poor and unimportant.

The Filanen Gidda, as stated in another paragraph, are all
Muslim, and consequently have given up the essentially Filane
tribal customs, which, however, are kept up by the Borroroje.
They are divided up into innumerable clans (or " Denge ") , far
too numerous to mention in such a work as this. These clans
are sometimes well defined, as, for instance, the Sulubawa of
Sokoto, but more frequently the members .are scattered. Not
uncommonly these clans take the name of the pagans among
whom they live, and groups carry away that name when they
emigrate. In a Sokoto village you may find a colony termed
' Katsinawa." NOW that may mean that they are Katsina
Haussa, or Katsina Filane. This confusion makes it a com-
plicated and difficult matter to trace the various Filane clans.
Moreover, the mixture with all kinds of natives makes it almost
as hard to say who is a Filane, as to who is a Haussa. A large
number of so-called Haussa traders have Filane blood in their
veins, as is the case with many of the "Haussa" troops.
The least drop of Filane in a native, however, is clearly
demonstrated by his superior intelligence, and generally by the
comeliness of his exterior.

400 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The pure-blooded Filane is an extremely reserved person,
and the Emirs and better class Filanen Gidda have retained this
trait. Any manifestation of feeling, such as smiling or laughing,
or showing great interest or sorrow or joy, is considered bad
form amongst them. The really correct deportment for a Filane
notable is to approximate, as far as possible, to the Sphinx, a trait
which sometimes leads the casual observer to come to a wrong
conclusion that they are hostile to him. Needless to say that
the " purdah " in their household is very strict ; also they never
eat in public, or with their wives or children . A son is not supposed
to look his father in the face, and the father never in public
acknowledges the presence of his children — in better class
families, that is to say.

A rough estimate of the numbers of Filanen Gidda in the
Northern Provinces would be from one- to one and a half million.

To turn to the Cattle Filane (or " Borroroje "), a good
number of these have kept their blood pure or fairly pure, though
even among them the frizzled hair showing negro blood is riot
uncommon. As a race they are small, wiry and tough. Males
and females, as we have seen, are comely enough, of the Jewish
and Arab type. The women wear their hair in two long, broad
plaits down each side of the face, sometimes reaching to the
waist. These plaits are sometimes family heirlooms. They
wear hair ornaments of brass and blue beads, and a profusion
of brass bracelets and anklets, often cunningly wrought. The
Borroroje are a fairly clean race. They practi e circumcision.
As stated before, they are shy and exclusive, and are never
so happy as when living in a small group, wandering about the
uninhabited bush with their herds.

A rough estimate of the number of Borroroje in. the Northern
Provinces would be under three hundred thousand. They have
herds numbering from three to four million head in all, but
these are not by any means all their own property, as the Filanen
Gidda and wealthy Haussas habitually give them charge of
cattle to take to the pastures.

Their cattle are trained to break and scatter in the bush
at a word of command from their herdsman, or at a note on
his pipe. In some parts they will scatter on hearing a word
of Haussa, Kanuri or any foreign language. The cattle are not
killed for food, and the Borroroje support themselves on milk,
butter, cream, cheese and eggs, eating meat only at festivals.
Meat and milk may not be taken on the same day. Small
grass huts, in the shape of beehives, are erected wherever they
make their temporary settlements.

All youths have to undergo a test of endurance before they mr.y
marry. Each one stands in the centre of a circle, holding with both
hands cowries above his head, prepared to receive a lash from
a hide thong from some unknown quarter. Should he flinch,

NOTES ON FILANE. 401

let fall the cowries, or show by the movement of a muscle that
he feels the pain he is disgraced. They fortify themselves before-
hand by medicine obtained from the medicine man, but the
weals that a man often carries till the day of his death bear
evidence to the severity of the ordeal. It is customary for
one band of Borroroje to join another for the " Sheriya," as the
rite is termed, that the blows may be delivered by strangers.
The girls who stand round to watch may end the ordeal by
stepping forward with raised hands.

They indulge in a sport which is a form of bull-baiting. The
fore and hind legs of the bull are bound with a rope, which is
held tight at either end by two groups of men, who thus deprive
the animal of power of movement. Its head is free, and a man
comes and squats in front of it within range of the horns and
teases it, dodging as the brute butts. When it is fairly infuriated
he springs on to its head and holds on by the horns — a game
that is hazardous enough, for the horns are long and sharp,
and danger is added by the somewhat insecure tenure of the
ropes.

There is among them a kind of Pan worship of a mysterious
sprite. C.L.T.

As aforesaid, they maintain their purity by refusing to inter-
marry even with Filanen Gidda, and many will not wed outside
their own groups or ruga, which usually consist of some two
hundred members. Marriage generally takes place when a
girl is seventeen and a man twenty-five. A dowry is rarely given,
and a girl has absolute right of refusal. Concubinage is almost
unknown.

A girl is betrothed between the time of her birth and that
when she can first walk alone, but before the wedding is
consummated she has the right of refusal.

The reason of these early betrothals is that a woman must
be a wife to receive burial, and if she dies during the short period
of widowhood, her prospective husband goes through the form
of marriage with her dead body that it may receive the
accustomed rites of burial.

Marriage is not permitted between the children of two
brothers or two sisters, whether of whole or half degree, but
is allowed between the children of a brother and sister. It is
not allowed with a wife's sister during the wife's lifetime, but is
permitted after her decease.

A man usually marries his elder brother's widow, but is
not allowed to marry the widow of a younger brother. Either

* The following no'es were supplied by a Filane of Zanfara.
cc

402 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

party may refuse, in which case the woman commonly agrees
to wed with some other relative of her late husband's, but this
is not obligatory if she finds some other husband.

A widow retains the guardianship of her children so long
as she is of good character.

When a man first marries he brings his wife to his father's
compound, and continues to work for his father for three years,
or until he receives permission to set up an establishment of
his own. \\hen the woman first becomes a mother she returns
to her father's house, where she remains from five months
to a period of two or three years.

The parents are never allowed to keep their eldest son with
them throughout his childhood. His grandfather or his uncles
on the paternal side are under an obligation to take him, and
have the right to demand the custody of his younger brothers ;
equally the grandmother and aunts on the paternal side have
the right to take girls. Their parents may claim them again
as long as, in the case of the eldest son at all events, he has
been absent for at least, one year. Failing near relatives the
eldest son must go to some more distant member of the family,
a close friend, or to school. If the children remain with their
foster parents until they marry, they never return to their own
parents. This rule is not in force amongst the Tejani, except
in the case of the eldest son. Two months before his birth his
mother goes to the house of her father-in-law, where she remains
for three or four years, the child remaining there, or going to its
father's younger brother until it is seven, when it is usually
sent to school. It is named by its mother seven days after
birth, usually after its father or some member of his family,
and in addition may be given a second name in accordance
with the wishes of his mother's people.

The Tejani Filane settled in the country lying between the
Gambia and Senegal Rivers, north of Futajello, where they
intermarried with the Futajello Filane, who had become wander-
ing herdsmen in the districts, and whose language they adopted.
An Arab, Fodio, and his heirs became chiefs over them. One
of his descendants, Alhajji Umoru, made a pilgrimage to Mecca,
and on his return stopped at Fez, and then at Sokoto, where
he spent seven years, and where Bello, Sarkin Musulmi, gave
him his daughter in marriage. On Bello's death (1837) ne went
to a pagan district, Mallawa, and assisted by the three Chiefs
of the countries of Futajello, Futatoro and Futabundu, waged
a jihad. In virtue of a flag he had received from the Sultan
of Fez, he was appointed head of the Filane Empire, composed
of the above-mentioned States, and took the title of Sarkin

NOTES ON FILANE. 403

Tejani. His conquests extended in the west from Kayes on the
Senegal to Aribinta in the east. He was succeeded on his death
by his son, who established sway over Timbuktu. About 1894,
however, the French drove him from the country, and he
retreated to Sokoto. He was given Zanfara, but died shortly
afterwards. His younger brother stopped a while near Messau,
but threw in his fortunes with the Sarkin Musulmi in opposition
to the British and followed him to Burmi, where he was
captured and his followers scattered.

Amadu Madaniyo, son of Amadu of Zanfara, was appointed
vSarkin Tejani by the British, and has settled at the town of
Dakkayawa under the Emir of Hadeija. The French invited
him to become chief of the old Tejani Kingdom of Segu, but
he declined. He is surrounded by some nineteen families only.
A somewhat larger number remain in the Moriki district of
Sokoto Emirate (Zanfara).

NOTE ON YOLA FILANE .*

AUTHORITIES :

Captain C. V. Boyle. Mr. E. H. B. Laing.

Mr. G. W. Webster.

The main body of Filane emigrants got as far as Bagirimi,
where they were stopped, and sections broke oft and spread as
follows : —

(1) The Ba-en to Bulke, thence to Bauchi and Wazi.

(2) The Garra-en to Yola and Marua, thence to Jobalio.

(3) The Bewe-en to Marghi, thence to Ribado and Dawari.

(4) The Flaga-en to Buban Jidda, Rai, Mindif, Fali, Mubi.

Uba, Binder, and Bibe-ni.

(5) The Walarbe to Ngaundere, Bagnoel, Kilba, Koncha,

Bundang or Bundam, and Banyo.

(6) The Kiri-en to Muri, Gombe and Tibarti.

(7) The Toronbe-en to Sokoto.

(8) The Jahun-en to Kano and Bauchi.

(9) The Ganjua-en to Bauchi.
(10) The Illaga to Chamba.

For many centuries they wandered about in search of good
pasturage for their cattle, paying tribute to the pagans, and
gradually intermarrying with them and absorbing their
customs, the Borroro alone maintaining their purity of race. At
this time their knowledge of the Muhammadan religion was

* Notes from Yola Province.

404

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

limited to the call to prayer, the observance of Ramadan, the
payment of Zakka, and pilgrimage to Mecca ; but the large
majority became pagans, or perhaps reverted to the faith of
their ancestors, for the Kitiyen branch of the Filane to this day
worship their mythical ancestors "Samba" and ' Kumba,"
whose names, " Sambas " and " Kumbas " are mentioned by
Herodotus in connection with the Hyskos dynasty of Egypt, a
circumstance that mav be more than a coincidence.

NOTE ON THE HAUSSAWA.

The expression " Haussa " when used by the natives of
West Africa is one of wide application. If it is loosely used
by natives it has been even more inaccurately applied by Euro-
peans. In many cases it has been supposed by Europeans that
there exists a distinct tribe of Haussa, more or less comparable
with the Filane for instance, with customs, language and charac-
teristics differing from those of other tribes, and speaking Haussa
as a mother tongue. This is not the case, however, to-day
at all events. There probably at one time existed such a distinct
tribe, but where or when we have not yet been able to discover.
At the present day the Haussa language is spoken as a mother
tongue by a very large number of natives, belonging to tribes
differing greatly in racial characteristics, such as the Katsinawa
and Kebbawa* for instance, and in addition by an equally large,
if not larger number of natives, who speak some other language
as a mother tongue. To all these the native of West Africa
will apply the description of "Haussa." Many of the so-called
"Haussa" traders, for instance, are really Filanen Gidda, who
have a large admixture of the blood of Haussa-speaking tribes
or even of Yoruba or Nupe blood. The majority of " Haussa "
mallams are really very Filane. The same may be said of many
of what we term the " Haussa " troops. Many of the latter do
not speak Haussa as a mother tongue at all, but some pagan
language, and many have a very indifferent knowledge of
Haussa. A native will not, however, describe himself or another
as a " Haussa" unless he has a knowledge of the Haussa language.
So we may, I think, properly say that though the term "Haussa"
does not describe an African race, it does correctly describe
an African tongue. This tongue is Spoken by large numbers
of tribes in the neighbourhood of Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, Zaria,
and Bauchi as a mother tongue, and by a very large number
of Filane, Nupe, Yoruba, and hosts of other tribes, as an
alternative to their mother-tongue, and by a still greater number
of natives of all descriptions as a lingua franca. Haussa-speaking
natives are to be found all over Nigeria in great numbers and
even so far away as Tunis, Senegal, Cairo, and, of course, Mecca.

The spread of the Haussa language occurred before and

* The Kebbawa claim that they are the original Haussa-speaking
people from whom the other tribes acquired the language.

406 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

quite independently of any European influences, and may be
accounted for chiefly by the fact that it is in the first place
a very easy language to acquire, having a clear, concise, but simple
grammar, and a pronunciation which has little of the difficult
guttural, nasal, and ' clicking " sounds common to many
African dialects, so that to the native, excellent linguists as
a rule, it presents but very little difficulty in acquirement. Further
it is a very complete language, having an immense vocabulary
of its own, and terms admitting of the expression of a great
mass of abstract as well as concrete ideas. In addition it is
a language which readily admits of the introduction of foreign
terms. For these reasons Haussa has spread widely, and is
spreading, and for these reasons it is, in my opinion, expedient
that we should, in order to secure the enormous advantage of
a lingua franca and because the natives can acquire a native
language in about one-fiftieth of the time that it takes the most
expert European linguist to do so, do all we can to further its
adoption, instead of taking up, as has been done in some cases,
a Dame Partington-like attitude towards the ocean. .

Before considering the tribes which speak Haussa as a mother
tongue, it may be as well to mention that the term " Habe" has,
in some cases, been muddled up with the term ' Haussa."
The reason for this is that the Filanen Gidda of Kano and Sokoto,
when referring to those natives who have no Filane blood and
are pagans, such as the Maguzawa, for instance, habitually
refer to them as " Habe," and as in those Emirates such natives
are generally Haussa-speaking, it has sometimes been assumed
that ' Haussa " and ' Habe " are interchangeable terms.
This is not the case, however. The same Filane who in Kano
referred to the Magu/awa as " Habe," will in Bauchi refer
to such totally different tribes as the Kibyen and Sura by the
same term, ' Habe." The words " Haussa " and " Habe '
are not to be confused, therefore. But the word " Habe "
may be taken very generally to mean Pagan, though not always,
for a Filanen Gidda. will refer to a tribe as " Habe," adding,
'nevertheless they ' yi salla ' (pray in Muslim fashion).

When the Filane first began to filter through the neighbour-
hood of Sokoto and Kano they found in existence seven Haussa
states which they termed the "Haussa Bokoi " ( = seven), and
in addition seven more states which they termed the " Banza
Bokoi." The term ' Banza ' in the Haussa language means
" worthless " or " unreal," and it ib probable that the term referred
to seven sections which were not genuinely Haussa, but were pene-
trated by Haussa influences. The Haussa Bokoi were Kano, Rano,
Zeg-Zeg, Daura, Gobir, Katsina, Zamfara — some say that
Auyo* should be substituted for Gobir.

*Near Hadeija.

NOTES ON HAUSSA. •, 407.

The origin of these Haussa tribes is as uncertain as is that
of the Filane. As has been stated there is a considerable divergence
in many of the characteristics of the various tribes, yet on the other
hand there are certain similarities. Though the physical simi-
larities are more divergent than is the case with the various
sections of the Yoruba-speaking tribes, yet the divergence of
the various Haussa dialects spoken to-day is infinitely less than
that found in the Yoruba dialects.

The fact that the members of Haussa tribes (even after
making allowance for the comparatively recent, admixture of
Filane blood), though their hair is curly, do not possess the
distinctive facial angle of the true negro type, and that high-
domed foreheads and long straight limbs are the rule rather
than the exception among them, points to an intermixture of
other than negro blood before their arrival in these parts. The
same may be said of the Yoruba, though in their case the true
negro type is more pronounced. This may be due to their having
mixed more completely since their arrival with the original
negro population. It is not improbable, therefore, that the Haussas
and the Yorubas arrived in various waves of emigration from
the East, where alone they could have received an admixture
of blood which would account for their physical characteristics.
The Yorubas probably preceded the Haussas, being driven further
and further south by the arrival of fresh and more hardy bands
of emigrants, and themselves driving the original negroes before
them until they reached the sea. Whether the Haussa and
Yoruba languages came with them, or whether these languages,
like the undoubtedly non-Semitic language spoken by the Semitic
Filane, were originally spoken by an indigenous tribe is uncertain.

The very articulate and labial Haussa language one might
think was introduced, whereas the highly phonetic and nasal
language of the Yoruba is more reminiscent of the true negro.

The emigrations of the Haussa tribes must have occurred
in very remote times, many centuries before the advent of the
Filane. After having been thoroughly established these tribes
underwent various vicissitudes, conquering each other and being
conquered by others, such as the Songhai from the west and
the Jukon and Bornu tribes from the east. Finally they were
completely conquered, with the sole exceptions of Kebbi and
Abuja, by the Filane, who had peacefully penetrated their terri-
tories for many generations, probably centuries, in the first
decade of the nineteenth century. In these processes, and also
owing to the extensive adoption of Islam, the original customs
of the Haussa tribes have been so far intermingled, affected
by the adoption of other customs, or even abandoned, that it
is very difficult or even impossible to arrive at them. Judging
from the 'Leaders of Kano," (Umraun Kano), a manuscript
written by a Filane, probably not earlier than the last quarter

408 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

of the nineteenth century (translated by Mr. H. R. Palmer),
but which contains a mass of probably authentic information
handed down by oral tradition, the Haussa tribes brought with
them tree and serpent worship, this being common then to all
the tribes, and is still adhered to by some of the pagan Haussa,
such as the Maguzawa.

Though, as stated above, there is a yet considerable divergence
between the different sections of Haussa-speaking peoples,
yet they are not so marked as to permit of separate study in
such a work as this, nor would it be possible to enumerate the
multitudinous clans and " denge " into which they are divided,
which are more numerous than are even the sub-divisions of
the Filanen Gidda (q.v.).*

In general it may be said of the Haussa that he is a tall ,
powerful fellow with a dome-like forehead giving plenty of room
for brains ; the cast of the features is negroid and slightly prog-
nathous. He is in general an excellent farmer and rearer of
stock such as sheep, goats and fowls. Cattle, however, he rarely
keeps, but this may be due to the presence for many generations
of such experts as the Filane. Though distinctly an agriculturist
the Haussa shows great skill as an artisan and enterprise as
a trader. He makes a carrier of remarkable strength and en-
durance. He is capable of becoming a fearless and resourceful
soldier. As there is an intermixture of Filane blood, as very
commonly occurs (vide Filane), he is less inclined to labour in
the fields or act as a carrier, and his bulk diminishes. There
is no loss of stamina, however, rather the contrary, and his
enterprise and intelligence are increased. He develops, a quality
rare in true Haussa natives, a power of command and adminis-
trative capacity.

C.L.T.

* The notes which exist are indeed very scanty, and to publish them
would be merely misleading. It is to be hoped that it may be possible for
someone to collect detailed information regarding such tribes as the
Kebbawa, Katsinawa, Maguzawa, etc., at no distant date.

BASSA PROVINCE. *

AUTHORITY : Capt. F. Byng-Hall.

Bassa Province embraces an area of 6,485 square miles.

It is bounded on the north by the Benue and on the west by
the Niger Rivers, on the south by Southern Nigeria, and on the
east by Muri Province.

The greater part of the Province consists of a plateau,
situated some 1,200 feet above the sea, of iron-stone formation.
The country is undulating, the hills, of granite, iron-stone and
red sand-stone, not exceeding seven hundred feet in height.

Iron is universally found and gold is known at Ankpa, but
has not been worked. There is a now disused silver mine at
Amageddi ; and coal-shale at.Ojoku.

The climate is healthy, and more temperate than that of any
other Province in the Protectorate, the thermometer rarely
registering more than 90° F. The rainfall, however, is high, and
falls all through the year, the wettest months being August and
September.

Besides the rivers Niger and Benue, the Province is watered
by many streams, of which the Amara, a tributary of the Benue,
is alone navigable, though only for native canoes, and in the
height of the wet season. The main watershed is the Anambra
Creek, whence a stream of the same name finds an outlet near
Onitsha. Other rivers are the Ofu, Okura, and Mabara (or
Mabolo) , which flow in a southerly direction and feed the Niger—
and the Namoa, which flows into the Benue.

The vegetation is very luxurious, and the Province is one of
the richest in natural products. It used to be almost entirely
forest, and is now intersected by belts varying from two hundred
feet to two miles in width, where mahogany, rubber (tree and vine) ,
balsam, gum, ebony, shea, baobab, tamarind, and many kinds
of palm — including oil-palm, are found. Fibre-grass, limes,
bananas, paw-paws, plums, figs, small kola and bamboo are
cultivated and grow prolifically.

Large crops of yams, guinea-corn, maize, gero, Indian dal
(curry bean), pepper, tobacco, tomatoes, ground-nuts, besides
a small quantity of rice, and a great deal of the best cotton are

* Some alterations have been made in the boundaries of the Province
since this description was written .

410 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

produced. These are all exported, besides rubber, palm-kern
and oil, beniseed, beeswax, shea nuts, rama and wood-oil
(copaiba) .

It is noteworthy that though some eighteen rubber-yielding
trees, at least fifteen of which are indigenous, have been notified
from Northern Nigeria, the natives make no use of their rubber. It
is, however, exported to Europe, but the trade is insignificant,
and is not likely to increase greatly.

There are some eleven oil-yielding trees, of which the palm oil
and shea-butter tree are by far the most valuable. Both the oil
palm and the cocoanut palm yield oil suitable for culinary and
lighting purposes. An inferior oil for lighting may be obtained
from the seeds of the Balanites Aegyptiaca (H. Addua), and from
the seeds of the Ceiba pentandra (H. Rimi) , but this is seldom
done, and not generally known to the natives. Oil for cooking is
obtained from the fruit of the Atili or Itiri, from Butyrospermum
Parkii, from the beans of the Khaya Senegalensis (Madachi), and
from the trunk of the Para Daniella Olireri (Maje). Oil is obtained
from the Daniella Thurifera-copaiba (Kadaura) and is rubbed
on the person, the only purpose to which the oil of the castor-oil
plant is put.

There are a large number of trading stations in the Province,
at Ankpa, Oboju and Dekina, and at Amageddi, Bagana and1
Mozum on the River Benue, and at Itobe on the Niger.

Imports are trade-cloths, Haussa gowns, gunpowder,
cigarettes and beads, at well as quantities of horses, which are
imported from the north to be sold in the provincial markets
to the horse-eating Igbo of Southern Nigeria.

Transport is by canoe and inland by carrier, much of the
carrying work being done by the women of the Bassa-Komo tribe.

The riverain peoples are largely employed in canoeing and
fishing, others are engaged in the production of rubber, and
others are potters, weavers, dyers, carvers, grass-pi aiters and
smiths, both blacksmiths and gunsmiths. Dane-guns are in use
throughout the Province.

The population consists of ten tribes, vide list, and some
Haussas, who have migrated to the country. It numbers in all
some 199,377. The tribes are all pagan, but Muhammadanism
is penetrating.

This Province was first occupied by the British in 1901,
and a series of military expeditions ensued for the next few years.
In 1912, the various tribes, who found no cohesion amongst
their own Chiefs, were placed under the authority of alien district
heads, who were chosen from the reigning family of Kanawa—
each residing in his own district. Taxation is levied through the
village heads, who are responsible to the district heads.

The Province has been divided into three administrative
Divisions.

BASSA PROVINCE. 411

1. Dekina Division, consisting of the Districts of Bassa-
Komo, Dekina, and Ogumi.

2. Ankpa Division, consisting of the districts of Abaji-Koro
and Ankpa.

3. Boju division, consisting of the districts of Idoma, Ojoku,
and Agatn. Divisional Headquarters Bopo.

The Church Missionary 'Society have stations at Gbebe
(amongst the Igbira), Akabe and Kpoto, where native gentlemen
are in charge.

There are Government Schools for the sons of pagan Chiefs,
both at Dekina and at Ankpa.

At Dekina there are thirty-six pupils who can write Haussa
and Igara in Ajimi characters — and about forty at Ankpa. The
former has eighteen acres of land, 'the latter fourteen, where
local products are cultivated ; and the pupils are also instructed
in sanitation and building.

Coins and brass rods form the usual currency, especially in the
Eastern Division.

Tribes inhabiting Bassa Province.

1. Agatu (a nickname for a medley of peoples), population
13,991 in the Eastern Division, 441 in Muri, and 1,500 in Nas-
sarawa Emirate.

2. Ayu, a few only, and 1,822 in Jemaa Emirate.

3. Bassa Komo, population 12,064 in the Western Division,
and 47,400 Bassa in Nassarawa Province, besides a considerable
number in Niger and Kontagora Provinces, and in Kabba.

4. Bunu, some 6,142 of whom are to be found in Kabba
Province.

5. Idoma, population 37,330 in the Eastern Division.

6. Igara and Okpoto, population 98,223 in the Western
Division.

7. Igbira, population 8,553 in the Western Division, and
24,374 in Kabba Province, 4,728 in Nassarawa Emirate, and
7,117 in Koton Karifi.

8. Kakanda, who number some 1,793 in Kabba, 41 in
Nassarawa Provinces, and 4,500 in Lapai Emirate.

9. Nge, population 12,441 in the Western Division and in
Kabba Province.

10. Ogugu population 12,815 in the Eastern Division.

11. Okpoto — see Igara.

BAUCHI PROVINCE.

Bauchi Province contains about 23,681 square miles.

To the north it is bounded by Kano, Katagum, and Bornu
Provinces ; to the east by Bornu ; to the south by Yola and
Muri ; and to the west by Zaria and Nassarawa Provinces.

Considerable ranges of hills are situated in Bauchi Province,
amongst the principal of which are Gura, Kwandonkaya, the
Shere (6,500) and Maigemu in the centre ; part of the Ningi Hills
in the north ; part of the Kanam Hills and a portion of the
Murchison range in the south, and in the south-east the Tangale
Hills.

The rock is of plutonic origin and is composed of granite,
with occasional patches of hematite ironstone (Kantana, Kibyen
plateau, etc.). Near Nafada there is a large outcrop of limestone
(cretaceous). The Gombe low plateau, lying in the loop of the
Gongola, is chiefly sandstone, with a substratum of felspathic
rocks, frequently degenerated, and forming an excellent white
China clay (Kaolin), oi which there is a large outcrop in the
cliffs near Kirifi.

In the extreme south of the Province at Kereng, in the Sura
District, there are eruptive rocks (lava scorice, etc.), and several
well-defined volcanic cones.

Iron has long been extracted by the native from hematite
ore in rude smelting furnaces.

Important tin-fields occur round Naraguta, Jos, Ngell, on
and round the edge of the Kibyen plateau.

These mountains give rise to one of the principal watersheds
of the Protectorate. On the Kibyen plateau (4,200 ft.) rises
the Delimi, which flows north past Ningi and Katagum to the
River Yo, and so to Lake Chad; the Kwoll, which flows into the
Kaduna; the Jarawan Kogi which flows north till it joins the
Bajel, which in turn joins the Kogin Leri, and so into the Gongola.
The Gongola itself rises in the southern part of the Kibyen
plateau and flows into the Benue. It is navigable to a point
thirty miles east of Bauchi, where a cataract, falling down a narrow
gorge, obstructs further passage. Swampy ground exists on its
banks to the north of the Tangale group, to the south of the
Kanam hills, and on the eastern border of the Bauchi Emirate.
Most of the marshes harbour tsetse fly.

Owing to the relatively high altitude, which may be roughly
taken as between 1,000 and 4,000 ft., the rainfall is greater

BAUCHI PROVINCE. 413

than in the neighbouring provinces. At Naraguta the average
is some fifty-four inches per annum — July and September being
the rainiest months. There is a well-defined dry season lasting
from the middle of October to the middle of May.

The climate of many parts of the province, especially to
the west, is temperate and healthy. Here, on the high ground,
the thermometer sometimes falls to freezing point in November
and December, while the maximum temperature in the hot months
of February and March is rarely more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

In many parts of the province the land is very fertile and
the valleys especially rich, but to the east the somewhat waterless
plains of Gombe are covered with coarse grass and scrub.

The characteristic vegetation of the country is low scrub
growing amongst tough grasses; sometimes the latter are very
tall and rich. Large trees, such as the copaiba and vegetable
silk (kuka) sometimes occur, and in the towns the tamarind
and Ficus Syringifolia H. Durmi. On the whole, fine timber is
not a feature of the country. Bamboos grow in the hilly districts,
whilst in the valleys groves of the graceful fan palm are frequent.
The fruit of this palm has saved many a native from starvation
in bad seasons, and their stems, being exempt from the attacks
of white ants, are useful for building purposes.

The pagans in the province are great agriculturists and make
extensive farms. Their principal crops are acha (millet), tamba
(millet), sweet potato, rice (a little), guinea-corn (in small
quantities), gero (millet), maiwa (millet), cassava, gedda
(ground nut), gujiya (a ground nut), a great deal of gwaza
(colocasia esculenta), onions, yams, beans, maize, and a
little cotton and tobacco.

The Filane also have farms, but they are notably inferior
to the pagan farms. They plant chiefly guinea-corn, gero,
tobacco and cotton.

Stock-rearing is extensively practised, and it is estimated
that there are some 40,000 cattle in the province. Few horses
and donkeys are bred in the province, being mostly imported.

There are trading establishments at Bauchi, Naraguta,
Jos and Nafada. Trade is carried on with the Kamerun, Bornu,
Kano, Muri and other native states, in addition to Lagos.

Ostrich feathers, tanned and raw skins, bees-wax, gum
arabic, gutta-percha, pepper, native mats, (to Kano) cattle,
(to Yola) tsamia silk, (to Kano) ground-nuts, (to Kano) raw cow-
hide. Of these the skins, feathers, gutta-percha and gum are largely
introduced from Bornu for re-exportation. Of the silk-cocoon cater-
pillars that known in Haussa as tsamian tsamia, produces the
whitest silk . The cocoons are gathered and boiled in water , in which
woodashes have been steeped, after which the silk is washed. The
worms flourish in the north, more especially in the Ningi vicinage,
but though the tsamia (tamarind) tree occurs in the south, the

414 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

silk worm is not to be found. The tsamian doka (Anaphe Moloneyi)
spins a less white and glossy silk. The larvae hatch out early
in the rainy season, and the cocoons are gathered at the end
of the wet season. It is reckoned that an average web contains
100 to 150 cocoons. As the name denotes, these worms feed
off the farin doka tree (Berlinia paniculata), which is of common
growth in Bauchi and Gombe.

Salt (European and native), natron from Bornu, kola,
gowns, cloth from Lagos, corn (for the mining population).
Kano manufactures are imported.

The industries of the province comprise those of carrier,
dyer, weaver, cloth-beater, tailor, tanner, leather-worker, broker,
blacksmith, butcher, builder, barber, musician.

The game animals of the province are elephant, rhinoceros,
giraffe, buffalo, roan antelope, water buck, reed buck, harte-
beeste, red-fronted gazelle, kob, duiker, lion, leopard. The
larger animals are not to be found readily. The game-birds
include guinea-fowl, partridge, sand-grouse, bustard, snipe,
duck, goose and pigeon. There is a game reserve, the three
miles radius of which centres on the post-office at Naraguta.

Transport is mainly by carrier. Donkeys and oxen are
occasionally used, the former from Kano, the latter from Bornu.
There is canoe transport up the Gongola as far as Baddera, and
for a short period in the year it is open to Small steam vessels.
A branch railway has been constructed from Zaria as far as
Bukuru. There are a number of good roads in the province,
especially in the neighbourhood of the tin-fields.

Little is known of the history of the province prior to the
conquests of Yakubu, first Emir of Bauchi,* in 1792 A.D. At
that time, however, there were a considerable number of Muham-
madans in the province, which enjoyed a certain civilisation.

It may be said to have been divided at that time into five
distinct governing centres, with dependent tribes owning their
suzerainty. The chief of these was at (i) Gandjua (Gerumawa),
to which the Denawa and Gerawa were subject ; (2) Leri (Zegi-
zegi), whose Chief had conquered the Seiyawa ; (3) Mar, a settle-
ment of Kanawa, who had reduced the Mbotuwa, together with
most of the Ningi neighbourhood, to subjection ; (4) Miri (Geru-
mawa), with his Mbarawa and Dumawa dependents and (5)
Tarkunya, a settlement of Gobirawa, who had gained ascendancy
over a certain number of tribes. All these were well-established
centres of Government, where Chiefs lived in considerable state
in walled towns, having slaves and cattle, and armies with mounted
men, cotton armour, shields and spears. In fact there is every
reason to suppose that the administration at their command
was similar to that of the present Filane Emirs, who can have

* N.B. — Vide Emirate.

BAUCHI PROVINCE. 415

added but little to the system in existence at the time of the
great Jihad.

Haussa was probably even then the lingua franca — and a
few Mallamai, with a knowledge of Arabic acquired in Bornu,
lived scattered amongst the people.

In a total population of some 755,357 there exist a very
large number of tribes in Bauchi Province. Many of the no
tribes enumerated below speak a different language. Though
some may be found to have racial affinities, the divergence is
so great that a native of one tribe will learn the tongue of another
as a foreign language.

The peoples inhabiting Bauchi may, roughly speaking,
be divided into the seven following sections :—

I. The Nomad Filane (Borroro), a wandering, pastoral people,
who, though they often have farms, leave their slaves to cultivate
them, while they wander about pasturing their herds. Some
are Muhammadan, but probably the larger number are pagan.
They are of pure descent, having kept themselves free from
intermarriage with other peoples.

II. The Settled Filane (Filane Gidda) are agriculturists,
though they also have flocks and herds. They live in walled
towns or hamlets and form the ruling and official class. The
native administration of the Emirates is for the most part in
their hands. They are Muhammadan. Though Filane by
name, intermarriage with pagan slaves has degenerated the
original stock. They ?.re scattered all over the province. They
are well armed, horsemen and footmen, with spears, bows
and arrows, iron and quilted cotton armour.

III. The Plain Pagans, conquered by the Filane, under whose
yoke they still live. They inhabit villages at the base of hills,
or walled towns in the open plains. They are not mounted and
are armed with bows and arrows. There are some twenty-six
of these tribes in the province.

IV. The Hill Pagans, partly conquered by the Filane, but
many of whom retained their independence or have thrown
off the yoke. They live in scattered hamlets in inaccessible
places in the hills. They are armed with bows and arrows.
There are some twenty-seven of these tribes in the province.

V. The Mounted Pagans, of whom there are but four principal
tribes, are confined to the south-west corner of the province.
They live in well-defined communities, in the vicinity of low
granite hills. Their compounds and towns are surrounded with
thick cactus hedges. These pagans are essentially horsemen,
and although some have bows and arrows, they rely on the charges
of their mounted spearmen. They are a naked people. They
all wear a straw cap on the penis.

416 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

VI. The Kanawa, emigrants from Kano, who, as wandering
traders, have scattered themselves in small communities amongst
the Filanen Gidda.

VII. The Kanuri (Beriberi) have many settlements in large
walled towns in the eastern part of Bauchi Emirate. A large
number have intermarried with Filane.

In addition to these permanent inhabitants there is an
appreciable floating native population on the mines.

The population of the immigrant Haussa settlements in the
Naraguta Division was 2,250.

The two great Emirates of Bauchi and Gombe occupy two-
thirds of the province, the remaining third being occupied
by independent tribes.

For purposes of administration the province is divided into
three divisions :—

1. The Bauchi Division contains an area of 12,575 square
miles and a population of 324,913.* It includes :—

(a) Bauchi Emirate, area 10,175, population 478,144.

(b) The Independent State of Dass, area 180, population

10,301.

(c) The Independent State of Ningi, area 700, population

9>535-

(d) The Independent State of Ari, area 210, population 9,352.

(e) The Independent State of Burra, area 720, population

7,582.
(/) The Independent State of Warji, area 160, population

12,623.
Bauchi town is the seat of the provincial headquarters.

2. The Naraguta Division contains an area of 5,046 square
miles and a population of 206,504, which includes 1,000 Europeans
and other non-natives, and a floating mining population of 11,000.

The division is inhabited by independent pagan tribes, some
of whom are grouped under the state of Kanam-Duguri, which
has an area of 2,100 square miles and a population of 27,366.
Other pagan Chiefs holding fourth and fifth grade staves of
office respectively are Sarkin Hill-Angas and Kwall, the former
including under his jurisdiction the Yergum, Tal, Chip and Pai
groups. The Muhammadan settlements are under Sarkin Bunu,
fourth grade. Political officers are quartered at Bukuru and
Pankshin, and occasionally at Bokkos.

3. The Gombe Division contains an area of 6,060 square
miles, with a population of 223,940. It comprises :—

(a) Gombe Emirate, area 5,114, population 159,831.

(b) Independent State of Tula (including Dadia), area 284,
population 24,155.

* The figures of areas and populations are not accurate in every case
owing to the re adjustment of boundaries.

J

BAUCHI PROVINCE 417

(c) Independent State of Ture, area 166, population 15,880.

(d) Independent state of Tangalto (including Pero) area
400, population 23,394.

(e) Independent State of Chum, area 120, population 7,409.
In these pagan states the heads of Muhammadan settlements
hold fourth grade staves of office.

Nafada is the seat of the Emirate and of the divisional head-
quarters.

The Church Missionary Society have established two stations
at Panyam (1907), and at Kabirfigio), where a medical mission-
ary is stationed — the Sudan United Mission (medical mission),
at Du, Bukuru and Forum (1907), (Burrum pagans), and the
Sudan Interior Mission at Miango (1913), (medical mission).

BAUCHI EMIRATE.

Bauchi Emirate, first grade, comprises an area of 10,175
square miles, with a population of 478,144 (see tribes of Bauchi
Province). It lies chiefly to the west of the Gongola River,
being bounded on the east by the Emirate of Gombe, on the
north by independent pagan states in the Ningi hills, on the
west by Zaria Province, on the south-west by the independent
Hill-Jarawa and Sura, on the south by the Kanam and Duguri
Jarawa states. For the most part it is exceptionally hilly and
rugged, though fertile valleys occur.

The principal towns are Bauchi, a walled city, with a cir-
cumference of six and a half miles and a population of 9,466,
Pali, Mbarra and Darazo.

Gum, silk, pepper, gutta-percha, bees- wax, ostrich feathers,
native mats and cattle form the principal articles of export.

There are 1,430 Muhammadan schools in the Emirate, the
number of pupils (male and female), approximating 11,440,
showing an average attendance of eight per school.

Yakubu, first Emir of Bauchi, was not a Filane, but of
Gerawa parentage — born in 1753. As a boy of eighteen he was
sent to study under Othman dan Fodio, the founder of the
Filane dynasty, who was then living quietly in the neighbourhood
of Sokoto, occupied in religious exercises.

The story of how he came to go to Sokoto is thus described
by Mallam Mustafa, tutor to the sons of Yakubu. He first
relates how a great and wise man, Mallam Isiaku, came from
Bornu to reside at Jetar, close to Tiruwein, where a certain man
called Dadi was his friend and well-beloved. One day " Dadi "
said to his friend Mallam Isiaku, ' This my son is the coolness
of my eyelids, my love for him is fixed in the circle of my heart,
but I have many children besides him. I desire that Allah may
bless him, wheresoever he may be. I give him to thee, thou
DD

418 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

shall be his father and Mallam, he will be to thee both son and
pupil, and he shall render to thee such service as he has been
accustomed to give his father. Guard thou him as a father is
a protection to his^son, so that he may obtain a blessing from
thee. Whatsoever work that thou desirest to be done thee,
appoint him the task." On whatever journey Mallam Isiaku
went, Yakubu was with him and carried the Mallam's book.

They heard of Othman dan Fodio, and Isiaku went to him at
Degel, where for seven years he remained as his pupil. After
this time Isiaku returned to his home, but left Yakubu to the
great Mallam.

Yakubu lived with the Shehu till 1792, gaining his confidence
in an unusual degree by the assistance he rendered him in the
first fights of the Jihad.

He was then sent to his country to see which Filane would
follow his standard in the holy war. His own family, the Gerawa
refused him, but many others collected together and followed
him to the Shehu. Othman dan Fodio added other Mallams,
including the writer of this history, to the number. He gave
to them a flag, and it is a marked proof of the Shehu's esteem
that Yakubu was the only man who was not of Filane extraction
to receive one of the twelve flags from the hands of the Shehu,
with the command to conquer Haussaland. Yakubu, in obedience
to the Shehu's orders, returned to his native town of Truin, and
commenced what proved to be a most successful jihad. In
the space of eight years he subdued the whole country within a
wide radius — penetrating as far as the rivers Benue and Gongola,
the Wurkun Hills, Lafia Beri-beri and Leri. He also assisted
the Emir of Kano against the Bornuese, and presently conquered
Messau, which he handed over to his ally. In 1809 he laid the
foundations of the town of Bauchi, and there he lived until
his death at the ripe age of eighty. Throughout the forty years
that he had ruled as Emir, one tribe alone revolted against
his authority — strong testimony to the wisdom and justice
of his rule. In the reign of his son, Ibrahima, however, Ningi,
Dass, and Duguri threw off the Filane yoke, and the unlucky
Emir abdicated in favour of his son. He, however, had his
authority disputed by an uncle, but introducing foreign troops
from Messau, defeated him after a sanguinary combat at Bauchi,
where whole quarters of the town were ruined. He was himself
deposed by the Sarkin Musulmi. His successor, Umaru, was
no more fortunate, and in his reign many tribes regained their
independence. At this time the celebrated fanatic, Mallam
Jibirila, raised the standard of defiance in Gombe and laid waste
the neighbouring country, successfully withstanding the com-
bined forces of Hadeija, Messau, Katagum and Bauchi. The
Emir of Bauchi, already hated for his cruelty and extortions,
now attempted to levy slaves from the Muhammadan population

BAUCHI PROVINCE. 419

of Gorum, and on their refusing to submit punished them by
wholesale massacre. To the relief of the pagan and Filane
subjects, his reign was now brought to an end by the advent of
the British, who in 1902 deposed him and appointed another
grandson of Yakubu's in his stead. This Chief was destined
to reign but a short time, for, during the temporary absence of
the British from Bauchi, he died suddenly. His successor,
Hassan, sixth Emir of Bauchi, also a grandson of Yakubu,
reigned till 1908, when he died of heart disease and was succeeded
by Yakubu.

BAUCHI GENEALOGY.

Yakubu (1) circ. 1793 A.D.

Ibrahima (2) Salmanu A son Mamudu

{ circ. 1833. [ |

(he abdicated) | |

Usuman (3) Umaru (4) Mahamadu) (5) Hassan (6)

1869. 1875 1902 1903
(deposed by deposed by
S. Sokoto) British

GOMBE EMIRATE.

Gombe Emirate (second grade) comprises an area of 5,114
square miles, with a population of 159,831. Something approach-
ing one fifth of these are Filane — theBolewa, Terawa and Beri-beri
are, as in order mentioned, the next most important tribes—
numerically speaking. (Vide ' Tribes, Bauchi Province.")
The Emirate lies in the great bend of the Gongola River, which
bounds it north and east, while on the west it marches with the
Bauchi Emirate and to the south abuts on the Tangale Hills.
The area is mostly a flat low sandstone plateau, lacking in water,
most of the population living near the Gongola River.

For purposes of administration the Emirate is divided
into four districts, Gombe, Nafada, Ako and Dukul.

The Emirate and divisional headquarters have been moved
from Gombe to Nafada (population 7,000), on the Gongola
River, which is navigable as far as Nafada from July to October
for barges, from early June to end of October for canoes. Steam
craft have reached Gombe, but the passage is dangerous. Other
big towns are Duku, Tongo, Gadam, and Debba Habe.

There are 490 Muhammadan schools in the Emirate, the
number of pupils approximating 6,370, showing an average
attendance of ten males and three females.

The principal exports are gum arabic, gutta-percha, tamarind
silk, tobacco, hides, feathers (ostrich), red skins.

420 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The principal imports are cloths, salt, potash, and horses.

Some trade is also done in cotton and saddlery.

Buba Yero, the first Emir of Gombe, was by birth a Filane
of the Tara clan, who came from Dilara. His father sent him
to Kukawa to study, but he was captured by the Kerre-Kerre
on the way thither, and spent three years as a slave at Potiskum,
On obtaining his liberty he journeyed to Sokoto and spent his
early years in study under Othman dan Fodio. When the Jihad
commenced he took part in the capture of Zanfara and was
given a flag, authorising a Jihad amongst the pagan states, the
Sarkin Musulmi, giving him precedence over Bauchi, Katagum,
Katsina, Zau-Zau, Zanfara and Hadeija.

He first conquered the people of Gulani, the Babur, Kanakuru
and Tera of Gwani and Deba Habe, on the left of the Gongola.
Then crossing the river he came to Ribadu, where the Bole
welcomed him. He made this the base for his operations during
the next sixteen years,

He did not move against Biri and Kalam, probably in the hope
that their Bole inhabitants would come in under him.

This campaign was concurrent with that waged by his powerful
neighbour, Yakubu, Emir of Bauchi, with whom he came into
conflict at Beri-beri where he was defeated. Yakubu refused
to allow him to extend his dominion west of the Gongola. Buba
Yero, therefore, extended his conquests to the River Benue
and deputed a lieutenant to rule over Muri town and the southern
dominions as his vassal. This lieutenant was, however, subse-
quently killed by Buba Yero for failing to render obedience,
but his son and successor succeeded in throwing off the yoke
of Gombe. To the east of the Gongola, Buba Yero subdued
the country as far as Adamawa, and then turned his attention
to the north. It is related that he made a joint campaign with
Messau, resulting in the capture of Birnin Bornu. In after
years the Emirs of Gombe and Messau were constant allies. After
this he moved to Nafada, and undertook the pacification of
the Fika Bole, but met with considerable opposition. Kalam
was broken later.

In 1824 he made his camp at a Filane settlement, where
he founded Gombe town, and he lived to enjoy the fruits of
his conquests till the mature age of seventy-nine. However,
a large number of pagans subsequently revolted and successfully
threw off the Filane yoke.

Buba Yero's son succeeded to the Emirate and reigned for
forty years. He in turn was succeeded by his four sons, whose
successive reigns were harassed by the revolt led by one Mallam
Jibrilla. This man came from Katagum in 1888, and obtained
leave from the Emir to settle on a farm near Burmi. He shortly
began working miracles for the edification of the simple natives.
He contrived to make them believe that he could pull out his

BAUCHI PROVINCE. 421

tongue and bind it round his head turban-wise. Also that a
goat-skin on which he was sitting would defy the laws of gravity
and support him in mid-air. Having thus obtained a following,
Jibrilla revolted against the Emir, and from this time commenced
a series of raids, successfully defeating a Filane army composed
of contingents from Bauchi, Gombe, Katagum and Hadeija.
At one time he crossed the Gongola to the east and joined forces
with Rabeh, the self-made King of Bornu. It was not till the
advent of the British that Jibrilla met his first defeat, at the
hands of an expedition led by Colonel Morland in March, 1902,
when he was captured and carried prisoner to Lokoja.

The town of Burmi was again the scene of a fanatical rising
in 1903, led by the fugitive Sarkin Musulmi (Attahiru), 'and
the Emirs of Bida and Messau. They were, however, defeated
by the W.A.F.F., under the command of Major Marsh, who
was himself killed by a poisoned arrow. The Sarkin Musulmi
was killed, the Emir of Bida captured, and the Sarkin Messau
escaped. The town was razed to the ground, and its future
occupation forbidden.

The present Emir, Omaru, was in dire straits when the
arrival of the British Administration and the overthrow of
Jibrilla restored to him the territories occupied by his grand-
father, Buba Yero.

Prior to British occupation taxes were levied in Gombe
on : (i) Zakka, a tenth of all cereals ; (2) Kurdin Kassa, 1,200
cowries on all strangers; (3) Kurdin Ran, 1,200 cowries on
cassava, sweet potato and onion plantations ; (4) Kurdin Korofi,
1,200 cowries per dye-pit ; (5) Kurdin Saka, 1,200 cowries on
all weavers ; (6) Jangali, 1,200 cowries on all cattle.

Industrial taxes were the perquisites of and were paid to
the following :

(a) Blacksmiths and iron-smelters to the Sarki.

(b) Tailors to Kita (Sarkin Dinki.)

(c) Weavers and cloth-beaters to Sarkin Fada.

(d) Butchers to Ajia.

Arbitrary levies, Kurdin Sarota and Kurdin Gaisua, were taken
from the pagans.

The title of Yerima is given throughout the Emirate to the
heirs of the Sarota and to the Emir.

GOMBE GENEALOGY.

(1) Buba Yero. 1803-1841 A.D.

I

(2) Koiranga. 1841-1881 A.D.

(3) Abdul Kadiri (4) Hassan (5) Tukkur (0) Omaru 1901.

1881-1888 A.D. 18881894.

422 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

DASS.

The Independent State of Dass, a hill district to the south-
west of Bauchi, contains an area of 180 square miles and a popu-
lation of some 8,885 • The Bankalawa and Jarawa are the principal
inhabitants. It is said that the Barawa Seiyawa were among
the original settlers.

The district is very hilly, sharp rocks and pinnacles being
the feature of the landscape. The land is watered by the Rafin
Kamel and mountain streams. Townships are built on the
slopes of the hills and in the valleys. The usual crops are grown,
but for local use only. There are no markets in Dass, nor is
any trade carried on outside the district.

For administrative purposes it is divided into nine districts,
under head-men responsible to a Chief, Sarkin Bununu (fourth
grade staff), who is himself responsible to the British Resident.
It is m the Bauchi administrative division.

According to tradition a Sarkin Kano raided the country
in the middle of the eleventh century, fighting a great battle
in the Dass District, when he defeated the powerful Jarawa
inhabitants. The name of ' Bununu," signifying ' a crowd,"
was given to it by the Kano Chief on seeing the multitude of its
inhabitants. The invaders withdrew in due course, and we
hear nothing more till the nineteenth century, when Yakubu,
the first Emir of Bauchi, conquered the district and received
small presents in tribute. The inhabitants of the hills, Barawa
and Bankalawa— offshoots of the Seiyawa and Jarawa — now
received strong reinforcements from the plain Jarawa who
fled from the Filane yoke. In the reign of Yakubu's son they
revolted, and, despite fitful raids made on them by the Filane,
from that time onwards preserved their independence. They
tendered submission to the British in 1902 and were first assessed
in 1905, paying their taxes in cash in 1906.

NINGI, INDEPENDENT STATE.

AUTHORITY : Mr. S. M. Grier.

The Independent State of Ningi, fourth grade, in the north
of Bauchi Province, comprises an area of 700 square miles, and
contains a population of 9,535, some two-thirds of whom are
Muslims, one third pagans. Many of these are Kanawa — the
Kudawa being the only other considerable inhabitants. Smaller
tribes are the Ningawa, Afawa, and Mbutawa.

It is ruled by a Muhammadan Chief directly responsible
to the British Resident — and forms an administrative district

BAUCHI PROVINCE. 423

in the Bauchi Division. The natives give the title of Mallam,
not Sarki, to the rulers of Ningi.

In about 1837, a certain Mallam, Hamza by name, came
from Kano to Mara and obtained the leave of the Sarkin Mara,
against the Emir of Bauchi's advice, to settle in his kingdom.
He was surrounded by a group of discontented Mallamai, like
himself from Kano. In a short time they revolted and defeated
the neighbouring Chief of Mara, but the Emir immediately
moved against them and defeated and slew Hamza. The sur-
vivors fled to Ningi, and, under the leadership of Dan Maji,
successfully resisted the attacks of the Emir for seven years,
when the attempt to conquer them was given up. Dan Maji
then took the aggressive and reduced to submission the neighbour-
ing communities of Ari, Burra, and Warji. In the reign of
his son their raids were carried as far as Gaiya in Kano — Zaria—
and distant towns in Bauchi. He was succeeded by his brother,
Gajigi, then by Dan Yaya, who successfully repelled the attacks
of the Emir of Kano, but who, not content with extending his
raids, committed intolerable atrocities amongst his own people.
He had become a veritable terror in the neighbourhood, and,
on the arrival of the British in 1902, a force was sent against him.
Little opposition was met with and Dan Yaya fled, but was
killed by his Butawa subjects. Mamuda was appointed Sarki,
but trouble occurred with Ari and he was deposed in 1904. In
1905 he was, however, re-appointed over the reduced area of
Ningi itself, but finally deposed in 1914. The council of electors
recommended Awudu, a Government political agent at Bauchi,
as their headman. He is of a recognised Kano family, and his
appointment has been confirmed.

The northern part of the district is well watered and fertile,
and there are large numbers of cattle on the border.

There is a great stretch of uninhabited bush north and south
of the Ningi range of hills, due to the raids of the Ningi people
in former years, which forms a natural game reserve.

ARI.

AUTHORITY : Mr. S. M. Grier.*

The Independent State of Ari, fourth grade, comprises an
area of 210 square miles, and has a pagan population of 9,352—
the principal tribe being Paawa or Afawa.

It is ruled by Burungu, an Afawa , pagan Chief, directly
responsible to the British Resident, and forms an administrative
district in the north of the Bauchi Division.

* For historical notes see Ningi.

424 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

In Ari begins the big range of hills which formed the strong-
hold of the Ningi raiders. The country is fertile, but the average
yield of grain per man is one quarter less than that in Warji,
i.e., 2,400 Ibs. It supports large numbers of sheep and goats.
The towns are compact, encircled by walls, and situated at
the base of the hills.

BURRA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. S. M. Grier.*

The independent State of Burra, fourth grade, comprises
an area of 720 square miles in the north of Bauchi Province.

It is situated in the western part of the Ningi hills.

Its population are pagan, but the Chief, a direct descendant
of the original ruling family, and a sprinkling of his people, profess
Muhammadanism. They mainly consist of Butawa, and number
some 7,582.

The soil is fertile in the plains, but poor in the neighbourhood
of the hills, whence the Butawa are only just commencing to
move. They do not own cattle and only small numbers of
sheep and goats. The average production of guinea-corn is
2,000 Ibs. per man.

There are tin mining camps in the district.

WARJI.

AUTHORITY : Mr. S. M. Grier."

The independent State of Warji, fourth grade, situal
in the north of Bauchi Province, comprises an area of 160 square
miles — with a pagan population (Warjawa) of 15,000. The
Chief is, however, Muhammadan.

The district is fertile and is well watered by the Delimi river.
There is good pasturage and the people own great numbers
of goats and sheep, besides some cattle and mares. The Borroro
Filane pasture their heads here throughout the year.

A large quantity of guinea-corn is grown, averaging, at a
low estimate, 3,200 Ibs. (unthreshed) , per man. Ground nuts
and cotton are also cultivated.

Compounds are scattered amongst the farms.
* For historical notes see Ningi.

BAUCHI PROVINCE. 425

KANAM.

AUTHORITY : Major F. Edgar.

The Independent State of Kanam has an area of some 2,100
square miles (including Duguri), and is populated mainly by
Jarawa.

It is situated in the south of Bauchi Province, Naraguta
Division. Sarkin Kanam has a third grade stave of office:

The western part of the district consists of broken, rugged
country, intersected by deep water-courses, whence water can
be obtained throughout the dry season by digging to the depth
of a few inches. The valleys are very fertile and in the eastern
part of the district, where there are no hills, the soil is rich, and
there are large areas of uninhabited and thickly- wooded land.
The country is well watered, and the River Gaji, which never
dries up, is only fordable in two or three places even at the height
of the dry season. The water is black in colour and both it
and the grass in its vicinage are said to be poisonous to horses,
cattle and sheep, but innocuous to human beings and goats.
Within half a mile of this river a hot sulphurous spring emerges
from beneath a huge rock ; its temperature is a hundred degrees
Fahrenheit, and the water is said to have healing properties
for wounds, and to bring 'boils quickly to a head.

The people are exclusively agricultural, five householders
only devoting themselves to industrial occupations. Considerable
herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats are kept, besides
horses, though tsetse abound in certain valleys, notably that
of the river Gaji.

Crops are grown for local requirements only. Manure is not
extensively used, though sheep and goats are turned out on
the land throughout the dry season. The land is allowed to
lie fallow for five years.

The population is 1,700, about, consisting of Guruntumawa
and Burmawa, with a few Filane, Beriberi and Jukon.

Kanam was founded by one, Maki, the son of a former Emir
of Kano, who was ordered to leave that city on the accession
of Kumbari as Sarkin Kano (1731-1743 A.D.). He travelled
with his family as far as Bauchi, but on hearing that Kumbari
was sending after him to seize him, he fled to Yam, an inaccessible
fastness in the Kanam District, where he was well received by
the Habe inhabitants, the Burmawa. The following year,
whilst out hunting, he came upon the present site of Kanam,
where he determined to found a town, brought all his people
there and was joined by many Burmawa, who agreed that he
should become Sarki over the whole District, and each farmer
paid him one bundle of guinea-corn as Zakka.

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

He was succeeded on his death by his son, and little of note
occurred until the reign of Shingem, about the year 1801-1814,
when Yakubu, first Emir of Bauchi, in the seventh or eighth
year of his reign, conquered the Burmawa towns of Gyambar
and Gwamlar, the rest of the tribe making submission to him.

In the twelfth year of Ibrahimu's reign, circ. 1845, the whole
district rose under the Kanam Chief, Pyakpan. They were
completely successful, and though the Filane occasionally suc-
ceeded in burning a village here and there, they were invariably
beaten and driven out of the country.

The present Chief, Umaru, has reigned since 1892, and is
a third-class Chief. He has made his headquarters at Kunkyam
since 1902. Kunkyam is on the main trade route between
Bauchi and Wasai, and was founded some four hundred years
ago by a Ba-Jari, whose descendants have been Chiefs ever
since. The population are, however, Burmawa.

By tribal law all land is vested in the head Chief as trustee
for the people. A man desiring to farm applies to the village
head-man, who allots him land with the consent of the village
Chief. The sale of land is unknown. The farmer used to pay
a yearly rent of one bundle of guinea-corn, irrespective of the
size of his farm, but this payment has been done away with
for some years. It used to be paid to the village headman, who
passed on the larger share to the Sarkin Kanam. A man is
only allowed as much land as he and his family can cultivate.
He cannot sell or sub-let it. If the farm is not properly cultivated,
it can be taken from him and given to another.

On a man's death, his sons inherit the farm. The daughters
have no share. Should the farm be a small one, the eldest son
inherits the whole of it. If the farm is large, the eldest son takes
the largest share, and the other sons divide the remainder.
If there are two farms the eldest son takes the larger one and the
other is divided amongst the remaining sons. If there is no son
the farm is inherited by a brother. If the owner dies without
heirs, or removes from the village, his farm reverts to the Sarki.
A fruit tree on a farm belongs to the occupant of the land.

DUGURI.

AUTHORITY : Major F. Edgar.

Duguri is a Jarawa State lying between Bauchi and Kanam
It resembles the latter in all physical characteristics.

The sarautaship of Duguri was held by Ningi men, who
settled at Duguri near the present town of Yuli. The history
of the district is similar to that of Kanam.

BAUCHI PROVINCE. 427

In the reign of Batasma, Yakubu, of Bauchi, conquered
Duguri, and exacted gandu of a male and female slave from each
town. Each householder paid two bundles of tsaba to the Gala-
dima and the people were obliged to work on the Emir's farm.

On the Sarkin Kanam revolting the Dugurawa threw in their
lot with him. They were subjected to three Filane invasions,
but successfully repelled their enemy.

The present Chief, Yusufu, lives at Yuli, on the river Duguri.
He is a Ba-Jari. The land round Yuli is very fertile. Its inhabi-
tants number 637.

The total population of the State is about ten thousand, and
consists of Jarawa, with a sprinkling of Filane and Beri-Beri.

Tribes in Bauchi Province.

1. Afawa, population 1,010 in Bauchi Emirate, 900 in Ningi
and 8, TOO in Ari.

2. Ajawa, population 545 in Bauchi Emirate, also in Kano
Emirate.

3. Amo, in Bukuru District.

4. Anaguta, one town in Bauchi Emirate, with some 2,710 in
Naraguta District.

5. Angas, some 73,000 in South Bauchi, including their off-
shoot the Tal.

6. Aniakawa, population 220 in Bauchi Division.

7. Ankwe, population 5, 644 in Pankshin District, 11,652 in
Ibi Division, Muri Province, and a few villages in Lafia Emirate.

8. Araba, some 4,000 in Bauchi Emirate, and scattered over
the Protectorate, principally in Bornu and Kano.

9. Awok, one town only in Gombe Division.

10. Ba, population 3,200 in Bukuru District.

11. Babur, some 45 of whom have settled in Gombe Emirate,
having come from the neighbouring state of Biu (Bornu), where
they number some 9,727.

12. Bangalawa, population 90 in Ako Gombe.

13. Baredawa, a small community in Bauchi Emirate.

14. Bashiri, who number some 13,265 in Bauchi Emirate.
Possibly they are related to the Bashar in Wase, Muri Province,
population 2,643.

15. Bayak, population 4,025 in Bauchi Emirate.

16. Bellawa, Bauchi Emirate, and Kanam, where they number
some 120.

17. Birkunawa, population 380 in Bauchi Emirate.

18. Bolewa, who number some 9,155 in Bauchi Emirate,
7,384 in Gombe Emirate, and 7,388 in Fika, Bornu. A group
has been notified from Muri Province.

19. Bomawa, a small clan in Bauchi Emirate.

428 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

20. Bomborawa, in Bauchi Emirate.

21. Boramawa or Ron, population 7,029 in Pankshin District.

22. Bujawa, who number some 925 in the Bukuru District.

23. Bunborawa, population 95 in the Hill Division.

24. Burkawa, a small community in Bauchi Emirate.

25. Burumawa (Kibyen), population 4,325 in Bauchi Division,
9,494 in Kanam, and some 47,610 in Bukuru District, besides a
group in the Wase District of Muri Province, and some 679 in
Jemaa Emirate.

26. Butawa, population 7,200 in Burra State, and a group in
Kano.

27. Chum, population 3,500 in Gombe Division.

28. Dadia, population 2,300 in Gombe Division.

29. Dazawa, population 220 in Bauchi Emirate.

30. Denawa, population 7^440 in Bauchi Emirate.

31. Duguzawa, population 275 in Bauchi Emirate.

32. Dumawa, a small tribe in Bauchi Emirate.

33. Dunjawa, population 395 in Bauchi Emirate.

34. Filane are to be found all over the Protectorate ; at a
rough estimate there are some 150,000 Filanen Gidda in Bauchi
Emirate, 30,000 in Gombe Emirate, 200 in Ningi, and 1,500 in
Kanam and Duguri, besides Borroroje.

35. Gaejawa, population 250 in Dass.

36. Gambiwa, population 285 in Bauchi Emirate.

37. Gamishawa, a sm?.ll tribe in Bauchi Emirate.

38. Ganawa, a small tribe in Bauchi Emirate.

39. Gannawarri, a large population in Bukuru District.

40. Gauawa, a small tribe in Bauchi Emirate.

41. Gerawa, population 12,465 in Bauchi Emirate, 100 in
Ningi, 100 in Ari.

42. Germawa, population 7,510 in Bauchi Emirate and 886
in Gombe, with their off-set the Gamsawa.

43. Gezawa or Zaranda, numbering some 14,850 in Bauchi
Emirate, and some 477 in Gombe Emirate.

44. Gobirawa, a group of whom have left their habitat in
North Sokoto where they number some 120,000, and have settled
in Bauchi Emirate, population 1,930. There are further groups
in Zaria and in llorin town.

45. Golawa, population 230 in Bauchi Emirate.

46. Gubawa, a small tribe located in Bauchi Emirate.

47. Gurawa, population 570 in Bauchi Emirate.

48. Gurrum, in Bukuru District, where, together with the
Jengre and Gussum, they number some 6,355.

49. Gussum, who together with the Gurrum and Jengre,
number some 6,355 m Bukuru District.

50. Gwozum, located in Gombe Emirate.

51. Hoss, located in Bukuru District.

BAUCHI PROVINCE. 429

52. Jarawa, a large clan with many off-sets, numbering some
48,000 in Bauchi Emirate, 2,415 in Dass, 7,063 in the Naraguta
Division, 760 in Bukuru, and some 9,000 Hill Jarawa in Nara-
guta Division, and 7,650 in Kanam. There is a further group
of 2,575 in Muri Emirate. The off-sets are (i) Ampier in Pank-
shin District ; (2) Badara ; (3) Badawa in Duguri District;
(4) Bajamawa, population 935 in Bauchi Emirate; (5) Bandirri ;
(6) Bankalawa, population 5,405 in Bauchi Emirate, and others
in Dass and in Duguri, (7) Barawa, population 305 in Bauchi
Emirate, and some 4,000 in Dass ; (8) Bartak, population 2,445
in Bauchi Emirate ; (9) Bayirr in Kanam District ; (10) Birrim,
population 900 ; (n) Bogorro ; (12) Dj on in Kanam District ;
(13) Dugurawa, population 3,845 in Bauchi Emirate and in
Duguri ; (14) Foburawa and Kaiyorawa, population 12,000 in
Bauchi Emirate, 760 in Jos ; (15) Gallambawa, population 8,455
in Bauchi Emirate, and 50 in Kanam, and a group in Muri
Emirate ; (16) Gallamkeau near Kanam ; (17) Gar ; (18) Gurumtu
in Duguri District ; (19) Gwa ; (20) Gyang-gyang ; (21) Jaku in
Bauchi Emirate ; (22) Njamb ; (23) Nyamra ; (24) Seiyawa,
population 25,200 in Bauchi Emirate ; (25) Yemawa, population
731 in Kanam ; (26) Zigamawa in the Maigemu hills. The clans of
Demolo, Garaga (in Kanam), Kantanna (in Kanam), Mashido
(population 233 in Duguri), and Munawa (population 322 in
Kanam), living amongst the Jarawa are often spoken of as such.

53. Jengre, or Jere, who, together with the Gurrum and
Gussum, number some 6,355 m Bukuru District, with a further
group of 470 in Gombe.

54. Jepal, in Pankshin.

55. Jeriyawa, in Bauchi Emirate.

56. Jimbinawa, population some 600 in Bauchi Emirate.

57. Jukon, who number some 1,128 in Gombe Emirate,
with a small group of 41 in Nassarawa ; the headquarters of
the tribe being in Muri Province, where they now only number
some 1 1 ,000.

58. Kaleri, population 7,000 in Bukuru District.

59. Kambarawa, population 350 in Bauchi Emirate. Possibly
the same tribe as Kamberri whoso headquarters are in
Kontagora Province.

60. Kamu, one township in Tula, Gombe.

61. Kanawa, emigrants from Kano, numbering some 15,000
in Bauchi Emirate, 9,100 in Ningi, 200 in Ari, 200 in Burra,
400 in Warji.

62. Kanna, in Gombe, and in Muri Emirate.

63. Kanuri, some 28,000 in Gombe Emirate, 530 in Kanam
and some 250 in Bauchi Division. Their habitat is in Bornu ,
where they number some 450,000, but emigrants are to br
found in every Province.

64. Kauyawa, in Bauchi Emirate.

430 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

65. Keri-keri, some 2,000 in Bauchi and Gombe Emirates,
from 15 to 18 thousand in the Gujba District of Bornu, and
some 2,000 in Katagum and Dambam Emirates.

66. Kirr, population 1,670 in Bauchi Division.

67. Komawa, population 850 in Gombe Emirate, 420 in
Bauchi Emirate.

68. Kubawa, population 1,090 in Bauchi and Gombe
Emirates.

69. Kudawa, population 1,100 in Bauchi Emirate and 3,000
in Ningi.

70. Kutumbawa. population 705 in Bauchi Emirate and
a further group in Kano and Gumel Emirates (Kano Province).

71. Kwoll or Irrigwe, population 8,100 in Bukuru District,
and 7,176 in the Ibi Division of Muri Province.

72. Limorro, in Bukuru District.

73. Longuda, in Gombe and adjoining district of Yola
Province.

74. Maguzawa, population 6,510 in Bauchi Emirate, also
in their aboriginal home of Kano, in Katsina, Sokoto and Zaria.

75. Mangawa, population 420 in Bauchi Emirate, also in
Gumel, Hadeija and Katagum Emirates, and in the Geidam
Division of Bornu, the majority of the tribe living north of
Lake Chad and the Yo river.

76. Marawa, a small tribe in Bauchi Emirate.

77. Medong Mufons, hill-pagans.

78. Miawa, population 1,610 in Bauchi Emirate. J
Narabuna, i.e., Buji, Gurrum, Gussum and Jengre, population

7,280 in Bukuru District.

79. Ngell, population 4 to 5 thousand in Bukuru District.

80. Ningawa, population 2,000 in Ningi, 1,700 in Burra,
a group of 50 in Kanam, and a group of the same name in
Jemaa Emirate.

81. Paka, a small tribe in Bauchi Emirate.

82. Pakara, in Bukuru District, population 740.

83. Piri, a small tribe notified from Gombe and Yola.

84. Pyemawa, population 8,285 in Bauchi Emirate an
some 2,000 in Pankshin District.

85. Rebinawa, in Bauchi Emirate and some 400 in Zaria.

86. Rianga, population 95 in Bauchi Emirate,
Ron or Boram.

87. Rukuba, population 11,720 in Bukuru District and a
group of 600 in the adjoining District in Zaria.

88. Rumada, population 4,000 in Bauchi Emirate and
scattered throughout Zaria.

89. Sagoawa, a small tribe in Bauchi Emirate.

90. Sangawa, population 340 in Bauchi Emirate and 750
in Bukuru District and in Jemaa Emirate.

BAUCHI PROVINCE. 431

91. Sarawa, in Bauchi Emirate.

92. Segiddawa, a small tribe in Bauchi Emirate.

93. Shallawa, population 1,760 in Bauchi Emirate.

94. Shau or Sho, a small tribe in Bauchi Emirate.

95. Shirawa, population 770 in Bauchi Emirate, in Jemaari
and Katagum Emirates (Kano Province), and in Bornu.

96. Sirawa, population 100 in Ari.

97. Sura, population 2,250 in Bauchi Emirate and 17,722
in Pankshin District.

98. Tangale, an independent group with a population 28,200
in Gombe Division, including their off-set the Ture. They
number another 20,000 on the eastern side of the Gongola River
in Bornu, and a further group in Yola Province.

99. Taurawa, a small tribe in Bauchi Emirate.

100. Terawa, located on either bank of the Gongola River
with a population of some 6 to 7 thousand in Gombe Division,
and some 2,000 in Bornu.

101. Tula, population 14,800 in Gombe District.

102. Wajawa, population 22,170 in Gombe Emirate.

103. Warjawa, population 14,600 in the Independent State
of Warji, with groups of 1,745 in Bauchi Emirate, 1,500 in
Ari, 1,260 in Kanam, and in south Kano.

104. Wurkum, a group of some 2,800 in the Pero District
of Gombe Division, commonly spoken of as Pero, the main body
of Wurkum some 15 thousand in number, are located in Muri
Emirate.

105. Wutana, population 1,075 in Bauchi Emirate.

106. Yergum, scattered over Pe and Dollong (population
730) Kanam (population 750), Pankshin (population 1,596),
the main body of the tribe being over the Muri border in Ibi
Division (population 13,262).

107. Zakshawa, population 1,390 in Bauchi and 1,550 in
Gombe Emirates.

108. Zariwa, one village in Bauchi Emirate.

109. Zungurawa, population 10,855 m Bauchi Emirate,
no. Zyemawa, population 240 in Bauchi Emirate.

BORNU PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. P. A. Benton. Mr. W. P. Hewby.

Major A. McClintock. Mr. H. Vischer.

The Province of Bornu contains about twenty-eight thousand
square miles and a total population of some seven hundred
thousand. It is bounded on the north by the French Sudan,
the River Yo forming the boundary for the most part ; on the
south by the pagan tribes of the Yola Province, on the south-
west by the Emirate of Gombe (Bauchi Province), the River
Gongola forming the boundary ; on the north-west by the
Emirates of Hadeija and Katagum (Kano Province) ; on the
east by the Kamerun ; and on the north-east corner by Lake
Chad.

For the most part — the whole of the central, northern and
eastern portions of the Province — the area consists of an immense
sandy waterless and stoneless plain, having an elevation of
from one thousand to eight hundred feet above the sea level
(Lake Chad itself being eight hundred feet), covered by sparse
acacia scrub. Here and there baobab may be seen, but the
traveller may go for days without seeing a shade tree of any
size and must depend for his water supply on widely-separated
and very deep brackish wells. During the dry season, when
the dust-laden harmattan is blowing, which throws a veil of
neutral tint over the sky and landscape alike, the general aspect
is one of extreme desolation and sterility. Nevertheless, this
sandy and apparently unproductive soil is capable during the
wet season of bearing large crops of millet (gero) , and this without
manure, it being sufficient to push the seed into the light soil
with the toe to ensure an excellent germination and large crops.
Indeed, in this unpromising area grain is more plentiful than
in any part of Haussaland, six pounds of gero being very
generally sold for three farthings in the Bornu markets. In
places at the bottom of the almost imperceptible undulations of the
plain large black argillaceous deposits occur, the so-called " black
cotton soil." In these the moisture is retained at a short distance
from the surface of the ground, so that crops of millet, known
locally as " masakwa," can here be produced during the dry
season. In Bornu, at all events, these areas are utilised for the

BORNU PROVINCE. 433

planting of cotton. Though fertile to an extent far greater than
might be supposed, the light soil rapidly becomes exhausted.
This leads to frequent migrations of the villagers in search of
fresh sites for their farms, an important factor in the social
and economic life of the people which causes the Beri-beri
(Kanuri) of the Emirate of Bornu, which comprises all this area,
to differ considerably from the inhabitants of the adjoining
Emirates. As may be supposed, there is a complete absence
of walled towns, and clay-walled huts are the exception, the
villages very generally consisting of conglomerations of the
very flimsiest grass and reed hovels.

As may be imagined, too, the administration of these
Nomadic groups presents difficulties which are not encountered,
at all events in so great a degree, among the more settled com-
munities.

All round the south and western boundaries there is a fringe
of more broken country, inhabited for the most part by pagans,
some subject to the Emir of Bornu and some independent. Here
the conditions resemble more those existing in other parts of
the Protectorate ; there are streams, hills and trees, and the
natives live in mud huts sometimes surrounded by mud walls.

Lake Chad is eight hundred feet above the sea level. There
are no villages along its low sandy shores, which may be accounted
for by the fact that the wind sometimes drives the water as far
as two miles inland. The lake is divided by an impenetrable
belt of reeds and maria (Herminiera Elaphroxylon) into two
distinct portions. The upper one, to the north, into which the
Yo debouches, has no greater depth than some four feet, and
is some thirty miles across. It is dotted with small uninhabited
islands. The southern portion, which is fed by the Shari, is
deeper. The canoe route to Kaua Baga has an average depth
of eight feet, while the length is some forty-five miles. The islands
are bigger, and are inhabited by three races of Buduma, but
these islands are under French jurisdiction.

The climate of the northern plains is excessively dry ; through-
out the greater part of this area the relative humidity is about
38.8 in December. In August, however, it is. 79.64. The
mean shade temperature is over 80*. F. ; the variations are
great, the thermometer rising to 120°. F. in April and May,
while in January frost has been recorded.

In spite of its dryness large herds of cattle are pastured in
the Emirate. These congregate round certain wells in the dry
season, or go south into better watered country. There are,
at a rough estimate, 350,000 head of cattle in the Emirate, of
which 69,000 belong to the Shuwa Arabs.

Immense baobabs, tamarinds, and in some parts palms, are
found, rarely in the northern, but frequently in the southern

EE

434 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

districts, where mahogany, gutta, copaiba, locust, and shea
trees also occur.

The baobab (Adansonia Digitata) is put to many uses. The
bark yields a valuable fibre, from which knapsacks, string and
ropes are made ; the leaves are cooked as seasoning to soup,
and are sometimes applied to wounds on account of their healing
properties. The fruit is used to sweeten food and soup, and
in times of famine the pith is eaten. The hard rind of the fruit
is burned and its ashes used as a hot flavouring for soup, or may
be applied with oil for killing ticks, etc., on animals. The ashes
of the burnt seeds are used by the Kukuruku (Kabba) for
bleaching native-made cloth.

A tree in full bearing will yield from forty to fifty basketfuls
of fruit and from eight to ten baskets of leaves.

The staple food of the people is gero, wheat, beans, ground-
nuts, gauta (bitter tomato). Indigo, cotton, tobacco, pepper
and — by irrigation — onions are also cultivated.

Caravans of oxen, donkeys, and sometimes camels, laden
with merchandise are to be seen following the straight shadeless
sandy roads of Bornu. Some 980 miles of roads, twenty feet in
width, are now maintained.

Potash, brought from the east side of Lake Chad, salt, manga
(munzul), kighr, natron, gazelle skins, grain, stock, beeswax,
and a small quantity of ostrich feathers and ground nuts, which
are taken to the Nafada factory, form the principal exports.

Kola nuts are largely imported, also cloth, despite the fact that
spinning and weaving, together with smithying, are the principal
industries practised in Bornu. All are husbandmen and stock-
raisers, millet being the chief cereal. On the northern frontier
fishing and salt trade and on the eastern frontier fishing and
natron trade is carried on.

The currency used formerly to consist of gabaga ( — strips of
cloth), rottl ( — a fixed weight of copper), and Maria Theresa
dollars, which were till recently minted at Trieste for use in
the Sudan and bore the date 1780. The rates were, of course,
subject to fluctuation, but may be roughly assessed as follows :

(1) 8 cowries=i gabaga.

(2) 32 cowries=i rottl.

(3) 3>°°° to 4,000 cowries=i Maria Theresa dollar.

(4) 4 gabaga = i rottl.

(5) 100 rottl = i Maria Theresa dollar.

(6) i Maria Theresa dollar =3/- (intrinsic value 1/6).

There are trading stations at Maje Kakuri and at Maiduguri,
most of the traders being Syrians.

A European ranching firm has obtained a stretch of land at
Allaguerno.

A school was opened at Maiduguri, under the Education
Department, in January, 1915.

BORNU PROVINCE. 435

NOTES ON THE EMIRATE OF BORNU.

Tradition assigns the origin of the earliest Bornu dynasty
to Sef,* the son of the last of the Himyaritic Kings, who was
driven south through Kufra and Tibesti, and after halting a long
while in Tubu country, came to Kanem.

A kingdom was established there by the eleventh century,
when a copy of the Koran was sent to Kanem, together with
a turban, sword, spears and shields, bows and arrows, and
rich armour, by Umaru, second successor to Muhammad the
Prophet. The messenger was received with great honour, and
after remaining a great while in Kanem sent his Arab companions
to preach the faith in Kano and Katsina.

From this time dates a great accession of power, and by the
end of the twelfth century the sixteenth chief, with the help
of the powerful Tunisian princes, had extended his influence over
the entire Sahara. He it is who is mentioned in the chronicles
as the first black King. His successor, Dunama Dibbalami
(1221-59), advanced still farther, till the suzerainty of Kanem
embraced all the land between the banks of the Nile on the east
and of the Niger on the west,j* from Fezzan in the north to Dikoa
in the south. The name of Bornu was now introduced to describe
the southern part of the kingdom from Lake Chad to Dikoa.
Dunama inaugurated a privy council, or " Nokena," composed of
twelve members ; but they gradually came to regard themselves
as princes, and at the end of the fifteenth century Ali Dunama
greatly curtailed their powers.

The two intervening centuries had been unhappy ones. A
bitter struggle had broken out between the kindred Tubu and
Kanuri, and the Sefs were expelled from Kanem by the Bulala
—a kindred stock — from Lake Fittri. The capital, Njimi, was
accordingly abandoned, and the successive Chiefs moved on to
Maifoni and northwards to the Komadugu. At the end of the
fifteenth century Ali Dunama founded Ghasr-Egomo, a town built
of burnt bricks (Birni) on the River Yo, which remained the
capital for some three hundred years, despite the fact that Njimi
was reoccupied about the middle of the sixteenth century. It
was probably during the reign of Ali Dunama that Leo Africanus
visited Bornu.

Henceforth the centre of the Bornu Kingdom lay to the west
of Lake Chad, but in the latter part of the sixteenth century,
in the reign of Edris Aloma, the power of Bornu once more
increased, and the So, Gamergu, Tuarek, Margi, Mandara,
Ngusum, Bulala, Tubu and Kanawa were successively defeated.

* The tribe Atsefawa ( Kontagora) are thought to be a remnant of the
Sef. See also Karaberri, page 199.

f Mohammed Bello (1817-1837) speaks of " Borgu-Bornu."

436 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

At that time the flower of the Bornu army carried fire-arms,
and there is evidence that the Sef dynasty continued to keep
in touch with the politics and culture of Tripoli and Egypt. In
this connection it is worthy of mention that the treaties of
friendship concluded with the vassal Chiefs of Kanem were
written in duplicate dispatches.

During the next two centuries the power of Bornu declined
once more, and towards the end of the eighteenth century the
Chief of Kanem revolted and declared his independence ; and
in 1809 reverses were received at the hands of the Filane, and
the King had to fly his capital. At this time a powerful Chief,
Muhammad El Amin El Kanemi, sometimes called Sheikh
Lamino, came to the assistance of the Sheikh, and defeated
the Filane and Bagirimi, thus saving the kingdom for his master,
though Katagum was never recovered. The Sheikh Lamino
was of a Kanembu father, himself a had], and of an Arab mother
from Tripolitaine. He had studied at the Koyam College at
Ghazr-Egomo, and had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

In 1814 El Kanemi founded Kukawa as the capital of. Bornu,
and it was there that Clapperton and Denham came in their
expedition of 1822-24. El Kanemi was the real ruler, but the
effete Sef King retained his title, until on the death of Sheikh
Lamino in 1835 he endeavoured to reassert himself by calling
in his traditional foes the Wadaians to overthrow the influence
of Omar, son of El Kanemi. He was unsuccessful, and was
executed as a traitor to his country in 1846. His son, the last
of the Sefs, was killed in battle, and thus ended a dynasty which
had reigned from one thousand to twelve hundred years. Omar
succeeded as Shehu, and Kukawa became an important trading
centre. Between the years 1851-70 Richardson, Dr. Barth,
Nachtigal and Rohlfs visited Bornu, and Dr. Barth mentions
that he found people in Kukawa sufficiently educated to talk
of Ptolemy.

The power of Bornu was, however, once more on the wane,
and, despite a standing army of seven thousand men, Wadai
ravaged the country, and in 1892 Zinder had established all but
a titular independence. In 1893 the country fell an easy prey
to Rabeh, who routed the Bornuese army near Dikoa, and,
advancing on Kukawa, destroyed the capital, one of the largest
cities of the Sudan. The coward Sheikh, Alimi, fled before him,
but was assassinated by order of his cousin Kiari in punishment
for his poltroonery. Kiari, self-constituted as Sheikh, now
marched against Rabeh and inflicted a defeat upon him near
Gashegar. Unfortunately, however, his army scattered to
loot and Rabeh, re-organising his men, turned his defeat into
a victory. Kiari was captured and put to death, his entire army
was destroyed ; nor did Rabeh's vengeance stop short of the utter
extermination of the whole population of that district.

EORNU PROVINCE. 437

Rabeh now reigned over Bornu, making Dikoa his capital.

Out of a population roughly estimated at one hundred
thousand he kept a regularly drilled army of twenty thousand
men, four or five thousand of whom were supplied with fire-arms,
and who were paraded before him every Friday morning. The
country was divided into districts, under headmen who resided
at Dikoa and who were obliged to raise certain specified and
substantial revenues for their master, while at the same time
supplying their own needs from the conquered country.

In pre-Rabeh times the country was administered by the
Emir through the Ajia (district head), Lowan (sub-district head),
both aliens to the district ; the Bullama, their local agent, and
the Mbarma (village head). There were in addition two Wakil,
special representatives of the Emir, who now reside at Gujba
and Geidam.

The largest fief-holders were officials whose tenure was not
hereditary. The Magira (Shehu's official mother) had forty-eight
villages scattered over twelve districts, the largest number under
any one person.

The officials consisted of : —

Twenty-three Kogana (free-born councillors) ; largest owner
had twelve villages in eight districts.

Thirty-two Maina (princes and princesses) ; largest owner
had fourteen villages in six districts.

Eight Mallams.

The Shehu's tailor.

Forty-two Kachella (slaves of the Shehu, including eunuchs) ;
these were in three classes ; the largest owner had twenty-
five villages in eight districts.

(a) Twenty-five Kachella Katsagama, i.e., captains of spear-
men. Their whole estates are escheated on death.

(b) Sixteen Kachella Bindigama, i.e., captains of gun-men
to the Shehu.

(c) One Kachella Kenigema, i.e.-, captain of archers.

When the Kanemi dynasty came to the throne Sadaka (zakka-
grain tax), Kharaj and Jizyah were levied. Kharaj lapsed in
the middle of the nineteenth century and became merged in
Binemram, a levy on all villages, which was apportioned by the
village head according to individual wealth. These two taxes
were found in force on the British occupation, together with
a cattle tax on Nomadic owners.

Other levies payable to the Ajia (district head) were :

(1) Warta, or death duties.

(2) Kageram, or burial fee=rone dollar per body.

(3) Kabelo, a gaisua made to the Ajia on his appointment to
office by each Bullama (local agent) and Mbarma (village
head) .

(4) Kurdin Sarauta.

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

In 1900 Rabeh was defeated by the French at a battle near
Kusseri, where he lost his life. Nor did his son Fad El Allah
long survive him, the French pursuing him as far as Gujba,
where he was killed in the following year.

The dynasty of El Kanemi, in the person of Garbai, son of
Ashimi, had meantime been restored to the throne, and the
British effectually occupied the country in 1902.

In 1904 the High Commissioner, Sir F. D. Lugard, visited
Bornu, and formally installed the present and seventy-seventh
Chief, Abubakr Gerbai as Shehu, thus confirming the appoint-
ment made at Dikoa by Colonel Gentil in 1900 before the French
evacuated the country.

The capital of the Shehu has been moved from Kukawa,
which is still in ruins, to Maiduguri, in close juxtaposition to
the British fort and centre of administration at Maifoni, 1897.

„„.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE RULERS OF BOR

FROM SAEF BEN YASAN, FOURTH CENTURY A.D., TO SHEIKH
ABUBAKR GERBAI BEN IBRAHIM BEN OMAR (PRESENT DAY).

Source of information :

Earth's and Nachtigal's tables of Bornu rulers ; persona
information.

Compiled by MR. H. VISCHER.

1. Saef Ben Dhu Yasan . .

2. Ibrahim Ben Saef

3. Duku Ben Ibrahim

4. Fune Ben Duku

5. Aritso Ben Fune

6. Katori Ben Aritso

7. Adyoma Ben Katori

8. Bulu Ben Adyoma

9. Arki Ben Bulu

10. Shu Ben Arki

11. Abd El Djelil Ben Shu. .

12. Hume Ben Abd El Djelil

13. Dunama Ben Hume

14. Biri Ben Dunama

15. Abd Allah Ben Bikoru

16. Ab El Djelil Ben Bikoru

17. Dunama Dibalami

18. Abd El Kedim Ben Dunama

19. Biri Ben Dunama

reigned 20 years.

from

EORNU PROVINCE. 439

20. Nikale Ben Biri . . . . . . from 1307 to 1326.

21. Abd Allah Ben Kade .. .. .. ,, 1326 to 1345.

22. Selam Ben Abd Allah .. .. .. ,, 1346 to 1349.

23. Kure Gana Ben Abd Allah . . . . ,, 1350.

24. Kure Gana Ben Abd Allah .. .. ,, 1351 .

25. Mohammed Ben Abd Allah .. .. ,, 1352.

26. Edris Ben Nikale .. .. .. ,, 1353 to 1376.

27. Baud Ben Nikale .. .. .. ,, 1377 to 1386.

28. Otman Ben Baud ,, 1387 to 1390.

~~ Otman Ben Edris .. .'. .. ,, 1391 to 1392.

Abubakr Liyatu Ben Baud . . . . ,, 1392.

Omar Ben Edris .. .. .. „ 1394 to 1398.

Said .. .. .. .. .. ,, 1399 to 1400.

Kade Af no Ben Edris .. .. .. ,, 1400 to 1432.

Otman Kalnama Ben Baud . . . . ,, 1432.

Bunama Ben Omar .. .. .. ,, 1433 to 1434.

Abd Allah Ben Omar .. .. .. ,, 1435 to 1442.

Ibrahim Ben Otman . . . . . . ,, 1442 to 1450.

Kade Ben Otman .. .. .. ,, 1450 to 1451.

Bunama Ben Biri . . . . . . ,, 1451 to 1455

Mohammed .. .. .. .. ,, *455-

Amer . . . . . . . . . . ,, 1456.

Mohammed Ben Kade . . . . ,, ?

Rhadji .. .. .. .. .. ,, 1456 to 1461.

Otman Ben Kade . . . . . . ,, 1461 to 1466.

Omar Ben Abd Allah . . . . . . ,, 1467 to 1471.

Mohammed Ben Mohammed . . . . ,, 1472 to 1504.

Edris Ben Ali .. .. .. .. ,, 1504 to 1526.

Mohammed Ben Idris .. .. .. ,, 1526 to 1545.

Ali Ben Edris .. .. .. .. ,, 1545-

Bunama Ben Mohammed . . . . ,, 1546 to 1563.

Abd Allah Ben Bunama . . . . ,, 1564 to 1570.

Edris Ben Ali Aloma .. .. .. ,, 1571 to 1603.

Mohammed Ben Edris .. .. ,, 1603 to 1618.

Ibrahim Ben Edris . . . . . . ,, 1618 to 1625.

Hadj Omar Ben Edris.. .. .. ,, 1625 to 1645.

Ali Ben El Hadj Omar . . . . ,, 1645 to 1684.

Edris Ben Ali .. .. .. .. ,, 1685 to 1704.

Bunama Ben Ali .. .. .. ,, 1704 to 1722.

Hadj Hamdun Ben Bunama . . . . ,, 1723 to 1736.

Mohammed Ben El Hadj Hamdun . . ,, 1737 to 1751.

Bunama Gana Ben Mohammed . . ,, 1752 to 1755.

Ali Ben Hadj Bunama. . . . . . ,, 1755 to 1793.

Ahmed Ben Ali .. .. .. ,, 1793 to 1810.

Bunama Ben Ahmed .. .. .. ,, 1810 to 1817.

Ibrahim Ben Ahmed .. .. .. ,, 1818 to 1846.

Sheikh Omar Ben El Kanemi . . ,, 1846 to 1880.

440 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

69. Abdurrahman Ben El Kanemi . . from 1853 to 1854.

70. Sheikh Bukr Ben Omar . . . . ,, 1880 to 1884.

71. Sheikh Ibrahim Ben Omar .. .. ,, 1884 to 1885.

72. Sheikh Hashem Ben Omar .. .. ,, 1885 to 1893.

73. Sheikh Kiari Ben Bukr . . . . ,, 1893.

74. Sheikh Sanda Limanambe Ben Bukr ,, 1893.

75. Rabeh the Usurper .. .. .. ,, 1893 to 1900.

76. Sheikh Sanda Kwori Ben Ibrahim . . ,, 1900.

77. Sheikh Abubakr Gerbai Ben Ibrahim

Ben Omar Ben El Kanemi

The Emirate embraces an area of 24,840 square miles,
with a population of 428,200.* It comprises more than three-
quarters of the "Province.

Each of the nine districts in the Emirate is under an Ajia,
or district headman, who were first sent out to live in their fiefs
in 1903. Most of them are assisted by Judicial Councils, which
are gradually being superseded by Native Courts, and there
are twenty sub-district headmen, or Lowan, which was first
a military title (El Auna) given by the Koyam Sheikh at the
beginning of the eighteenth century.

One hundred and eighty-one police, or dogarai, are employed
by the Emir, one-half of whom are mounted.

NOTES ON THE PAGAN DIVISION.

The pagan division, with headquarters 'at Biu, includes the
independent districts of :—

(1) Marghi area 2,600, population 38,200. The chief employs
twelve dogarai.

(2) Bedde area 1,200, population 17,236.

(3) Biu area 2,255, population over 70,000. The chief, a
Babur, employs eighteen dogarai.

(4) Fika, area 990, population, Bolewa, Gamawa, Keri keri,
Shira, 25,400. The chief, Idrisu, employs 25 dogarai. Potiskum
was included in Fika in 1913. It had an area of 320 square
miles and a population of 11,500 Ngizim. The district thus
embraces va total of 1,310 square miles, with a population of
36,900.

Biu, area, 2,255 square miles. Population, some 70,000,
consisting of 36,743 Burra, 9,727 Babur, 23,263 Tera, including
Hinna, Nimalto, Maga, and 1,722 Kitije Filane. It is situated
in the south-west of the Province, where it marches with
Yola and Gombe, the boundaries being the rivers Hawal
and Gongola. The district is as a whole hilly and rises

* Figures of areas and populations are not accurate in every case
owing to readjustment of boundaries.

BORNU PROVINCE: 441

to a considerable height (1,800 feet above the junction of the
rivers Gongola and Javi) near Biu. An extinct volcano at the
highest point is now the site of a lake over half a mile in extent,
though the nearest running water is twenty miles away and
fifteen hundred feet lower. This lake is full of crocodiles, which
are believed to be the familiar spirits of the Mai of Biu and of his
relations. The superstition appears to have originated in the
first half of the seventeenth century, when, to save themselves
from the attacks of the Babur chief, the Burra inhabitants of
Koiya, a small town situated on the lake, sent to tell him that
the crocodiles were the familiar spirits of himself and his family
and that when one of them died a crocodile dies and vice versa.
The chief consulted his wise men, who advised him to preserve
the peace with the people of Koiya lest they should do them a
damage through the crocodiles. To this day whenever a crocodile
dies it is taken out from the lake, wrapped in a white cloth, and
buried with the full rites that would be accorded to a man. The
Mais of Biu may not see -the water of the lake lest the sight blind
them.

The district is well watered, both by springs, streams and
shallow wells.

Horses and cattle are kept.

The soil varies from rich black and chocolate loam in the
north to poor decomposed granite in the south, the difference
of yield per acre being 3,630 Ibs. of threshed grain as against
240 Ibs.

The only sylvan produce of any value are gutta-percha and
shea-butter trees in limited quantities, also a small amount of
gum (Karamga).

Total area of this division — 7,365.

Total population of this division — over 162,000.

The native treasury was started in the independent districts
of Fika and Bedde in 1913, in Marghi in 1914, and in Biu in
19*5-

TRIBES INHABITING BORNU PROVINCE,

(1) Babur : — Population 9,727 in Biu district and a small group
of forty-five in Gombe Emirate.

(2) Bagirimi :— Scattered individuals from their habitat east
of the Shari River, who are to be found wandering over the
Northern Provinces, and particularly in Bornu.

(3) Bedde : — Population 15,652 in Bedde district and about
an equal number in Potiskum and South Bornu ; two villages in
Katagum and one in Hadeija Emirates.

(4) Bolewa : — Population 7,388 in Fika district, an equal
number in Gombe Emirate, and 9,155 in Bauchi Emirate, besides
a group in Muri Province.

442 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

(5) Buduma : — Migrants from the islands of Lake Chad to the
eastern borders of Bornu.

(6) Burra : — Population 36,743 in Biu district, a few in East
Bornu Goneri district, and some 1,375 in Yola.

(7) Chibuk : — Population 3,238 in Gujba division, and some
5,000 (together with Marghi) in the adjoining district of North
Yola.

(8) Filane : — Particularly Cattle Filane, or Borroroje, termed
Kitije in Biu (population 1,722) and sometimes Mare.

(9) Gamawa : — Population seven to eight thousand in Fika,
and a small number in Bauchr.

(10) Gamergu : — Population 1,458 in Maiduguri division.
(n) Kanawa : — Emigrants from Kano to be found all over

Nigeria.

(12) Kanembu : — In North-east Bornu, with their off-shoots,
the Jetkos, Magumi, Mobber (population 5,000), and Tubu.

(13) Kanuri : — Who, with their off-sets, and including
Kanembu, number some 450,000 in Bornu Province. They have
wandered all over the Northern Provinces, but are most numerous
in Gombe Emirate and the marches of Bauchi Emirate, where
they number some 28,000. Their principal off-sets are Karda,
Koyam, Lere, Nguzzur.

(14) Keri-Keri : — Population fifteen to eighteen thousand in
the north-west of Gujba division, some two thousand in the ad-
jacent Emirates of Katagum and Dambam (Jellum), and some
two thousand in Bauchi Emirate.

(15) Maga : — A small tribe in Tera district.

(16) Manga in Geidam division, also a few in Katagum,
Hadeija and Gnmel Emirates, also in Bauchi Emirate (population
420).

(17) Marghi : — Some 35,000 in the extreme south-east of
Bornu and some five thousand in the adjoining territory of North
Yola.

(18) Ngizim : — Population 12,000 in Potiskum and Geidam
districts, and further groups in Katagum and Hadeija Emirates.

(19) Nimalto : — In the south-west of Gujba division.

(20) Shira : — Resident on the western marches and over
the border in Jemaari and Katagum Emirates, with a further
group of 770 in Bauchi Emirate.

(21) Shuwa : — Arabs, population 35,000 — 40,000, principally
in the Chad neighbourhood. ,

(22) Tangale : — At a rough estimate some 20,000 on the
eastern bank of the Gongola River, with a large group of 12,200,
or 28,200 including off-sets, on the other side in Gombe division.
There is a further small group in Yola Province.

EORNU PROVINCE. 443

(23) Tera : — The Tera district has a population of some 23,263,
including Hinna, Maga, Tangale and Nimalto, to which it is
probable that the Tera only contribute 2,000. It is situated
in the south-west of Bornu, and there is a further group of six
to seven thousand Tera over the Gombe border.

ILORIN PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. E. C. Duff. Mr. P. M. Dwyer.

Mr. H. R. Palmer.

The name Ilorin is a corruption of the Yoruba words Alo
Erin — the place of elephants.

The province contains about 6,300 square miles and a popula-
tion of over 200,000.

It is bounded on the north by the Niger River and Kontagora
Province, on the west and south by Southern Nigeria, and on
the east by Kabba Province.

The south-east is extremely hilly, with precipitous rocks.
The north is undulating, well watered and highly agricultural.
The main ranges are the Shappa and Orissa.

Tin has been found in the Yagba district of Pategi, in Okeri
in the extreme south-east of the Province, and at Odara.

Close to the Southern Nigerian border at Offa, where the
elevation is some 1,500 feet, there is a watershed. The rivers
generally run from west to east and flow into the Niger. The
Oshin, Asa, Oyi and Kampe are of some importance, though
they are not navigable.

The climate is equable, with no great extremes of heat or
cold, though in the valleys and low-lying districts the damp
heat is trying to Europeans. The average annual rainfall is about
52 inches.

The Province is very rich in sylvan products. It is well
watered, and over its park-like rolling plains are scattered patches
of bush, including quantities of shea nut trees. There are belts
of trees in the valleys, dense strips of forest in the Niger Valley,
and much valuable timber in the south-west. Mahogany, oroco,
oil, date, and gongola palms, and the dorowa or locust tree are
found. Also kola (Sterculia Acuminata) , of which, perhaps,
some 25,000 trees are cultivated on the banks of the Niger.
The nuts are largely imported into the north, where they are
chewed by the natives for the sake of their stimulative properties.
Under the name of koline they have been introduced into
European medicated foods, biscuits, chocolate, etc. In the
local markets an average price per 100 is io/-, rising to as much
as 2O/-, or for less favoured varieties dropping to 2/- or 2/6.

ILORIN PROVINCE. 445

It is reckoned that a tree in full bearing will carry some thousands
of nuts, though of these a percentage are lost owing to the
depredations of bats. Rubber (Landolphia) is found in the
Lafiagi and Offa divisions, and Haussas come to collect it every
year. A good deal of root rubber is also obtained. Bananas and
sugar cane are grown.

There is an experimental agricultural station at Ilorin.

The population is mainly agricultural, and the land is carefully
farmed. Crops are usually raised for four years in succession,
after which the land is left fallow for three to ten years according
to the crops it has born and the locality. A common rotation
is yams and beans in the first and third years, and guinea-corn
gero, or maiwa in the second and fourth years. When cotton is
grown it is usual that in the intervening (second year) yams
or beans is the crop, and that the land is abandoned after the
third year. Besides the crops mentioned, rice, ochro, rama,
ground nuts, cassava, beans, sweet potatoes, gourds, tomatoes,
capsicum, pepper and onions are grown.

Small cattle, sheep, goats, and in some parts pigs are kept,
but it is not a pastoral province, owing to the prevalence of tsetse ;
and but few horses are reared. A certain trade is done in smoked
fish in the riverain districts.

Along the railway there are numerous stores belonging to
European trading firms. The main caravan roads from the
north converge at Ilorin, and the traffic in the dry season is very
large. Tens of thousands of cattle are driven through the town
on their way to the southern markets, and a large number pass
through by train. A big trade is done in kola nuts and in palm
oil.

The principal exports are palm-kernels, shea-nuts, ground-
nuts, beans, dried yams and yam flour, Ilorin cloth, lantana beads
and small round pots which have a ready sale in Southern Nigeria.
A large number of dogs are bred and sold for food to the Yagba
tribe.

The principal imports are English yarn, cigarettes, salt,
and palm oil.

The transport is by rail from Jebba to the coast, by light
draught steamers and canoe up the Niger, and by carrier.

The Church Missionary Society has stations at Ilofa (1904),
Offa (1909), Awtun (1912), Ilorin (1912).

The Sudan Interior Mission has four branches, two amongst
the Muslim Nupes of Pategi and Pada on the Niger, two amongst
the Yagba and Igbona pagans of Egbe and Ore respectively.
Egbe is their chief centre, and half the population are converts
to Christianity. They have been encouraged to maintain their
national dress and customs, and are a prosperous and useful part
of the community.

446 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The Memnonite Brethren in Christ have a station at Shonga
(1905), with a branch at Jebba.

The " Seventh Day Adventists " opened a technical school
at Shao, Lafiagi, in 1915.

The population of the entire province, some 357,088 in
number, consist mainly of Nupe in the north, Yoruba in the West,
and Igbona in the south. The Filane have a quarter in Ilorin
town, but are not generally distributed throughout the Province.

The Province of Ilorin was and is occupied by two distinct
peoples, the Yoruba, including the powerful Igbona tribe in the
south, and the Nupe in the Niger districts. The history of the
latter falls more properly under the heading Niger Province, for
until 1897 it consisted of a number of fiefs owing allegiance to
Bida. At that date, however, the British established the district
of Pategi under an Etsu descended through the female line from
the old royal Nupe line. The Igbona (a Yoruba tribe) occupied
the greatest extent of country, stretching from Awtun District
in the south to Share in the north. Their chief was the Olupo
of Ajassa (a large town north of Offa). A stretch of country,
including Ilorin town, was also under the Alafin of Oyo (the old
Oyo, the capital of Yoruba land, was then situated a few miles
south of Jebba), who placed an Ajele in Ilorin to safeguard his
interests. In 1817 Afonja, the then Ajele, was ambitious to
become independent that he might receive the whole of the
tribute, though willing to admit the Alafin as titular head,
and he set to work to sow dissension amongst the army, whom
he persuaded to check the royal excesses. Afonja, however, held the
military rank of Kakanfo, and by tribal law the Kakanfo was
obliged to lead an expedition for the King once in three years
against any town named by the King, and within forty days to
return home a victor or be brought back a corpse. Aole, the
Alafin, having heard of his intrigues, set him the impossible
task of conquering I were, an impregnable town, thinking thus
to make certain of his death. Afonja, however, showed the
army that I were was a Yoruba town, and they agreed to act
as if the order had never been given. Aole sent after them this
message : " Successful or unsuccessful, return every one to
his home." But they took counsel together, and instead of
obeying his command sent back an empty covered calabash,
whereof the meaning was : ' Send us your head in this." The
unfortunate Alafin cursed the rebels and all their seed for ever,
and then committed suicide.

The army dispersed, and, conscious of his isolation, Afonja
collected together a foreign horde from the north, whom he named
Jama, and invited a Filane mallam, then in the country by
order of Othman dan Fodio, to assist him. This man, Alimi by
name, sent to procure aid from his brethren in the north, and when

ILORIN PROVINCE. 447

considerable numbers of Filane had come Afonja publicly threw
off the allegiance he owed to the Alarm.*

The Jama having increased in numbers their depredations and
excesses grew more and more intolerable, and Afonja, realising
that they were ruining his country and that he could no longer
control them, attempted to disband the force ; but he was too
late ; they rose against him under the leadership of Mallam
Alimi, and the Yoruba Chiefs, who had been alienated by the
employment of foreigners, refused to come to his support.
Surrounded by his household only, Afonja fell fighting, and it is
said that " so great was the number of arrows sticking in him that
he died in a sitting posture, the body being supported by the
shafts of innumerable arrows showered upon him." It is a
doubtful point whether or not the Alarm had sent expeditions to
drive out the invaders in the lifetime of Afonja or whether the
three great expeditions, each time repulsed through treachery,
which took place, were all launched after his death.

Some say that Alimi immediately declared himself Emir of
Ilorin ; others that at first he adopted a conciliatory attitude
towards the Yoruba, siding first with one chief, then with another,
sowing discord amongst them until reinforcements arrived from
the north, both Haussa and Filane, and that then only Ilorin
was declared a Filane Emirate; Salami, son of Alimi, becoming
first Emir, his father having died in the interval.

Abdu Salami summoned the 36th Alafm of Oyo (Oluewu)
to come to Ilorin, and on his refusal to do so harassed the people
to such an extent that the Alarm finally agreed to come. On
his arrival he was made to prostrate and to embrace Islam.
Outraged, on his return to Oyo he called, for the second time,
on the Bariba, his neighbours and kinsmen, for aid, and together
they marched on Ilorin. The Alarm insisted on giving battle
the very day that the opposing forces came into contact,
' although it was a Friday," and both Eleduwe, King of Borgu,
and the Alarm himself, together with the Basorun, were killed,
and their forces routed. Some say that the Alarm was carried
captive to Ilorin and executed there, but the former version is
probably the correct one.

The Yoruba dispersed, the majority flying southward, and
Oyo was left deserted. Jimba, the head slave of the Emir of
Ilorin, put it to the sack and carried off one hundred brass posts,
caste in the time of the sixth King, from the front verandah
of the palace of Afin. It is said that he took them to Ilorin.
The Filane followed the enemy, and overran their country as
far south as Abeokuta ; but in the series of fights that took

* According to Mischlich the rebellion commenced in Katanga, and the
Filane persuaded the victorious (Afonja) Ajaja to build his new capital
nearer to their brethren in Nupe, on the northern borders of Yoruba land
at Ilorin.

448 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

place from that time till the end of the century between the
Ilorins and Yoruba and Ilorins and Borgu, they were completely
defeated in their third and last attack on Osogbo in. 1843.

In 1870 the Igbona pagans in Offa rose against the bigotry
of the Muhammadan Emir, who burnt their ju-ju houses and
idols, and swore to put to death all non-Muslims. And perhaps
it was on this occasion that they caused the wholesale destruction
of the Filane by destroying the bridge over the Otin River
(Jalumi war). They were assisted by the Ibadan army, but a
little later when that force was employed elsewhere Ilorin laid
siege to Offa, and, despite a force of Yoruba which gathered
in their flank at Ikirun, routed the Offa people. The chief fled to
Ibadan, where he was given land and built a new town.

In the meanwhile the Atiba of Ago had been selected Alarm,
and his town, Ago, automatically became Oyo, the capital.

In 1893 Momo, the reigning Emir of Ilorin, appealed to the
British Governor at Lagos to arbitrate between himself and
the Alafin of Oyo, and Governor Carter encamped at Odo Otiri,
between the two belligerents, summoned emissaries from each,
arranged terms of lasting peace, and saw that both parties dispersed
to their respective headquarters.

But the Emir's people were angered by his dealings with
the white man, and two years later attacked him (Momo) in his
palace at Ilorin, where, after a week's defence, he blew himself
up. Sulimanu, grandson to Alimi, was appointed to the throne,
but he was without influence and the two powerful chiefs who
had compassed Memo's overthrow first raided the farms and
people of the town, and then attacked the British post at Odo
Otin. They were driven off with severe loss, and in 1897 the
Niger Company sent an expedition against Ilorin. A treaty was
subsequently signed by which the Emir Sulimanu was reinstated
as vassal to the company, and reigned until 1915, when he was
succeeded by Bawa.*

The laws of succession to the Ilorin Emirate were established
by Abdu-Salami on the decease of his father, but before he
received the rank of Emir. Alimi had four sons, the two eldest
by the handmaid of his wife, the third by a Filane lady, the
fourth by a slave wife. On his death Abdu Salami, the eldest
son, divided the estate into four equal parts, and told his half-
brothers to choose their portions, beginning from the youngest.
They did so, but as Shitta, his whole brother, stepped forward
to take his share Abdu Salami knocked his hands away and mixed
the two remaining portions together. He gave him a walking-
stick and told him to be gone, for that their united inheritance

* On the death of Sulimanu his successor, Bawa, was appointed at
once, as by native custom no man might be punished for any crime com-
mitted during an interregnum. Compare Nupe, Sokoto.

JLORIN PROVINCE. 449

would become royal estate, and that they would enjoy it by
turns. Hence the succession has since been confined to the
families of the two brothers, the descendants of Alimi's other
two sons being told they can have no right, as they received
no portion of the royal estates. It is a standing grievance among
them to this day.

In 1900 Ilorin was incorporated as a province of Northern
Nigeria.

ILORIN GENEALOGICAL TREE.

1. Alimi, circ. 1817-23, A.D.

I

I
2. Abdusalami. 3. Shitta.

I I

4. Subiro. 5: Aliu.

_ \__ I

7. Sulimanu, 1895-1915.

6. Momo, 1891. 8. Bawa, 1915.

Ilorin town, on the River Asa, lies in undulating well-watered
country. It is surrounded by a mud wall, some 20 feet high,
which encloses an area of seven square miles. Some twenty
square miles may, however, be considered as Ilorin, an area that
supports a population of some 36,756.

It has considerable commercial importance, as the main
caravan roads from the north converge there. The traffic in
the dry season is very large, and tens of thousands of cattle pass
through in yearly increasing numbers. The urban population,
some 2,500, may roughly be divided into the following races :
Filane, Kanawa, Nupe, Kanuri, Bariba (Borgu), Gobirawa and
Yoruba.

The buildings are of the rectangular Yoruba type, and attached
to every compound is a walled enclosure, which contains many
trees and is partly farmed. Muhammadanism is the professed
religion, but pagan ideas are strong and the Yoruba god of
lightning — Shonga— -is worshipped.

Land in the immediate neighbourhood of the town is said
to be exhausted, and very little is farmed, though a large number
of Yoruba go out to the western districts for a few days at a
time, returning to sell their produce.

Weaving is a staple industry, and a large amount of Ilorin
cloth is exported to Southern Nigeria. The cloth is woven from
native-grown and dyed cotton, and is most durable ; some
English yarn is imported from Lagos to be re-exported as cloth.
Men weave out of doors in sheds with the prepared threads
stretched out horizontally in front of the loom — -women indoors
on an upright loom.

FF

450 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Spinning is extensively done — chiefly by women. There are
many tailors.

Bead-making, or lantana work, is said to have been originated
in Old Oyo, where the best stone for grinding purposes — in which
lies the art of the process — is found. The original craftsmen-
slaves — were purchased or captured to teach Ilorin workers,
amongst whom the trade is now almost unique. The apprentice-
ship lasts two years. The stone used is found in rocky hills in
French territory to the west of Sokoto, and is rough and coral-
coloured. In former times Benin City exchanged many slaves
for the beads, and the best buyers are still from Southern Nigeria.
Pagan chiefs pay as much as £10 per necklace.

Small round pots are exported to Southern Nigeria. Iron,
silver, brass-work, mat, saddle and harness-making are
extensively carried on.

In 1915 the Education Department opened a provincial school
at Ilorin, where instruction is given in Yoruba to the junior and
in Haussa to the more advanced pupils.

The whole Province is comprised in the Emirate ; the taxes
of the entire Province are paid into the Beit el Mai at Ilorin, and
judicial appeals are carried to the Ilorin court.

Vacant lands conquered from the original pagan inhabitants
at the time of the Jihad were divided into direct grants amongst
the powerful Filane, Haussa or Yoruba Chiefs, and were
hereditary. Generally speaking these lands radiate from Ilorin
town, and are of a size each to form a district ; the hereditary
owner being nominated as district head by the British Govern-
ment. In most cases the owners appointed an influential farmer
as rent collector for the district, and these personages have been
nominated village heads ; though where the owners had granted
blocks of land to some individual supporter of a size to form sub-
districts the holder has been made village head. These village
heads may have some ten to forty or fifty villagers under them.
They are encouraged to settle minor disputes and act as inter-
mediaries to the district chiefs. There are also Baba Kikeris,
who live in Ilorin. Their position approximates to that of
the Ajeles in Niger Province and to the Jakadas of the north.

The pagan lands in the Emirate have been divided into
districts, following each the original tribal boundary, where the
tribal chiefs act as district head. In a few cases, i.e., Ajasse,
Osi, Omu, Isanlu, two or more connected tribes have been put
in the same district, though each tribe forms an entity under its
own chief ; the district Chief being appointed by the Emir.
Where many foreign immigrants have settled the Emir sends a
deputy to assist the tribal chiefs in maintaining order amongst
them. These foreigners occupy land through the chief of the
clan where they have settled, subject to the confirmation of the
tribal chief, and nominally of the Emir. In Awtun, on the

ILORIN PROVINCE. 451

Southern Nigeria border the act of planting kola trees on disputed
land is held by tribal usage to constitute a valid right of usage
over the land thus planted.

Virgin bush does not belong to a town ; it is held by the
Emir of Ilorin and obtained through him.

Land cannot be sold or mortgaged, but trees that are allowed
to be cut down can be sold to pay off loans.

When a family gets too big to contain itself on the land owned
by it, members of the family go elsewhere and rent or take up
new land and become disconnected with their family ; but
they can succeed to the family property should they wish to
return and live there.

The usual system through this district for the succession to land
is : brothers succeed in turn, elder first, then eldest son of eldest
brother. In some cases should the eldest brother's son not be
of age, the eldest among the brothers' sons succeeds, and so on,
the elder sons of brothers succeeding in turn. No female succeeds
to land unless all males have died out ; then they succeed, elder
first and their children.

When an only child is left to succeed to land as a rule the
leading man (i.e., the eldest and most influential) is made trustee
until the child is married, when he hands over the land, showing
the boundaries, etc.

Property other than land passed in three ways, (i) either to
the children in the ratio of two-thirds to the male and one-third
to the female, supposing them to be adult, or, if they were not
grown up, the property went to the brothers of the deceased.
2) On the death of a maigidda the relations and heirs gather
together, and one of them (usually an old man of standing, but
sometimes the heir to the land), is chosen to divide the belongings
of the deceased. It is divided as a rule into three parts. One
part goes to the landowner, one to the immediate heirs and one
to the relations. The division is left entirely to the man chosen ;
if the relations are many and the immediate heirs few, it is
divided into two parts, one to the landowner, one to the heirs
and relations. Men and women share alike if of the same age ;
older members get more than younger. Should deceased die in
debt they all subscribe to pay the debt.

The third method is said to be commonest among the ' ' hunters . ' '
The man who succeeds to the land takes everything, he being the
" father " of the family. Should the deceased die in debt, he
pays the debt. Sometimes the father's wives are divided amongst
the sons, but no son is allowed to take his own mother.

It is usual when a person borrows money to give security in
the shape of another whom he names. If the lender is satisfied he
will lend money on that security. Another way when money
is borrowed is to work for the lender or give a son or one of the
family to work for him until the debt is paid. An owner of a

452 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

farm can more easily obtain credit, as the lender knows he is not
likely to leave his land.

A system of money-lending in vogue was for a small body of
men to unite in forming a joint stock loan bank, from which
they issued money at an interest of 25 per cent, per week. Every
three months the bankers divided the proceeds and made a fresh
start.

By native law extant at the time of the British occupation
an attempt to commit a crime was punished as heavily as if it
had been committed.

Abuse of children was a serious offence.

Lunatics were arrested and their property seized ; they were
themselves either fastened by the ankles to a huge piece of timber,
or beaten with a raw hide whip, to which verses of the Koran
were attached, till death or cure ensued.

In pagan courts oath was administered over a knife,
water, or the skull of a person killed by lightning. A woman
could obtain divorce for either of four causes : (i) Impotency,
(2) criminality, (3) leprosy, (4) failure to support.

For purposes of administration the Province is divided into
two divisions — that of Ilorin Emirate and the Nupe, or Pategi
Division. The whole Province is, however, under the Emir
of Ilorin. The Beit el Mai was inaugurated in 1910.

(i) The Emirate Division has an area of some 3,100 square
miles and a population of 122,211. It embraces the States of Offa
and Awtun.

Offa District has an area of no square miles, with a population
of 20,317, who are mostly of the Igbolo tribe. It is under
Oyeniran, the Oloffa. The Igbolo country was formerly under
the rule of the Alarm of Oyo, but was divided into two sections,
one of which was ruled by the Bashorun of Ibadan, and the other
by Oloffa of Offa. In 1881 the Balogun Gambari broke the town
of Offa, though at the time it was fortified by no less than five
walls, and the Oloffa fled. In 1900 he returned under the aegis
of the British Government, and, on recognising the Emir of Ilorin
as his chief, was reinstated, and rebuilt the town of Offa. In the
division between Northern and Southern Nigeria he lost many
towns that were formerly under his domain.

The district is open and park-like, and is well watered. Owing
to the prevalence of tsetse fly practically no horses or cattle are
kept, though goats, sheep and pigs are plentiful.

The district of Awtun, on the southern borders of the Province,
has an area of no square miles and a population of fifteen
thousand. The greater part of the land is covered by forest
being particularly rich in kola and palm-oil trees ; but there are some
open spaces with good farm land. There are a few rocky hills of
no great height, and the whole country is well watered. Tsetse
fly is prevalent, and no horses are kept in the district; but

ILORIN PROVINCE. 453

sheep, goats and pigs are common, and dwarf cattle are kept for
feast days. The population are of the Ekiti tribe, who came there
from Ife (Benin) about 1700 A.D., and who owe allegiance to the
Ore of Awtun, who has recently recognised the over-lordship of
the Emir of Ilorin. In former times Awtun used to exchange
presents with the Afefin of Oyo and receive salutations from other
Ekiti Chiefs, of whom he was the senior.

AWTUN GENEALOGY.*

(1) Abojade (2) Ajisoye

Alanu

Ala .vi Dada

(3) Adifogbade

(5) Okunbaloyi, (7) Adegbite, Atire, Fall, Damadi
(4) Olubeide ?

Adedauton, Bolanibe, Baiye (6) Adifale

(2) The Nupe division has an area of 3,200 square miles and
a population of 87, 398. f In 1913 the Nupe States of Shonga
and Share were transferred from Ilorin to this division and the
headquarters were consequently moved from Pategi to Lafiagi
as the more central position.

LAFIAGI.

AUTHORITY : Mr. T. A. Budgen.

Lafiagi, under a semi-Filane-semi-Nupe Etsu, has an area of
i, 060 square miles and a population of 29,898, consisting of
Nupe and Yoruba.

Lafiagi was founded by a Filane Mallam, one Maliki, who had
been a companion of Mallam Danyo, who figures in Nupe history.
Maliki built a strong wall round the city, which he further defended
by a trench, and settled there circ. 1792 A. D. On his death his eldest
son, Mohamma Zuma, received a flag from Sokoto (Gando ?).
His reign was full of conflict, and for a brief space he was driven

* The Emirs 1, 2, 3, 4, and he marked ? were all brothers.

{ These figures are net exact owing to the readjustment of boundaries.

454 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

out to Ilorin by the Nupe Etsu Maazu from Lagada — an event
which is attributed by another authority to Masaba from Lade.
No other considerable event occurred until 1900, when a rising
of aboriginal Nupe drove the Filane into Shonga ; but they were
soon re-established by a force of Niger Company's soldiers.

The district is bounded on the north by a»line running parallel
to the bank of the Niger at a distance of one mile therefrom, on
the east by the Pategi district, on the south by the Offa division,
on the west by the Share district and Oye River.

In the reign of Mohamma Zuma it was very much larger,
Lafiagi receiving tribute from as far north as Buagedde and the
Kambari to Yauri, from Egga to Kupa in the east, to Idofin
and Egbe to the south, and to the Oye River on the west. Much
of this territory was conquered by Masaba, who distributed it
amongst his supporters.

In the north there is a strip three to five miles in breadth,
which is annually inundated, consisting of dark loam and clay,
which is suitable for the cultivation of bananas and rice.

South of this is a belt of undulating sandy country, and to
its south a more or less hilly tract intersected by streams. The
soil varies from a red sandy loam to a dark fertile loam. Along
the southern border is a range of steep rugged hills, and in their
valleys some belts of dense forest.

The district is watered by the rivers Ewugi, Egua, Oye and
Kussuku.

I There is little stock-breeding, owing to the prevalence of
tsetse fly, but a small number of cattle and horses are raised in
the south-western corner.

The principal industries are weaving, dyeing — amongst the
Yoruba these are confined to women — mat-making, tailoring,
smithying and carpentry. Transport is by carriers and donkeys.

The principal exports are shea-nuts and ground-nuts from
the north, and cotton from the south. There is a wide and
rapidly increasing knowledge of Haussa both in the town and
villages.

The only schools are in Lafiagi town, and are kept by Mallams,
who give a Koranic education.

, Eight kola plantations (Labuji) have been started in the
district, thirty-three thousand trees having been distributed
amongst native cultivators.

PATEGI.

AUTHORITY : Mr. A. R. Budgen.

Pategi has an area of 1,350 square miles in the north-east of
Ilorin Province, its northern boundary running parallel with,
but a mile to the south of, the Niger River.

ILORIN PROVINCE. 455

It is well watered throughout, the principal rivers being the
Kampe and Ewugi.

The country is undulating, and to the south broken and
hilly. The whole is covered with bush except in the river valleys,
where dense belts of forest occur.

The soil is fertile throughout, varying from dark alluvial,
through dark loam, to a light sandy loam of reddish tint.

The population numbers some 22,800, consisting of Nupe,*
Yagba, and Yoruba, about 20 per cent, of whom are Muhamma-
dans.

Prior to British occupation the district consisted of a number
of fiefs under the Emir of Bida. Ajeles were posted at various
towns and collected tribute.

A reference to the genealogical table of the Chiefs of Nupe will
show that Zagunla, the third Etsu of Nupe, founded and lived
at Pategi at the end of the sixteenth century ; but the head-
quarters were transferred by his successor, and little is recorded as
to this district until Masaba (son of Mallam Danyo by a Nupe
princess), circ. 1845, built a fortified town at Lada, nine miles
west of Pategi, whence he raided the Yagba. His tenancy was
not of long duration, for after a varied career he became Chief
of the Filane at Bida.f In 1897, after the capture of Bida by the
British, the rightful Etsu Nupe — Idirisu Gana — was installed
at Pategi. He died in 1900 and was succeeded by his son Isa,
who in 1905 was given a second-grade staff.

He is assisted by an Alkali and Council and employs twelve
dogarai .

Pategi is sub-divided into three districts.

River traders from the large towns on the Niger attend the
Pategi markets and purchase a considerable amount of local
produce.

The prices are therefore high. Yoruba kolas, palm oil and
native cloth are the principal local exports, whilst the Niger
Company exports ground-nuts, shea-nuts, and palm oil kernels.
Women are employed in making pots, and earn a good income by
bartering dried fish for palm oi,l and cloth in the Yagba country.
Blacksmiths and certain dyers earn good incomes, but the
majority of weavers, tailors, leather- workers, mat-makers, rope-
makers, etc., do not find their employment so profitable.

The climate is hot and relaxing, and infant mortality is
above the average.

* A branch sometimes styled Isaji or Gbara.

f Another version has it that Lagada was founded by Jimada, 18th
Etsu of Nupe, who reigned from 1809—23.

456 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

SHONGA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. R. Scott Chapman.

Shonga has an area of 230 square miles. It is situated to the
north of Ilorin Province, where the River Niger annually submerges
the land to a width of four miles. A strip some two thousand
paces in width is reserved for the occupation of the Kede, and is
excluded from Shonga district. The River Oye forms the whole
of the eastern boundary, and the River Oshin traverses the
north-west of the Emirate. When they subside large pools are
left, which form valuable fishing-grounds, one of the biggest
being Kerantin, near Shonga town.

The most important trading centre is Ogudu, where the Niger
Company have a station.

There are a few native barbers, mat-makers and dyers in
Shonga town, but the population are agricultural. They
number some 8,094, the majority of the inhabitants being Nupe,
amongst whom are some Filane.

The Emir is descended from Mallam Maliki, a Filane and
companion of Mallam Danyo),* who became first Emir of
Lafiagi. His second son, Aliu, succeeded him as third Emir
of Lafiagi, but was either driven out by Masaba (from Lade),
circ. 1854, and retired to Shonga, of which he was made Emir
by the Sarkin Gando four years later — or, through the influence
of the Etsu Nupe, was deposed as Emir of Lafiagi, and given
Shonga by the Sarkin Gando, Shonga being at this time a
province of Share.

The Sarkin Gando gave Aliu of Shonga one kakaki (trumpet)',
whereas Lafiagi has three, but the Emir of Shonga still claims
precedence.

Aliru, the present Emir, succeeded in 1898.

The succession by tribal custom would alternate between
the descendants of Aliu, first Emir, and his brother Mama.

SHARE.

AUTHORITY : Mr. R. Scott Chapman.

Share, under a Nupe Ndakpoto, has an area of 400 square
miles and a population of 18,034, consisting of Nupe and Yoruba,
including nearly one thousand Igbona under their own Bale,
(these are a residue from a raid of the Olupo of Ajassepo, who
once ruled as far as Share), some 500 Filane. and a sprinkling
of Haussa.

* c

ee Nupe History.

ILORIN PROVINCE. 457

To the south the country is hilly, though the heights are
inconsiderable. In the north it may be described as undulating.
A great deal of iron ore is to be found. The country is well
watered, the Oshin being the principal river. The soil varies
from a heavy black clay in the south-west to a sandy loam and
yields good crops. There are no timber trees, but the district
is rich in locust bean and shea trees. Here as elsewhere the
seeds of the locust bean (dorowa) are extracted, boiled, washed,
ground in a mortar, and made into small odoriferous cakes
known as daddawa, whilst the husks of the bean (makuba) are
either boiled or steeped in water and used as cement to harden
the mud floors into which they are beaten. It is reckoned that a
tree comes into bearing in its fifth or sixth year, when it yields
some 200 Ibs. weight of pods, increasing to about 1,080 Ibs. in
its thirtieth year, when it has reached full maturity. In its
fortieth year it is virtually barren. The fruit is sometimes
plucked and ground into a sweet flour, which is often mixed
with that of guinea-corn and millet on account of its preser-
vative qualities ; but it can only be used in small quantities,
as it is an unwholesome food. In Share town alone beans are
purchased to the value of £160 per annum.

There are few oil palms, and date palms are grown in private
compounds. Gongola palms are common in the north, and are
public property. A little rubber is found. Cattle, horses, sheep,
goats, fowls, and pigeons are common ; there are a few ducks,
turkeys and pigs.

There are numerous small native schools, but it is estimated
that the pupils take three years to learn to read.

The chief industries, weaving, dyeing and pot-making, are
carried on by Yoruba women. To dye a cloth, less the cost
of the dye, fetches an average of 1/6 a piece, so that the profit
per pot is some £21 per annum. The Nupe women use a red
dye from camwood (Pterocarpus tinctorius), which, however,
is not fast, and they do not put a cloth so dyed on the market,
but wear it so generally themselves that it is safe to assume a
woman thus clothed is of Nupe birth. They are traders, and
sell food and pito in the markets. The men are farmers, but
there are a few carpenters, smiths, barbers, leather-workers
and tailors.

Share town was founded by Nupe from Ogudu and Yoruba
from Sakamba, who joined forces for the purpose in the first
half of the nineteenth century. About 1850 Masaba, who was
then at Ladi before he became King of the Nupe, made war
on Share and drove out the Nupe and their King, -whose title
was " Nda Pottaw." In three years' time he and his people
returned, but accepted the Yoruba " Olupako " as Paramount
Chief in recognition of his having preserved the city. In 1905
the Yoruba quarrelled amongst themselves, and the Olupako

458 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

was removed to Ilorin, where he died. His nephew on the female
side, Adelaya, was appointed Olupako of the Yoruba in Share.
His son, Abubakr, thereupon left Share and founded a new
town at Babanloma, where he lives as district head.

Gwonshi, son of Amadu, son of a Nda Pottaw, who owned
jurisdiction over Shonga as well as Share, has been made a
third-class Chief.

TRIBES INHABITING ILORIN PROVINCE.

1. Bariba, in Ilorin town. Emigrants from South Borgu.

2. Ekiti. Population, 15,000 in Awtun and 7,500 in Osi ;
also in Southern Nigeria.

3. Filane. Distributed throughout the Northern Provinces.

4. Gobirawa. In Ilorin town. Emigrants from Gobir
or Asben. They number some 120,000 in North Sokoto. There
is a group of some 2,000 in Bauchi Emirate and a further group
in Zaria.

5. Kanawa. In Ilorin town. Emigrants from Kano.

6. Kanuri. In Ilorin town. Emigrants from Bornu, where,
including off-sets, they number some 450,000.

7. Nupe. With their off-sets, the Kede and Zumbufu,
natives of the Niger Valley, their principal stronghold being
in Niger Province, where they number some 100,000, but they
are scattered throughout Nigeria.

8. Yagba. Located in Pategi and in the north-west of
Kabba Province, where they number some 17,872.

9. Yoruba. In Ilorin town, and particularly in the west
and south of the Province, together with their off-set, the Igbona
(population 20,000) in Off a and Lafiagi. They are members
of a nation numbering some four millions, of whom there
are scattered groups throughout the Northern Provinces.

KABBA PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :
Dr. Cargill. Mr. J. A. Ley-Greaves.

The town of Kabba, a corruption of Oke-Oba, signifies the
" father of hills," and is so called from its vicinity to the bigger
of three sacred hills.

The Province contains about eight thousand square miles.

On the north it is bounded by the River Niger and Ilorin
Province, on the north-west by Ilorin Province, and on the
south-west and south by Southern Nigeria, and on the east by
the Niger.

The Province consists of uplands over one thousand feet
above the sea level, interspersed with fertile valleys and with
belts of thick forest, which contain fine timber. The country
is intersected by streams, and heavy bush grows round them.
The southern portion is rocky, hilly, and with considerable forests.

The climate is temperate and the health of Europeans is
generally good, but the natives are subject to the usual outbreaks
of small-pox and pneumonia. Sleeping sickness is endemic in
the Bunu district.

Tsetse fly abounds and precludes animal transport. Horses
and the larger oxen succumb to their attacks, but a peculiar
kind of dwarf cattle, sheep, goats and fowls thrive fairly well.

The sylvan products are particularly valuable, and include
mahogany, ebony, aroko, rubber, gum copal, wood-oil
(copaiba ?), kola, many of which are of the fine Laboje species,
shea, and a great number of oil palms. The oil palm (Elaeis
Guinensis) is probably indigenous to the country ; that is to
say, to the Southern Provinces, where, at a rough estimate,
some two or three million trees in bearing have been notified.
The kernels are very generally exported to Europe, but the
natives express a considerable quantity of oil for their own use.
The nuts are boiled for some twelve hours, and yield a red oil
called Main-ja. This is removed and the sediment placed in
the sun, where it is kept for three or four days until thoroughly
dry. This is then fried and when heated is pounded in a
mortar. It then exudes a black oil (Aleidi). Main-ja is used
for culinary purposes, aleidi as a purgative and for lighting
purposes. It is inferior to kerosine, but is sometimes mixed

460 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

with it. It is reckoned that a good tree will yield twelve
bottles of Main- j a (market value roughly 6d. or yd. each) and
six bottles of Aleidi (worth i/- each). Palm wine is obtained
by puncturing the tree in its topmost shoots ; a calabash is
bound below the cut and fills in the course of a few hours
(value i/-). It can only be obtained once a year, and
renders the tree useless for other purposes.

Among the fruits are mango, paw-paw, banana, lime, cocoanut
and pineapple.

The people are largely agriculturists, and the usual crops
are cultivated, i.e., yams, maize, guinea-corn, gero, beans,
rice, cassava, indigo, beniseed* and cotton.

Indigo and cotton are largely used throughout the Province,
where weaving — particularly amongst the women — is universal.
Many kinds of dyes, mostly vegetable, but some aniline, are
used. A very fine variety of cloth known as " arigiddi " has
a wide sale. Besides farming and weaving the riverain tribes
cut fuel for steamers, fish with nets made of cotton, and make
canoes from the cotton tree or mahogany. Wood-carving for
doors, etc., is very common, and each tribe manufactures its
own agricultural implements from a soft iron that is found in
most parts of the Province. Knives are made from hard iron
imported in staves.

Tradition places the origin of brass casting in this locality,
though but little is made now. The belief that the art was not
introduced from Europe is supported by the fact that the old
West African bronzes have a different amalgam to European
formula.

The principal exports are palm oil, palm kernels, shea nuts,
wood oil (copaiba), kola, rubber, some cloth, and beniseed.

With a population of some 133,654 there exist about 28
tribes owing allegiance to 165 independent Chiefs. They have
been gradually brought under district headmen — vide list. A
bastard Yoruba is the lingua franca of the greater part of the
Province.

When the British took over the administration of the country
in 1900, the headquarters for the Protectorate was established
at Lokoja — (Yoruba Ilu-oke-oja — town rock or hill market,
from its situation at the foot of the rocky hill, Mount Patte),
on the confluence of the Benue and Niger. The confidence
of the natives was gradually established and in 1903 a land
revenue was raised. In 1908 the headquarters of the Province
was transferred to Kabba — hitherto an outstation (Lokoja
being handed over to cantonments in 1909) and the country
was divided into three administrative sections :

* The Sesamum Alatum, with various sub-species, is indigenous to
Africa and may be found wild in many parts of Nigeria.

KABBA PROVINCE. 461

I. Kabba, to the west of the Province, with an area of
4,608 square miles and a popu ation of 166,522. It is further
divided into four districts under the Chief Baro of Kabba.

II. Agbaja Division, in the north of the Province, contains
an area of 1,400 square miles and a population of 14,419. It is
further divided into four districts. The principal Chief is the
Oru of Agbaja. The station is at Agbaja itself, which is situated
at a height of 1,100 feet above sea-level.

III. The Southern Division comprises an area of 1,992
square miles and a population of 52,713. It is further divided
into three districts, and embraces the Igbira tribe and Kukuruku
clans, with stations at Iddo and Okeni, the two principal Chiefs
being Adogga of Iddo and Ataru of Okeni.

The Beit el Mai was started in 1912, the principal taxes raised
being Kurdin Kassa and Jangali. Seventy-five per cent, goes
to the Government and twenty-five per cent, to the Native
Administration.

Coinage, cowries, cloth and cattle are all accepted currency.

There i§ a Roman Catholic Mission (Societe de Missions
Africaines de Lyons) at Opepe among the Ibie, which was
opened in 1893. The Church Missionary Society have churches
at Kabba, Beliko, Arigidi, Ogiddi and Otunware. Europeans
work the districts from Lokoja and from Owe, in Southern
Nigeria. There is also a teacher (native) at Akoko.

The Sudan Interior and Wesleyan Missions are represented
by native converts, and the former will probably open a station
at Isanlu Makutu.

A provincial pagan school was opened in Kabba in 1914.

TRIBES INHABITING KABBA PROVINCE.

1. Ade. In Kabba Division.

2. Aiere. One town only, in Kabba Division.

3. Akoko. Population 6 or 7 thousand in the Kukuruku
District and some 30,000 in the south-west of the Province.

4. Aworo. Population, 3,799 m Agbaja Division.

5. Bassa Komo. In Agbaja Division and principally in
Bassa Province, population some 12,000; part of the Bassa tribe,
population 47,400 in Nassarawa Province, and in considerable
numbers in Niger and Kontagora Provinces.

6. Bunu. Population 6,142 in Kabba Division.

7. Igbira. Population 23, 254 in Agbaja Division; also a group
of 1,120 amongst the Kukuruku in the Southern Division ; 8,553
are located in Bassa Province, 7,117 in Koton Karifi, with a
further small group near Wushishi, and 4,728 in Nassarawa
Emirate, and in Muri.

8. lyara. A small tribe at Lupa, in Kabba Division

462

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

9. Kakanda. Population 1,793 in Agbaja Division ; a further
group in Bassa, 41 in Nassarawa Province, and 4,500 in Lapai
Emirate.

10. Kukuruku. A name given to a group comprising Edo-
Bini (population 26,620). Akoko (6,000-7,000) and other clans
situated in the Southern Division ; with a population roughly
assessed at 38,000.

11. Nge. In the Agbaja Division; also in Bassa Province,
where they number 12,441.

12. Nupe. In Kabba Division (with their off-set Kupa in
Agbaja and Bunu. Population 3,596), their place of origin being
in Niger Province, where they number some 100,000 ; but they
are scattered throughout Nigeria.

13. Ogidi, to the south-west of Kabba.

14. Owe. In and around Kabba town.

15. Yagba. Population 17,872 in the north-west of Kabba
and in Pategi (Ilorin).

KANO PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. W. F. Cowers. Mr. H. R. Palmer.

Mr. A. Campbell-Irons. Capt. J. M. Freraantle.
Mr. J. W. Gill. Mr. C. N. Monsell.

Mr. G. J. F. Tomlinson.

The Province of Kano contains an area of 30,331 square miles
and a population of 2,760,990. It comprises ten Emirates,
which are^described separately.

The Province is bounded on the north by French Sudan,
on the east by Bornu, on the south by Ningi (Bauchi Province)
and Zaria, and on the west by Sokoto.

With the exception of occasional outcrops of granite,
which are sometimes from two hundred to three hundred feet
high, the whole area is flat and remarkably fertile. In the
northern portion the rainfall is scanty, but at Kano itself and
all over the southern part it is plentiful — about thirty-five inches
in a good year. The soil in the north, as might be expected, is
somewhat light, but by no means so sandy as that of Northern
Sokoto or Bornu. In parts, especially round Kano city, the
population is very dense ; about a million of the inhabitants
are clustered at the rate of four hundred per square mile. In
the north (owing to the lack of water) and in the southern parts
(owing to the ravages of the Ningi tribes) the population is scanty,
often only about four per square mile. In the more populated
parts the traveller passes for days through country which is
all cultivated with the greatest possible care, farm succeeding
farm, each patch neatly divided from its neighbour by a cactus
hedge, bare.y enough space for necessary roads being left. These
farms are studded with dorowa (locust beans) , giginia (fan palms) ,
and baobabs, and other trees of economic value, all carefully
preserved by the villagers. Plots under intensive cultivation
and irrigated tracts are frequently found, every kind of crop
being raised. The natives show great industry, skill and know-
ledge, inherited from past generations, in turning the soil to
the best use. Altogether this district is a good example of what
the African yeoman farmer can do under favourable conditions.

464 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

It is probable that under no other method could the soil not
only be made to support so large a population, but be made
to afford large quantities of produce, such as ground nuts, for
export as well.

Here and there amongst the hamlets are found large walled
towns. In these dwell the artisans and trading communities.
The more well-to-do farmers frequently have houses within the
walls in addition, which in former days they resorted to in times
of danger. Since the British occupation, the need having dis-
appeared, these town houses are less kept up ; hence the
somewhat ruined appearance of many of these towns, which,
however, does not denote lack of prosperity amongst the com-
munity as a whole, but only the fact that the people reside more
on their farms — a good sign.

Tin is found at Badifft and at Riruwei, in the south of Kano
Emirate. Native tin smelters had worked here for generations,
but in 1902 A.D. ceased operations in obedience to a command
from their Chief to grow more corn.

Some of the villagers migrating to Riruei (Liruei), in Bauchi,
discovered the tin deposits at Naraguta, which are now so
extensively worked by European firms. This emigration took
place probably some ninety years ago.

The Province is studded with trees, amongst which baobab,
locust-bean, kainya (ebony), tsamia (tamarind), kiriya (Ptero-
carpus Erinaceus), a hard- wooded tree impervious to the
attacks of white ants, the powdered wood is used as a dye
for cloth and skins, but is inferior to camwood for this purpose,
kalgo (Bauhinia Reticulata), gamji (gutta-percha), shea-butter,
mareki (Anageissus Leiocarpa), the timber is very hard, and
is proof against white ants, it yields a gum which is more highly
esteemed than that of any other tree, the natives use it for
tanning, that the hairs may not come out of the skin ; baure
(ficus), ferakia (plum), may be mentioned.

Much of the country is under cultivation, and big crops
are raised of maiwa (millet), gero (millet), guinea-corn (cereals
are said to have been first introduced into Haussaland by the
Maguzawa in Katsina), sugar-cane, ground-nuts, beans, sweet
potatoes, yams, cotton, indigo, ochro, pepper, tobacco, ramma
(Hibiscus lunarif olius) , tomatoes, and special crops requiring
irrigation, such as cassava and onions.

It is also a pastoral Province, and large herds of cattle, goats
and flocks of sheep may be seen. Camels are largely used for
transport, and considerable numbers may be seen in the vicinity
of Kano town in the dry season. They were first introduced into
Haussaland by Abdullahi, who reigned from 14.38-1452 A.D.

KANO PROVINCE. 465

The principal industries are weaving,* tailoring, tanning,
dyeing,* mat-making (from the leaves and fibre of palms), pigeon
and dove breeding, bee-keeping, fishing.

In former days a great deal of trade was done with Tripoli,
with the Asbenawa, Bornu, and the Guinea Coast, large caravans
of camels, oxen and donkeys conveying the goods along the
various trade routes. The opening of the railway, which now
connects Kano with the coast at Lagos, to general traffic (April
nth, 1912), is being taken extensive advantage of by the Arab
and Yoruba merchants. The principal exports are grain,
ground-nuts, skins, shea-nuts, bees- wax, tobacco, f cotton,
cloth, and livestock. The British Cotton Growing Association
have established three buying stations in Katsina.

The principal imports are salt, potash, kola nuts, tea, sugar
and scents, English cloths.

The ratio of the cowry to cash is now from 2,600 to 3,000 per
i/-, but its purchasing power is probably only one-third to one-
fourth of what it was fifty years ago. Prices are still quoted in
cowries, but subsidiary coinage is becoming increasingly popular.
Cowries were first brought to Kano in the early part of the
eighteenth century.

There are at present in Kano Province four Government
schools : —

1. The Kano Emirate Provincial School.

2. The Katsina Emirate Provincial School.

3. The Kano Industrial School.

4. The Survey School.

Kano Province was brought under British control in 1903.
It has been divided into four administrative divisions :—

i. Kano Emirate. 2. Katsina Emirate (including Daura and
Kazaure Emirates). 3. Katagum Emirate (comprising also
the smaller Emirates of Messau and Jemaari, area 4,374 square
miles; population 274,817). 4. The Northern Division (which
consists of the Emirates of Gumel and Hadeija, with headquarters
at Gumel. Area 2,505 square miles ; population 95,792.

* See p. 484, 485, 486.

| Tobacco is probably indigenous to the country (Barth), but is grown
for local use only, as the leaf cannot compete in the foreign market owing
to careless drying. When the leaves are gathered they are put in a
basket in the sun in order that they may ferment slightly. They are
then spread out in the sun either singly or in plaits of J£ to 2 inches in
diameter, the rib not being removed from the leaf for another three
days ; they are then sprinkled with water and twisted into sticks sometimes
4 feet in length, or into balls.

GG

466 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

KANO EMIRATE.

The earliest inhabitants of Kano city, according to an oral
tradition generally accredited by the Kano people of to-day,
were Abagiyawa, descended from a Gaiya smith named Kano,
who settled near Dalla Hill, having come thither in a search for
ironstone. An Arabic MS. (the Kano Chronicle), however,
traces the origin of the race to a giant ancestor named Dalla,
who settled on the hill which now bears that name in Kano.
His descendant, Barbushe, became the high priest of the pagan
religion of Tchunburburai. He was also a prophet and fore-
told how their dominion should be wrested from them and a
mosque be built. In the following generation the prophecy was
fulfilled, for in the tenth century an influx of foreigners came
to the province from the neighbourhood of Baghdad, via Bornu.
One of them became Sarkin Daura, and, starting from the town
bearing that name, conquered and founded what were subse-
quently known as the seven Haussa States — i.e., Kano, Katsina,
Zeg-Zeg, Zamfara, Daura, Rano,* and according to some
authorities Gobir, according to others Hadeija. A son of the
Sarkin Daura became Chief over Kano in 999 A.D., and his
direct descendants, forty-three Sarkis in all, reigned over Kano
for the next eight hundred years.

Another version, that of Bello of Sokoto (" The Gardens of
Memory," Mohammed Bello) states that the seven Haussa
States — Zeg-Zeg, Nuro (probably Rano), Kano, Daura, Katsina,
Biram, and Gobir — were all under the sway of the Shehu of
Bornu, who set his slave Bawu to govern them. When Bawu
died his six sons succeeded him, his daughter Daura being given
the seventh State. The Sarkin Kano and Sarkin Gobir were
whole brothers. They all paid tribute to Bornu through Daura
till the time of the Jihad. Bello adds a note to the effect that
of all the States Kano is the most fertile and prosperous, being
famous for its palm-trees and its indigo.

During this time the Kanawa were conquered by the Kebbawa
(now Argungu) — probably between 1550 A.D. and 1600 A.D. — but
they were content to demand a tribute without occupying the city.
Their dominion was broken by an influx from the south, from the
Kwororafa, whose headquarters were at Mama in Adamawa.
The Kwororafa exacted tribute by repeated appeals to force
until some time approaching the middle of the eighteenth
century, when the Bornuese Empire extended itself into Haussa-
land. From that time until the Jihad the Kanawa were tributary
to Bornu. Though thus for some 250 years a subject power,
the Kanawa were probably autonomous as far as their internal
affairs were concerned. They elaborated a comprehensive

* Now part of Kano Emirate.

KANO FROVINCE. 467

•

system of taxation* and a regular hierarchy of officials.! The
Government seems to have been to a great extent an oligarchy,
the Sarki ranking as inferior to three (Galadima, Madaiki, and
Wambai), the latter always a slave out of the nine principal
officials, equal to another three (Makama, Sar Dawaki, Sarkin
Bai (the latter always a slave), and superior to the remaining
three (Chiroma, Danlya, and Sarkin Dawaki Tsakkar Gidda).
Throughout these centuries the Habe worshipped a red serpent
and a sacred tree, Tchunburburai, which grew in a grove round
the Jakara pool within Kano city ; and a form of serpent is
the "totem " of nearly every non-Muslim Haussa community at
the present day. The pagan Filane had, however, a
different form of worship, somewhat resembling that of the
Knights of Malta, for it centred round a staff which was held
by the head of the clan while he made incantations. A slaughter
of cattle accompanied these rites.

Muhammadanism was brought to Kano in the fourteenth
century (1349 — ^5 A.D.) by the Wangarawa (Mandingoes) from
Melle, and gradually spread until at the time of the Jihad, when
the Filane coalesced under Othman dan Fodio, there were many
tribes to support their co-religionists. Indeed, in the year 1500
scholars from Timbuktu (the intellectual centre of the whole
Sudan) journeyed to Kano, where they gave lectures on the
teachings of Islam.

It was not till after the Sarkin Musulmi was established
at Sokoto that the Filane Chiefs in the neighbourhood of
Kano sent an embassy requesting a flag and authority to
conquer Kano. It was granted, and after a further period

* " In the reign of Naguji, 1194-1247, a land tax was first raised,
consisting of one-eighth of the crop from all husbandmen."

"In the reign of Kutumbi, 1623-48, Jizia or Jangali was first
collected from the Filane cattle owners."

" Mohamma Sharefa, 1703-31 A.D. introduced seven practices in Kano ,
all of which were robbery : — (1) Karo ( = clubbing goods together — a deposit ?).
(2) Rinsua. (3) Matafada. (4) Yan dawaki. (5) Kuaru. (6) Jijia
( = tribute) of maidens on marriage. (7) Jizian Kasua Kurmi."

" His successor, Kumbari, 1731-43 A.D., collected so much jizia from
the Kasua Kurmi that the market was nearly killed. He collected jizia
and made even the mallams pay — the Arabs left the town for Katsina
and the poorer people fled the country." — Kano Chronicle.

f PRESENT KANO RANKS

Haikimi. Relatives of the Emir. Not related to the Emir.

1. Galadima. 1. Madawaki.

2. Wambai. 2. Makama.

3. Chiroma. 3. Sar. Dawaki Maituta.

4. Turaki Mainya. • 4. Burden Kano.

5. Sarkin Bai.

Sar. Dawaki Tsakkar Gidda comes midway in the list, but with no
definite precedence.

468 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

for preparation a successful -campaign was waged against the
Sarkin Kano, who after some three years spent in fighting, was
killed in battle. The confederates extended their conquests in
the neighbourhood, but did not attack Kano itself. After the
lapse of some two years the five leaders went to Sokoto that a
Sarki might be nominated. A slave, by name Sulimanu, by
birth a Kanawa Filane, was selected, and became first Emir and
44th Chief of Kano. On his death the whole country rose and
the second Emir, Dabo, a brother of the original five Filane
leaders, was practically a prisoner in his house for a year. He
then commenced hostilities, and in five years time had established
a strong position. Besides local wars, he assisted the Sarkin
Musulmi in repelling the Bornuese, who threatened the power
of the Filane Emirates, and the Gobirawa, who were aided by
the Maradi and Adamawa.

The Emirate passed in succession to three sons of Dabo,
and then to a grandson in whose reign there was a disastrous
civil war. Another grandson, Aliu, now became Chief, and
carried on various raids. On hearing of the advent of the British
he fled, but was captured in French territory and handed captive
to them. The reigning Chief, appointed by the British in 1903—
Abbas — is also a grandson of Dabo.*

Military notes, and concerning the principal events of warfare
between Kano and the Kworarafawa, Zaria, Bornu, and Katsina,
collated from the Kano Chronicle :—

Shields (Garkwa) were first introduced into Kano between the
years 1136-94 A.D.

Kanajeji — 1390-1410 A.D. — first introduced lifidi ( = cotton
armour), iron helmets, and coats of mail.

Mohamma Rimfa — 1463-1499 A.D. — was the first Sarki
who used " Dawakin Zagge " (footmen accompanying and taking
cover amongst the horsemen) on the occasion of war against
Katsina.

In the reign of Kumbari — 1731-43 A.D. — shields were first
brought from the Nupe, and guns.

Babba Zaki — 1768-76 A.D. — was the first Sarki to employ
a guard of musketeers, a practice which has obtained ever since.

Kworarafa.

From the fourteenth century was incessant warfare, the most
formidable opponents being Kworarafa, whom Yaji — circ. 1380-85
A.D. — first attacked because they alone of all pagan tribes from
Biyri to Fanda refused to follow him. They were forced to pay

* For Genealogical Tree see end of Book.

KANO PROVINCE. 469

him a tribute of one hundred slaves ; and the next mention is
when Kanajeji, his son (1390-1410), sent to ask why they had
ceased to pay him tribute. They sent two hundred slaves, and
he sent them horses, and they sent him slaves. But — circ.
1582-1618 — the Kworarafa came to attack Kano, and the inhabi-
tants of the city fled to Daura, with the result that the Kworarafa
ate up the whole country, and Kano became very weak. In
the year 1653 Adashu Sarkin Kworarafa again came and harried
Kano, and about 1671 the Kworarafa returned, forced an entry
into the city and inflicted very heavy losses on the Kano sara
kuna, who attempted to oppose them. This appears to have
been the last of their conflicts.

Zaria.

Kanajeji (1390-1410) made war on Zuk-zuk, but was defeated
at Turunku ; he returned, however, the following year and
slew the Sarkin Zuk-zuk and many of his Chiefs in battle,
entered Zuk-zuk and lived there for eight months, the people
giving him vast quantities of tribute. Dauda (1421-38) again
set out to make war on Zaria, but probably retired without
achieving any result ; but Abdulahi (1499-1509) again attacked
and defeated Zaria.

Bornu.

The first communication appears to have taken place in the
reign of Dauda in 1432, when Othman Kalnama, called Dagachi
(=ruler), a great prince, arrived from South Bornu " with many
men and mallams, horses, drums and trumpets, and flags and
guns." He was very well received, and was left in control of
the town and country when Dauda went to war. Whether he
was a refugee or an emissary seems doubtful, but Abdulahi
Burja (1438-52), whatever the influence, was the first in Haussa-
land to pay gaisua to Bornu. He also opened up the roads from
Bornu to Ganjua ; and this was followed by large numbers of
Beri-beri settling in the country.

Between the years 1499-1509 Dagachi (or his descendant)
prepared to revolt, and Sarkin Bornu advanced to his support,
but the Sarkin Kano humbled himself and averted attack ; but
once the Shehu had departed beguiled Dagachi into submission,
and then turned him out of office. His successor^-Mohamma
Kisoki (1509-1565) — carried war into Bornu territory, and in
his turn received and repelled an attack on Kano. Between
the years 1731-43 Mai Ali Sarkin Bornu came to Kano to war.

Katsina.

In the time of Mohamma Rimfa (1463-1499) the first war
against Katsina commenced, and lasted for eleven years without

470 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

decisive results, but his successor, Abdulahi (1499-1509),
conquered the foe. In the reign of Abubakr Kado (1565-1573) the
Katsinawa had their revenge, devastating the country right up
to the walls of Kano. His successor carried war into their
country, but was driven back ; and again, between the years
1582-1618, the Katsinawa swept the neighbourhood, and if
it had not been for respect for the mallams would have entered
and destroyed the city. A few years after this the Kanawa
marched up to Katsina, dispersed their foes, and captured great
booty, including four hundred horses and sixty suits of horse
armour. MohammaNazaki (1618-23) proposed terms of peace, but
Katsina refused the terms, attempted an invasion, were repulsed
with great loss, and were continuously harried until 1648, when
they repelled the Kano army and inflicted a mortal wound on
Kutumbi the Sarki. In the reign of Shekkarau (1649-51) a
treaty of peace was made.

With an area of 12,362 miles, Kano Emirate is, for adminis-
trative purposes, divided into fourteen districts, under headmen
directly responsible to the Emir. The population of some
1,788,672 mainly consists of Filane, Kanawa, Beri-beri, and
Arabs (vide p. 483). The capital, Kano, covers an area of some
ten square miles, and contains a population of 59,672. This
neighbourhood supports a large population, four hundred to the
square mile, equivalent in density to that of Belgium. Situated
at an altitude of 1,810 feet the climate is dry and healthy. The
maximum temperature reported was H3deg. F., the minimum
47deg. F., the average rainfall being about 33 inches.

The British Resident for the Province has his headquarters
at Kano.

There are several European trading firms established at Kano.

In January, 1909, the Beiyut-el-Mal, or native treasury, was
inaugurated, from which the Emir received a fixed salary of
£5,000 a year, the Waziri £1,000 a year, the Alkali £800 a year,
and minor officials, dogarai* (283 in number), etc., regular salaries.
A Judicial Council — consisting of the Emir, Waziri, Maaji,
Alkali and five mallamai, was reinstated — and that same month
a school for the sons of Chiefs was started at Nassarawa, under
Mr. Hanns Vischer. It consisted of a school for Mallamai and
an Industrial School. All instruction was given in the Haussa
language and the writing was in Roman character. Pupils
were sent from all Emirates in the Province, as also from Bornu,
Bauchi, Zaria, and Nupe. £1,000 per annum was granted by
the Emir from the Beiyut-el-Mal. The Technical School was,
however, closed in 1914, and the following year the pupils were
brought into Kano town in greatly reduced numbers, owing to

* Native police under native administration.

KANO PROVINCE. 471

provincial schools being opened in various parts of the Protec-
torate. There are now some 69 pupils in Kano town.

KATSINA EMIRATE.

AUTHORITY : Mr. H. R. Palmer.

Katsina Emirate stretches north of Zaria, east of Sokoto,
and north-west of Kano Emirate. Its area is 8,313 square miles,
and it has a population of 441,422. The population is composed
of two elements, Negro and Berber, the latter being sub-divided
into half-bred Tuarek and Filane. From the fifteenth century
onwards Filane have been settled in the country, but until the
beginning of the nineteenth century they did not affect the general
type. The principal inhabitants are Filane, Kanawa, Bugaje,
Maguzawa, amongst whom are to be found in scattered settle-
ments Asbenawa, Agalawa. With few exceptions they hold
the Muslim faith, which was introduced by Arab missionaries
about 1450 A.D. From that time till 1806 the seat of Arabic
learning was near Kogo, in the Maska district.

For purposes of administration the Emirate is divided into
twenty-three districts, under headmen directly responsible to
the Emir, who is in turn responsible to the British Resident.
The Beit-el-Mal was inaugurated in 1908 and finally established
in 1909. The principal towns are Katsina, Machi, Dura, Ummado,
Kufi, and Ingawa, which dates from the fifteenth century. A
provincial school was started at Katsina in 1914, where there
are some sixty pupils.

The district is only rich in corn and cattle, and a good deal
of cotton is grown. The British Cotton Growing Association
have three buying stations at Tandama, Bakori, and Huntuwa.
The retail price in Kano market is 2|d. a Ib. Above the degree
12.30 gero is grown, but there is not enough rain for any consider-
able quantity of dawa. Below this latitude camels do not live
through the wet season, nor do horses do as well during the
rains.

Iron is worked in the Farva district, and to a slight extent
at Dankama.

The principal industries are dyeing, weaving, cloth-making,
and tanning, for which Kano is the market, as there are no
wealthy traders even in the capital. Some of the women are
good potters.

The Chiefs of Katsina may be divided into three sections.
Seven Habe Chiefs of the Durbawa dynasty from about 950 A.D.,
of whom there are only legendary accounts. The Habe of the
Wangara and Durbawa dynasties (Mandingo), of whom there
is authentic record of thirty-five Chiefs, who reigned from

472 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

1445 A.D. ; and the Filane Emirs, nine of whom have reigned
since the Jihad in 1807, including the present Sarki, who, though
descended from a minor Filane Chief, is not connected with any
of the families ennobled by the Shehu of Sokoto.

In the tenth century strangers came from the neighbourhood
of Bagdad, via Bornu. One of them having, according to tradi-
tion, married a queen of Daura, became Chief of that place.
He conquered and founded Katsina as one of the seven Haiissa
States.

The Katsina facial marks — six strokes on one cheek and
seven on the other — still remain as they were in this first legendary
period of the Durbawa.

It is recorded that Jidda Yaki was the last Chief of the first
period, and that he was killed by guile at a feast, by his successor
Korau, a Mallam from Yandoto Hill. This Mallam was a Man-
digan, whose name Korau (Kore=to drive) contains a root
' kor " or " gor," meaning " man " or " hand," in a language
of far greater antiquity than Filane or Haussa, which was spoken
widely over North Africa. As this language was spoken
by red men of the Hottentot type, " kor" ( = man-conqueror) was
applied to those who were red in colour, and thus Korau was
simply the singular of Wa-kore=Wangara, or talakawa of the
Ghana Empire, or Mandingoes. The usurper gave to Jiddayaki
the name of Sannau, which is from the Hottentot word Sa or
Sau, meaning people, settlers, aborigines. Other names in
Katsina are of the same origin.

That the Wangara reigned since 1445 is authentic, but the
Durbawa remained electors of the Sarota, and were the reposi-
tories of everything connected with magic. The ruling Sarki
was not allowed to die of old age or ill-health, but was killed by
an official called Kariagiwa. The new King was elected either
by some rite with the sacred snake, or by throwing a spear into
the ground . If it remained upright while the name of the candidate
was called the nomination was confirmed. The new King was
then put on a bed and a black ox was slaughtered above him,
so that he was drenched in its blood. The skin of this ox was
then taken to the palace and the deceased Chief put inside it
and dragged on the ground to the place of burial. The body
was buried in an upright position. After a while the Durbawa
lost their exclusive right of nomination, which became vested
in three Chiefs ; and the rulers selected alternated between the
Durbawa and Wangara dynasties. It may be noted that the
Durbawa practised matrilinear descent.

Contemporary history shows the probability of Katsina having
become a fief of the Melle Empire towards the close of the fifteenth
century ; and it is therefore natural that the Askia should
attack it, as he did in 1513. In fact, at the beginning of the
sixteenth century Katsina was disputed by Bornu and Songhay,

KANO PROVINCE. 47 j

and later by Bornu and Kebbi. At the beginning of the eigh-
teenth century the Kingdom probably reached its greatest
extent, including as it then did Maradi and Zamfari and the
land down to Birnin Gwari. At the end of the eighteenth
century, however, Gobir robbed Katsina of the north part of
Zamfara. On the outbreak of the Jihad, circ. 1804, the Sarkin
Musulmi gave a flag to Na Alhaji, whose ancestors (possibly his
father) came from Malle, in Bornu. He had started a school
south of Katsina, and was married to a daughter of the
Haussa Sarkin Katsina. His attempts to subdue the Haussa
power were ineffectual, and he died of a poisoned riga given
him by his father-in-law, the then Sarkin Katsina. On
his death Mallam Umoru, with support from Sokoto,
succeeded in establishing a Filane Kingdom over Katsina.
In 1903 the Emir of Katsina, Abu Bakr, made his submission
to the British, but the following year charges were brought
against him and he was deposed, Durbi (or Mohama) Yero being
installed as Emir in his place. He was suspended in 1906, and
Durbi (or Mohama) Diko appointed.

KATAGUIYI EMIRATE.

The Emirate of Katagum covers an area of 3,501 square miles,
and is situated to the east of Kano Emirate and west of Bornu.

The ruling race came from Wuderi in Bornu, and the natives
often call the Emirate " Bornu Wuderi." In the twelfth century
it is probable that it was a fief of the great Kanuri Kingdom,
but was lost to them in the course of the next two centuries.
The history of its Kings goes back to 602 years before the coming
of Shehu Dan Fodio. Four of these Kings are said to have
reigned for one hundred years and more each ! Indeed the
inhabitants are long-lived, individuals of ninety-five and even
113 years of age having been known. It was independent
both of Bornu and of the Haussa States at the time of the Jihad,
when Shehu Dan Fodio gave a flag to the Filane, Mallam Zaki,
who became the first Emir of Katagum.

1. Mallam Zaki, s. 1818 A.D., r. 5 years.

2. Leman Dandou, s. 1823 A D-> r- 2 years.

3. Dankowa, s. 1825 A.D., r. 29 years.

4. Abdunaman, s. 1854 A.D., r. 5 years.

5. Kadri, s. 1859 A.D., r. 17 years.

6. Hagi, s. 1876 A.D., r. 29 years.

7. Abdul Kadri, s. 1905 A.D., r. 9 years.

8. Mahomadu, s. 1914 A.D.,

Katagum was visited by Clapperton, 1822-24. In 1903
it was brought under British administration, and in 1904 an
Emir was appointed of the Katagum dynasty, who was succeeded

474 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

in 1905 by Azari (or Muhama) Abdul Kadri. It became a sub-
province of Kano that same year.

The Emirate of Katagum is now divided into nine districts,
under headmen, directly responsible to the Emir. A native
treasury was inaugurated in 1909-10.

The divisional and Emirate headquarters was moved from
Katagum to Azare in 1916.

Watered by the Katagum River the capital is extremely
swampy, and marshes, broken by sandy ridges, run east and
west for some considerable distance. The Division is economically
poor.

The population of some 189,660 consist mainly of Filane
and Kanuri. These latter are comprised of :—

1. Gumelawa (or Gabasawa), from Gumel and South and
West Bornu.

2. Mangawa, from Gumel and North and East Bornu.

3. Damagarawa or Arewa, from Damagaram and the north.

4. Sarabawa or Shua, from north of Kukawa.

They are of a desert type, being dark-skinned, tall and very
slight. The women are appreciably smaller than the men.
For other tribes see table page 483.

HADEIJA EMIRATE.

AUTHORITY : Mr. A. Campbell-Irons.

The Emirate of Hadeija contains an area of 2,768 square
miles, and is divided into six districts. It is situated to the
north-east of Katagum, in the Northern Division. It is a disputed
point whether in the tenth century Hadeija or Gobir formed one
of the seven Haussa States. In the Kano Chronicle there is
a mention that the son of the Sarkin Machina came to Kano in
the reign of Yakubu (1452-63) and was made Chief over Hadeija,
with the title of Sarkin Gabbas. It became a Filane Emirate
?.t the time of the Jihad, Sambo receiving a flag from Othman
Dan Fodio. His elder son Bohari made himself King in defiance of
the Sarkin Musulmi's edict in favour of his younger brother ;
and, obtaining the support of the Sarkin Bornu, defeated all
opponents. His reign was one long succession of wars and he was
finally killed in battle at Gorguram about 1863. Hadeija sent
in submission to the British in 1903. In 1904 the British occupied
the country, but the fifth Chief opposed their advent and was
overthrown and killed in 1906, and Haruna appointed in his place.
He died in 1909, and was succeeded by the Chiroma Abdul Kadri.
In that same year the Beiyut-el-Mal was started.

KANO PROVINCE. 475

HADEIJA GENEALOGY.

Filane Emirs :—

1. Sambo, s. 1805 A.D., r. 42 years.

2. Bohari, his son, s. 1847 A.D., r. 16 years.

3. Umoru, or Babaru, his brother, s. 1863 A.D., r. 2 years.

4. Haruna, s. 1865 A.D., r. 19-20 years.

5. Mohamadu, s. 1885 A.D., r. 21 years.

6. Haruna, s. 1906 A.D., r. 3 years.

7. Abdul Kadri, his son, s. 1909 A.D.

The population number some 115,448, and consists of Kanuri,
Filane, Auyokawa, Maguzawa from Kano, Koyamawa,
Beddawa, Ngizimawa, Mangawa.

There is a town of historic interest in Hadeija named Garin
Gabbas, but which in old times bore the name of Biram, which
was originally of great influence. It was founded by Arabs from
Bandadaza or Baghdad. One Muktari, or Bayajibda, with
his younger brother Buram, migrated west until they reached
Birnin Bornu (Kukawa), where the Shehu gave Muktari a town
and his daughter in marriage. Muktari was presently compelled
to flee, but left his wife on the road, where she gave birth to
Biram, who founded Garin Gabbas, Muktari continuing his
journey as far as Daura, where he slew the celebrated serpent
and married the Queen. Another version of the legend is that
it was Buram, the younger brother, who founded Garin Gabbas.
A descendant of this Arab family still reigns as Chief.

DAMBAM EMIRATE.

Dambam Emirate has an area of 288 square miles, with a
population of 24,222, which is largely composed of Filane. It is
bounded on the north and east by Bornu, on the south by Bauchi,
and on the west and north by Katagum. Early in the thirteenth
century three men of the Marghi tribe came from the Bagirimi
country, east of the Shari River, and founded States to the west
of the Kanem Kingdom. One of these men was named Shira,
and he founded the city of the same name, which became the
stronghold of the Chiefs of Dambam.*

In 1807, at the time of Jihad, the Filane attacked and subdued
Shira, which came under Katagum control (now Jemaari).
This territory was, however, claimed by Bornu, and Abdulla,
brother of the late Habe Sarki of Shira, joined Laminu El
Kanemi. He entered into intrigue with the Filane and retired to

* Some authorities have it that the original Habe stock of Shira
reigned from 912 A.D. to 1809 A.D., under 12 chiefs.

476 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

the neighbourhood of Kano, but thought better of it, rendered
allegiance to Bornu once more and was allowed to settle at
Dambam, circ. 1830-40. He conquered several neighbouring
villages, including, nominally at least, the Keri-Keri of Jellum,
and in 1843 went on pilgrimage to Mecca. On his return he was
called to Kukawa to answer certain charges against him, and
remained there till his death, in 1849.

Dambam was recognised as an independent State in 1907,
and a Beiyut-el-Mal was started in 1913. In 1915 it was merged
with Messau in the administrative division of Katagum.

Smelting is one of the industries of Dambam, and is conducted
thus : A circular hole is dug ij feet in diameter and 2 feet in
depth. A wall 2j feet in height of worked unproductive ore
is built round it, with an aperture at the base, through which an
air vent, a tapering tube of mud ij feet long, is laid. A double-
handed bellows is used to introduce a current of air at the vent.
The wall is then banked up in the mud. On the top of this is
placed a bottomless randa as a receptacle for coke and ore.

The hole is filled with guinea-corn chaff up to the ground level,
the furnace is filled up with coke, and a fire is started. When
the coke at the top has subsided sufficiently half a calabash of
ore is poured on the top ; when it has sunk ij calabashes of
coke are added; which processes are repeated until the ore is
exhausted. Seven calabashes of ore produce on an average sixty
to seventy pounds of iron.

The furnace is broken open about four hours after the last
ore has been inserted. It is commonly believed that the presence
of dogs and women endanger the process, and that the smelters
themselves must refrain alike from prayer and from unfaithfulness
for the same reason.

The ordinary industries are practised, principally weaving
and dyeing.

A considerable amount of stock is kept, which includes 3,423
cattle, 19,733 sheep, 19,837 goats, 1,711 donkeys, 187 horses,
130 mares.

Ground-nuts are the principal crop raised.

There are about 106 native schools in the Emirate.

JEMAARI EMIRATE.

AUTHORITIES :
Capt. J. M. Fremantle. Mr. C. N. Monsell.

The name signifies jemaa = people, mari of Mari, Mari
Marua, or Dilara, being a plain in the vicinity of Lake Chad,
where this section of Filane (Borroro) had been since the fifteenth

KANO PROVINCE. 477

century. There is a close connection between them and the
Adamawa, who came from the same district.

At the end of the eighteenth century Ardo Sali was the Chief
of this tribe, when, owing to a quarrel with the Sheikh of Bornu,
the Dilari Plain was seized ; or, as another version has it, the
land was raided by Gwoni Muktar (whose descendants are Emirs
of Messau), when he took and sacked Messau. At all events,
Ardo Sali and his people moved slowly westwards, and on his
death his son Mohamo Wobi led them first to Gujba and then
to Gijiri. He paid yearly homage to the Sarkin Musulmi and
did good service in fighting the pagan Keri-Keri, which was
rewarded by the Sarotaship of Gijiri. Owing to a jealous intrigue
from Katagum he was, however, removed to Lafia Loi-Loi, where
he was killed in a small fight with the Keri-Keri. His brother
Samboli succeeded him, circ. 1825, and in recognition of his
aid against Gobirawa and of his prowess in a battle where he
slew the Habe Sarkin Katsina (circ. 1830) was given lordship over
Gijip, the old Habe capital of Shira, which is still in the Jemaari
dominions and some adjoining lands.

He joined with Bauchi and Kano against his grandfather's
enemy Sheikh Laminu of Bornu, and against Bohari, who was
reigning at Hadeija with the support of Bornu against the will
of the Sarkin Musulmi. He was defeated and Gijip, or Shira,
was burned.

He died in 1861 and was succeeded by Sambo Gabaiki, a
son of Hamo Wobi, who built Jemaari. He died in 1886, and
was succeeded by his son Hamo Wobi, who submitted to the.
British in 1903. He was first placed under Katagum, but in
1907 was restored to independence.

JEMAARI GENEALOGY.

Ardo Sali.

(1) Hamo Wobi. (2} Sambolei.

1812-1825 A.D. 1825-1854 A.D.

(4) Sambo Gabaiki. (3) Hamo Maudo.
1861-1886 A.D. 1854-1861 A.D.

(5) Hamo Wobi

1886-1915 A.D.

(6, '

0

The Beiyut-el-Mal was started in 1913.

The Emirate has an area of some 160 square miles, and lie^
to the south-east of Kano Emirate. The country is well wooded,

478 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

but the trees are of no especial value. Ordinary crops are grown
on a soil which is, for the most part, light and sandy. The ground
is undulating and the fadammas are flooded in the wet season.

Jemaari is traversed by the Katagum River, on which it is
situated, but which carries little water.

The population numbers some 19,316, and comprises Filane,
Shirawa and Kanuri.

Dyeing and weaving are the principal industries.

5,722 village cattle are kept, 3,403 sheep, 10,588 goats, 546
donkeys, 118 mares, and 164 horses.

There are 102 native schools in the Emirate.

MESSAU EMIRATE.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. A. Campbell-Irons. Mr. H. Morgan-Owen.

Messau Emirate has an area of 713 square miles and a popula-
tion of 65,841, principally composed of Filane. It is bounded
on the north and west by Katagum, on the east by Bauchi and
on the south by Kano and Bauchi. The hilly region north of
Messau town is composed of granite, quartz and gravel, but
no minerals have been found. The town itself lies low in marshy
ground, which, however, is fertile and provides good pasturage ;
whilst to the south the soil is poor and in the wet season swampy.
In the south-west corner there is an area of some thirty-three
miles of virgin forest.

Dyeing and weaving are the principal industries, but the
population are essentially farmers, cultivating large quantities
of cotton, besides the ordinary crops. A large quantity of stock
is kept, over four thousand village cattle, besides about a thousand
belonging to Borroro, some ten thousand goats, 750 donkeys
ninety mares and eighty-four horses.

There are 124 native schools in the Emirate.

The ruling race are Filane, originating from Damatiru, near
Kukawa, in Bornu. It is said that their Chief, Gwoni Muktarr
(Filanchi for " a very learned man ") laid siege to and conquered
Kukawa, but was shortly driven back to Damatiru, where his
son, Mahaman Manga, succeeded him and reigned for twenty-
three years before being driven away as the result of land disputes.
He retired with his people to Bauchi, where Yakubu (first Emir)
gave them land near the Bornu boundary early in the nineteenth
century, and shortly after, in recognition of their services against
the enemies of the Jihad, the Emir of Sokoto created Mahaman
Manga and his heirs Chiefs of Messau, with the title of Sarkin
Bornu (circ. 1827-32 A.D.). They drove the Habe inhabitants

KANO PROVINCE. 479

out to Zadawa and made war upon the neighbouring pagans,
particularly on the Keri-Keri. Sale, the fourth Chief (who
usurped the throne while the rightful Chief, Usuman, was fighting
for Sokoto, and reigned from 1860 to 1885 A.D.), undertook
no fewer than fifty-five military expeditions, and in reward for
his prowess the Sarkin Musulmi granted his son and successor
additional territory. This Chief died in 1899, and was succeeded
by his brother Ahamadu, who, on the advent of the British in
1902, fled the country in fear. He returned to find his place taken
by another brother, Al Hajji, who declined to resign his office.
Ahamadu laid siege to Messau for six months, but, finding
himself unsuccessful, retired to the north, where he built another
town. Here he was joined by the Sarkin Musulmi, then fleeing
before the British, and together they opposed and were defeated
by the British at Burmi. The Sarkin Musulmi was slain in battle,
but Ahamadu made good his escape and retired on pilgrimage
to Mecca, leaving Al Hajji to be confirmed in office by the British.
Messau was left under the suzerainty of Bauchi until 1907 A.D.,
when it was constituted an independent unit in the Katagum
Division of Kano Province.

The Beiyut-el-Mal was inaugurated in 1913 A.D.

MESSAU GENEALOGY.

(1) Mahaman Manga. (2) Ahamadu.

1827-1829 1829-1848

(3) Usuman.
1848-1860

(4) Sale (who usurped the throne while Usuman,
1860-1885, was fighting for Sokoto, but one
of the Damatiru stock) .

(5) Mahaman Manga. (6) Ahamadu. (7) Al Hajji

1885-1899 1899-1902 1902-

DAURA EMIRATE.

The Emirate of Daura comprises an area of 935 square miles
and contains a population of 47,040. Some of these are Filane,
but the majority of the inhabitants are of the North Haussa
type. Their tribal marks consist of two deep lines in the form of
a tcoth on either cheek, two shatani on the right side of the
nose and one on the left.

The Emirate lies in the Katsina division immediately to the
north of Kano, and is divided into seven districts. The Beiyut-
el-Mal was established there in 1911.

480 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The country is almost entirely agricultural, and though the
soil is sandy and worked with a longer hoe than elsewhere, it
produces great quantities of corn. In fact, it is considered so
great a disgrace for a farmer to produce less than 150-200
bundles that his land becomes subject to division amongst his
neighbours, though in Kano and Katsina the average produce
of a household is 50-60 bundles. The women work in the fields.

Cattle, horses, sheep and goats are kept.

Weaving is the only industry of any importance.

Daura held a very important place in the early history of

the country. Her kingdom included the country of Air, or Asben,

which was presently wrested from her by the Kanuri* (probably

in the twelfth century), who in their turn were overcome by

the Gobirawa. The Tuareg statement that the Daura is the

' playmate " of Gobir probably dates from that time, to which

they add that a man is not ashamed to look his father-in-law in

the face if their families mutually belong to people who are

' playmates." The meaning of ' Daura " in the Tuareg

language is " blacksmith."

Daura marks the ancient line of division between the influences
of Bornu and Songhay, and there is still a sharp line of difference
in the language and customs of the people east and west of Daura
town. In a MS. entitled " Daura Makas Sarki " it is recorded
that Daura, a queen, successor to at least three womenf whose
names are given, was ruling when a stranger came to the town
who drew for himself water from a well where a certain serpent
called " Sarki " lived. The snake came up in the bucket and
attempted to kill the stranger, but he cut off its head with a
sword, and taking the head left the body lying there. Next
day the people saw this and marvelled, and the Queen declared
that she would share her kingdom with the man who had done
this deed.

Then an old woman said a stranger had come to her in the
night, mounted on a certain thing that was like an ox, but was
not an ox, and that he had been for water, though she told
him that no one might draw water except on a Friday, and that he
must have slain the snake. Then the Queen sent for him, and he
showed her the head, and she promised to marry him.

Now he was the son of Baijidda, son of the King of Baghdad,
and his mother was the daughter of the King of Bornu . And the
people of Daura spoke no longer of the Queen, but of the Makas-
Sarki, which means the slayer of the Sarki, the name of the serpent
—and from henceforth Sarki became the name for King, and that
was the beginning of the reign of a king in Daura.

* Asben Records.

t Mallam Imoru, Alkali of Abuja, gives the following seven names
as female predecessors to Daura: Kofono, Gufano, Yakwano, Yakania,
Waizam, Gadar Gadar, and Anagiri.

KANO PROVINCE. 481

By a slave woman* the Makas-Sarki had two sons whose
descendants became Kings of Daura, Kano, Zozo (Zaria), Gobir,
Katsina, Rano and Zamfara.

The Emir is himself a Kado (Haussa) , and is regarded as the
head of all Haussawa in the country. His father, Musa, was
appointed in 1907, when his grandfather was expelled by the
British, and Abdurrahamani succeeded him in 1912.

KAZAURE EMIRATE.

AUTHORITY : Mr. H. R. Palmer.

The Sarkin Musulmi carved the Emirate of Kazaure out of
the adjoining States of Kano, Katsina and Daura to make a
kingdom for a favourite Chief, Dan Tunku, a Filane of Danberta
(member of the Yerimawa tribe) who helped to drive out the
Kado Emir of Kano. It was placed under the suzerainty of the
Emir of Kano, but on the Emir's death in 1819 Dan Tunku
refused to follow his successor. A force was sent to subdue him,
but he repulsed it, and Mohammad Bello (Sarkin Musulmi) fixed
a boundary and gave Kazaure independence.

The old village of Kazaure, with the new Filane town alongside
it, were encircled by the same wall in the reign of Danbo, 1825.

The Emirate has an area of some 495 square miles and a popula-
tion of 28-34 thousand, of the Yerimawa, Daurawa, Kanawa,
and Katsinawa clans, together with some Kanuri, Asbenawaand
Busaye. Only a few descendants of the original inhabitants
remain.

Kazaure is now included in the Katsina division, and is sub-
divided into six districts. It is bounded on the north by Daura,
on the west by Katsina, on the south by Kano, and on the east
by Katagum and Gumel. The country is in most parts fertile ;
rubber trees occur, and locust-bean, shea butter, ebony and
dunya (hog-plum) trees are common.

A considerable amount of stock is supported — some eight to
nine thousand cattle, eight thousand sheep, thirteen to fourteen
thousand goats, thirteen to fourteen hundred donkeys, over
three hundred horses, eight hundred mares, and a very few
camels.

The principal town is Kazaure, with a population of 3,488,
where the British Resident is stationed; others are Rauni,
Dankwashi, Dandi, and Kefnn Chiroma.

* Mallam Imoru, however, in his translation of an old Zozo MS.,
states that Daura herself gave birth to a son, Bawo, who had six sons, who
became kings of the six states as mentioned below.

HH

482 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

GUMEL EMIRATE.

Mr. A. Campbell-Irons. Mr. A. C. G. Hastings.

The founder of Gumel Emirate appears to have been a
son of Musa Sarkin Kano, who wandered in various parts of that
district and was killed in a raid against the Filane, probably at
the end of the eighteenth century. The town of Gumel (from a
corruption of the Filane word " Gubele " = short-horned cow),
was founded by his successor, who chose the site from a place
where the Filane were in the habit of watering their cattle.

The natives, however, frequently call it Laute.

Since the beginning of the nineteenth century the Chiefs
received their title from the Shehu of Bornu, to whom they sent
tribute. Incessant warfare with Kano and Damargaram was
carried on, which almost depopulated the country. Ahamadu,
the then reigning Sarki, submitted to the British in 1903, since
when his people have been returning to Gumel.

He was, however, deposed in 1915, his character not being
above reproach (besides the legal maximum of four wives he
kept sixty-six concubines !) He was succeeded in 1915 by Moma
na Kota.

GUMEL GENEALOGY.
Emir of :

1. Adamu, r. 3 years.

2. Danyuma, r. 17 years.

3. Danmaigatinyuata, r. 7 years.

4. Damgalke, r. 7 years.

5. Danyawa, r. 17 years.

6. Mama, r. 9 years.

7. Atu. r. 2 years.

8. Mama Dan Cheira, r. 9 years.

9. Abdulahi, r. 10 years.

10. Abubukeri, r. 23 years.

11. Ahamadu.

12. Moma na Kota, s. 1915.

Gumel Emirate, with an area of 1,102 square miles, is bounded
on the north by French territory, on the east by Hadeija, on the
south by Katagum, and on the west by Kano and Katsina. The
population, some 18,030 in number, are an admixture of Kanuri
and Mangawa, Kanawa and Filane.

It is divided into four districts. The Beiyut-fcl-Mal was
inaugurated in IQII.

KANO PROVINCE. 483

One-fifth of the Emirate is under cultivation, and, with the
exception of eighty square miles of uninhabited bush in the west,
the land is fairly evenly inhabited.

The soil is poor and yields but bare necessities, the only asset
being grazing lands, which are good for three months in the year.

Lack of water is the difficulty, but, at a depth of fifty feet in
the south to 150 feet in the north, water can always be found.
When freshly drawn from the wells it is very warm.

TRIBES INHABITING KANO PROVINCE.

1. Agalawa. — In Katsina Emirate.

2. Ajawa. — In South Kano Emirate, and Bauchi Emirate
(population 545).

3. Asbenawa. — In Kano, Katsina, Kazaure and Daura
Emirates ; also in Sokoto Emirate, where they are generally
included in the term Bugaje, pi. Buzai, which embraces their serfs,
the Adarawa and Tokarawa, together with whom they number
some 45,000.

4. Auyokawa. — Population 3,273. Originally a tribe of
ancient origin inhabiting Auyo, in Hadeija; but now mixed with
Filane, and the name given generally to immigrants from Hadeija.

5. Bedde. — One village in Katagum and two in Hadeija
Emirates ; but the main body in West Bornu. Population
30,000.

6. Butawa. — In the Makamai District, and in the neighbour
ing State of Burra (population 7,200), Bauchi.

7. Filane. — Both Gidda and Borroroje throughout the
Province, as throughout the Protectorate.

8. Kanuri. — Throughout the Province, with the exception
of Dambam and Messau Emirates, as throughout the Protectorate.
In Bornu they number some 450,000, but the only considerable
group outside that Province is in Gombe Emirate. Population
28,000. An offset, the Koyam, are to be found in Hadeija as
in Bornu.

9. Keri-Keri. — (Locally hight Jellum). In Katagum and
Dambam. Population, some 2,000 in Bauchi Province, and
some 15 — 18,000 in Fika district Bornu.

10. Kutumbawa. — In Kano and Gumel Emirates ; also in
Bauchi, population 705.

11. Larabawa. — Tripolitan Arabs in Kano, Katsina and
other trading centres, also a scattering of pastoral Arabs
(Shuwa) from Bornu in Kano and Katagum Emirates,

12. Lerewa. — In Kat?.gum and Dambam Emirates.

13. Maguzawa. — In Kano, their original home, also in Bauchi
Emirate (population 6,510), in Zaria and Sokoto.

484 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

14. Mangawa. — A few in Gumel, Hadeija and Kata^
Emirates; also in Bornu, the majority are situated to the north
of Lake Chad and the Yo River ; and Bauchi, population 420.

15. Ngizim. — A small number in Katagum and Hadeija
Emirates; also in the adjacent districts of Bornu, population
12,000.

16. Shirawa. — In Katagum and Jemaari Emirates, and on
the neighbouring marches of Bornu ; also a group of 770 in
Bauchi Emirate.

17. Teshenawa. — In Katagum Emirate.

18. Warjawa. — In South Kano and North Bauchi, particu-
larly in Warji State, where they number some 19,105.

APPENDIX I.*

15. (a) Spinning. — The method employed in% spinning is very
primitive. The cotton is wound round a stick called the " Sinka,"
and from it is spun on to a thin stick " gora," weighted at one
end with a lump of clay called the " gululu." The stick is spun
in a basket filled with, pieces of leather, " mataiki."

The thread spun is of two kinds, strong, called " zarre,"
used for stitching, and " abawa " used for weaving only.

APPENDIX II.*

(b) Weaving. — The weaver sits on the ground with a stick
called " takala " between his knees. The " takala " is pierced
by another stick, called the " bida," which rests on the ground
and keeps the takala in its place. The takala is also fastened
by loops at either end to two small sticks, " alitsini," driven into
the ground at the back of the weaver on either side. The thread
to be woven is fastened to a small stick, " marufu," at the end
opposite to the weaver, which in its turn is fixed by a rope to
a heavy stone, " kunkuru," to weight it down. The threads
are then passed over the uprights (jaki), which consist of two
upright sticks joined by a crosspiece of guinea-corn stalk.

They then pass between the threads of the two " aleda,"
which consist of parallel threads joined at either end to small
sticks. To keep the aleda in position they are fastened by string
at the end to the left and right " mataiki," small sticks connected
by loops to the two uprights of the " jaki " and worked by the
weaver's feet. At the other end the aleda are fastened to strings,
which are joined to a hollowed-out stick, ' kolum-koluma,"

* Extract from Assessment Report by Mr. H. F. Backwell, re Chinade
District, Katagum Division, Kano Province.

KANO PROVINCE 485

which keeps the aleda apart from one another. A string is passed
through the kolum-koluma and joined to a small stick called
" makami," which in its turn is joined to a single upright stick,
" jigo," behind the weaver's back. By working the " mataiki "
with his feet alternately the aleda are made to move up and
down, and the weaver passes the shuttle, " doshia," containing
the spool, " koro-koro," between them. The pivot on which
the spool works is called " hanji." The thread is then pressed
down on to the woven cloth, " gaian saka," or " fari " (which is
rolled round the takala) by means of the " bungo," a wooden
frame with parallel strips of guinea-corn, through which the
thread passes.

APPENDIX III.

Indigo is grown throughout the country, and particularly so
in the three northern Provinces of Sokoto, Bornu and Kano,
where it has long been famous for its quality. Leaves and beans
are cut together, bound in bundles and set to dry in the sun.
They are then mixed with the ash of the mariki tree (Anageissus
Leriocarpus) and with dried cows' dung, and thrown into a pit,
the sides and bottom of which have been beaten with a viscid
solution of the root bark of the Dafara (Vitis sp.), a wooded
climber, and with hairs scraped off tanned skins, which renders
it both watertight and proof against white ants. The ingredients
are pounded together and water added. After twenty or thirty
days the water is drawn off and the sediment at the bottom
burned ; it becomes a white substance like chalk, and is termed
' katsi." This is again put into the dye-pit along with a fresh
mixture of indigo (as described above) to improve the quality
of the dye, and is left for seven days, when the whole is stirred up
and is ready for use.

The most valuable cloths — the export trade from Kano is
very great — are subjected to a further process. Freshly-picked
indigo is boiled for a long time, the leaves giving off such a very dis-
agreeable smell that the craftsmen are not permitted to live inside
the town. The scum, or " shuni," is taken off the water as it rises
and set aside to be sprinkled on the newly-dyed cloth, which
may be laid flat upon a board or round a smooth tree-trunk, and
first beaten and then rubbed with specially smooth stones.
Sometimes " karo," gum from the farin kaiya tree, is also rubbed
or beaten into the cloth to increase the shine. In both cases
the dye comes off upon the skin of the wearer, which is considered
most desirable ; but the " shuni " without the " karo " is the
superior method. The cost of putting " shuni " upon a gown
is about 53. The cloth of a turban being very fine, a first-rate
craftsman is required, but it is impossible even for him to give
sufficient shine without adding " karo."

486 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

In Kano a little lalle, henna (Lawsonia Inermis) may be
mixed in the dye-pit to give a yellowish resilient tinge to the
cloth ; but this is considered a shoddy method ; and those who
desire a more shiny cloth without being able to afford " shuni."
send the cloth south to be dyed by Nupe or Yoruba women by a
process called talakki. This is done in pots, ashes being the
only ingredient mixed with indigo ; and a very deep colour
cannot be obtained. Women have exclusive control of the pots —
men of the pits.

APPENDIX IV.

Looms :* The treadle loom (i.e. , where the shuttle is shot by the
treadle) was introduced, with cotton, comparatively recently from
Asia (vide Stuhlmann). It accompanies the use of the tobe, or tunic,
and hence tailoring is all in the hands of men. It is familiar to
all the more advanced and more recent nations from Senegambia
to the Red Sea. The Sudan is its home.

The hand-loom produces the weft by the shuttle being thrown
backwards and forwards, the woof by the beam being shifted
up and down. It was known to African dwellers on the Mediter-
ranean from the earliest historical eras, but only one species
of hand-loom was used by the ancient Egyptians. Its use
penetrated down the Atlantic coast to Togoland, and has been
found in use amongst the Southern Nupe, Gwari and Munshi ;
as also by some tribes in the grasslands of the Kamerun, and on
the banks of the Congo River. It is worked only (?) by women,
and is used for making the togo.

In the south Sahara and Sudan, where cotton was not known
(or, at all events, not available), leather takes the place of cloth.

* Notes from the Anthropological Journal and from Frobenius' book
on West Africa.

KONTAGORA PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. C. E. Boyd. Major W. Hamilton-Browne.

Mr. J. A. Ley-Greaves.

Kontagora Province receives its name from that place where
the capital is now situated. The first Filane Emir, Umoru, on
seeing the site, exclaimed " Kwantagora " (" Put down the water
bottle "), and the town was built. In area the Province, which
now includes the Borgu territory, is 27,800 square miles.

It lies between Sokoto Province on the north, the boundary
being roughly delineated by the Gulabin Ka (River), Niger Province
on the east and south-east, the River Kara (a tributary of the
Kaduna) forming the eastern boundary, Ilorin Province and
Southern Nigeria (Oyo) on the south, and French Dahomey on
the west. The Niger River traverses the Province, forming the
boundary between Borgu and Kontagora proper.

From the north a range of hills runs south, presently splitting
into a series of low peaks, and from this elevated region the
country falls west and east in about equal gradients. The bigger
rivers, the Malande and Kontagora, flow west and the smaller
streams east. The water supply throughout the Province is,
however, poor.

A quantity of iron ore is found near Ibeto, close to Kontagora
town, where a considerable industry in smelting is carried on.
Gold has been found between Bussa and Wawa on the Kaiama
road, and in Kontagora town and neighbourhood. Wolfram
(used for hardening steel) is found in considerable quantities
west of Kontagora town.

Tin is stated to have been found on the Rafin Rudar in Borgu.

The .Province is well timbered and rich in sylvan products,
palm oil, shea-butter, gum, kola, ramma, bananas, tsamia,
and some rubber is found.

The chief trade is done in cattle, kola, salt, shea-butter,* gum,
gutta-percha, silk and cotton ; also in beeswax and ramma (ijuti).

* Large quantities of shea-nuts are exported to Europe, where they
are converted into ointment, candles and soap, but the natives consume the
oil extensively. The truit is thrown into an oven and roasted, it is then
shelled and pounded in a mortar, water is added and the oil which rises to
the surface is skimmed off and again boiled . This oil is used exclusively for
cooking food.

488 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Imports are kola and salt.

The principal industries are cloth- weaving, mat-making,
sewing gowns and farming. Blacksmiths and dyers flourish.

Kontagora is agriculturally rich, and extensive farming is
carried on; guinea-corn, millet, maize, ground-nuts, yams, rice,
cassava, beans, acha, makari and cotton being the principal
crops.

In Kontagora Division there is little stock-breeding owing
to tsetse, but in the Sakaba District some horses are reared.

It was estimated in 1910 that 85 per cent, of the population
are pagans, though Muhammadanism is gradually penetrating.

Taxes were first collected in 1904, and from being a distinct
province Borgu was incorporated with Kontagora in 1907.

In 1908 a Government School was Opened in Kontagora. In
1911 the Beit-el-Mal was started in Kontagora, Sakaba, Yelwa
and Nagaski.

The total population of the Province numbers some 149,281,
distributed amongst fourteen tribes, besides Filane and Haussa,
That it is one of the least populated of the Filane Emirates is
due to the rapacious characters of its Emirs, who waged incessant
wars against the pagan inhabitants, killing and enslaving tho
populations of whole districts and towns without moderation.
The extent of the damage thus done is evinced by the numerous
ruins of large walled towns and the traces of extensive cultivation
to be encountered in what is now desolate bushland. It was
unfortunate that this the worst example of Filane administration
should have been one of the first encountered by the British, as
it gave a wrong impression of the Filane character to the new-
comers.

KONTAGORA EMIRATE.

AUTHORITIES :
Mr. J. C. O. Clarke. Major W. S. Sharpe.

The whole of the Province, with the exception of Kaiama,
is included in the Emirate of Kontagora, which has a total area
of some 15,300 square miles and a population of 120,705, com-
prising fourteen tribes, besides Filane and Haussawa. The
Dakka-Karri, Dukawa, Kamberri and Yauri are numerically the
most important. These four tribes were all inhabitants of the
ancient kingdom of Yauri, though the three former were dis-
tributed over other parts of the country as well.

The Kingdom is of modern date (circ. 1864), having been
founded by an adventurous scion of the royal house of Sokoto.
a great-grandson of Othman Dan Fodio, Umoru. This young

KONTAGORA PROVINCE. 489

man was given a town called Gwamatche, but no one would come
and live in it on account of his tyrannous disposition ; and he
was consequently recalled to Sokoto.

Some years later he was sent on an expedition to Nupe
country to collect horses, but instead of fulfilling his mission he
came, after long wanderings, to Lalle, in what is now Kontagora
Province, and proceeded to conquer the Gwari and surrounding
pagan districts with the help of his Nupe allies, amongst whom
he settled, founding the town of Kontagora. Amongst other
districts which he conquered were Kotonkoro, Galma, Bissa
and Makitchi.

Aliu Baba, son of Muhomadu Bello, then Sarkin Musulmi,
heard that Umaru Nagwamatche had become very strong, and
issued an order throughout all Haussaland that no one should
go to that neighbourhood ; but on Aliu Baba's death Amadu Dan
Atiku, father to Umaru, who succeeded to the throne of Sokoto,
rescinded the order, and Kontagora once more became the rendez-
vous of the more turbulent class of the Filane.

The Yauri, the original inhabitants of what is now the Yelwa
District, and members of a powerful kingdom, had tendered
allegiance to Gando in 1810 and received the protection of the
Filane. N'gwamatche had perforce to respect this treaty, and,
in alliance with the Yauri, laid waste the country within a radius
of some 100 miles to the north and north-east, enslaving the
inhabitants and exacting heavy tribute wherever he went. In
virtue of these conquests the Sarkin Musulmi bestowed the title
of Sarkin Sudan upon his son. On his death (circ. 1875) Umoru
was succeeded by his son, Modibu, but it appears that even his
own followers considered the Sarkin Yauri the big man of the
country. The alliance was continued throughout Modibu's brief
reign of four years, but was broken by his successor and younger
brother, Ibrahim, who commenced raiding lands already
conquered by the Yauri, and finally drove them back to Ikun.
A period of alternate alliance and conflict ensued, but throughout
the twenty-two years following on his succession Ibrahim laid
waste and depopulated the whole country, driving out his
father's allies the Nupe and penetrating to Birnin Gwari under
Zaria and as far south as the Gurara River. Kontagora town
became a mere war-camp, with a population of some 20,000.

In 1900 he marched on Jebba, which was then the head-
quarters of the British Government, but stopped short of an
actual attack. The following year an expedition was sent against
him. He fled, but in 1902 was raiding Zaria and Katsina. Once
more an expedition was sent against him, and this time he was
captured and banished.

The Sarkin Yauri was called to Kontagora and installed as
Emir, but he regarded it as derogatory to become Emir of the
newly-conquered lands of Kontagora rather than remain Chief

49° NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

of his ancient Kingdom of Yauri. He therefore nominated his
son as district-head of Kontagora, with the title of Sarkin Sudan.
The arrangement was considered unsatisfactory, and a Nupe
—a slave of humble birth — from Yelwa was found to undertake
the difficult task of the government of parts of Kontagora. At
the close of 1903 Ibrahim Nagwamatche was re-installed as Emir,
though with jurisdiction curtailed to the Kontagora District,
and the above-mentioned Nupe was made independent as Sarkin
vSakaba. He was, however, induced to resign in 1913, when
Sakaba was merged in the Emirate. On Ibrahim's return certain
districts under Yauri were put under Kontagora. The chiefs
thereof refused to follow him and were deposed. Subsequently,
in 1906, the whole Kingdom of Yauri was put under Ibrahim,
who at the same time was made a first-grade Chief — Borgu not
being included in the Province until 1907.

GENEALOGICAL TREE FOR KONTAGORA EMIRATE

Atiku. Sarkin Musulmi

i
(1) Umaru. 1864-75 A.D.

(2) Modibu (3) Ibrahim

1875-79. 1879-"

For administrative purposes the Province is divided into
two divisions — Kontagora and Yauri-Borgu. The former is sub-
divided into two — Kontagora and Sakaba, where the Beit-el-
Mal was first started in 1911.

Kontagora is again sub-divided into six districts, with an area
of 7,900 square miles and a population of some 48,428. The
headquarters of the administration is at Kontagora.

Sakaba comprises six independent units — Donko, Darbai,
Wasagu, Fakai, Sakaba, and Kumbashi, each forming a separate
district. The total area is 5,000 square miles, of which about
eight hundred miles are at present uninhabited bush. It is fairly
well watered, and, with the exception of about five per cent,
of the total area, has fertile soil. Less than one per cent, of the
population of 45,495 are Muhammadan. The Dakka-Karri are
numerically the most important tribe, composing, as they do,
three-fifths of the whole population. The divisional headquarters
is at Zuru. The Beit-el-Mal was started here in 1911.

The historical town of Karissen, said to have been founded
by a brother of Kishera, is situated in this division.

The second division is sub-divided into two — Yauri-Bussa
and Kaiama.

KONTAGORA IROVINCE. 491

YAURI.

AUTHORITIES :
Major W. Hamilton-Browne. Mr. J. C. O. Clark.

Yauri and Bussa have been amalgamated under Aliu Sarkin
Yamma (Ibello?), adopted son of Abdulahi Abershi, thirty-fifth
Emir of Yauri, since 1915 ; but, as the two kingdoms date back
for many centuries, each is described under its own heading.
Yauri was probably founded by a branch of the Gungawa tribe,
which settled in Yauri under the chieftainship of a Kano Mallam.
However that may be, Mischlich mentions that Yauri was one
of the important Haussa States about the middle of the fourteenth
century. In 1804 Mungo Park says : ' Yauri is a populous and
important Emirate " ; and after the Jihad, when Yauri paid
annual tribute and military service in time of war to Sokoto,
Mischlich writes that " the Governors of the Province are quite
unrestricted in their administration of internal affairs." There
is a record of twenty-nine Chiefs before the Jihad, probably
extending over a period of 350 years or more. The eleventh
Chief (circ. 1616) was the first Muhammadan Chief.

In 1810 Mohammadu Dan Ayi, Sarkin Yauri, made an agree-
ment with Othman Dan Fodio and Mallam Abdulahi that he
would not make war on any Toronkawa Sarakuna or flag-holders,
and that in return Sarkin Gando would protect the interests of
Yauri. Yauri was, moreover, to pay an annual gaisua to Gando
of ten slaves and one thousand goro* to Sarkin Gando, three
slaves and one thousand goro to Dan Galadiman Gando, and
two slaves, two gowns, and one alkebbaf to Dikomanzon Sarkin
Gando.

In 1850 a dispute as to the succession had arisen, and the
two rivals were both reigning Chiefs of Yauri, one at Massamabu,
the other at Ubakka — the former followed by the Kamberri of
Kontagora, the latter by the Gungawa and Shangawa. The
country was thus divided when in 1864 Umoru Nagwamachi
came from Sokoto, and after visiting Nupe settled at Kontagora.

Bound by their treaty the people of Yauri might not attack
him, and instead the Sarkin Yauri of Massamabu called in
Nagwamachi from Machuchi to help him subdue the district-
head of the Basa district, a country round Kontagora, which paid
gandu to Yauri and was in revolt. Together they exacted an
indemnity in slaves from those towns that had helped the rebels.

After this introduction Nagwamachi continued to raid the
Basa country, and the 'Sarkin Yauri appealed to Gando for help.

*Kola nuts.
| A cloak.

492 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Al Mustafa, Sarkin Gando sent for him and Nagwamachi
Majinga, and ordered the latter to leave Yauri — 1868.

The difficulty settled, Yauri and Nagwamachi renewed their
united raids until the death of Sarkin Yauri in 1871. He had
outlived his rival by two years, so his successor, Gallo, reigned
undisputed over the whole of Yauri. Gallo also continued the
alliance with Nagwamachi, but the latter died at Annaba, a town
they had sacked together, the following year.

The Madawaki of Kontagora handed over to the Sarkin
Yauri all Nagwamachi's slaves, soldiers, arms and property,
for both Umoru and his successor Modibo Nagwamache were
considered little more than adventurers.

Modibo and his successor Ibrahima continued to wage war
in alliance with Yauri, until Ibrahima commenced raiding the
Yauri Kingdom. Gando promised protection, which was
inefficiently given, and refused to allow Yauri to fight Ibrahima
Nagwamache in defence of their own interests. Gallo was forced
to remove his capital to Ikun and the Kamberrawa of Kontagora
Division moved to the river islands and the neighbourhood of
Jebba to avoid Ibrahima's expeditions.

Ibrahima's army suffered a severe defeat at the hands of
Yauri when repelling one of these attacks.

The years 1882-88 were taken up in fights, including wars
between Yauri and Zaberma, and with Bussa. Gallo died in
1888 and was succeeded by Abdulahi Abershi, who moved to
Yelwa. Sometimes in alliance, sometimes in opposition, these
conflicts continued until the arrival of the British forces in 1896,
the occupation of Jebba and the building of Yelwa fort.

In 1898 Sarkin Yauri swore before Colonel Morland that he
had had no share in the slight opposition offered.

After the fall of Kontagora in 1902, the Sarkin Yauri was
called to Kontagora and installed as Emir of Kontagora Province.
He, however, considered it a degradation to reside there, arid
nominated his son as district-head of Kontagora, under Yauri,
with the title of Sarkin Sudan.

At the end of 1903 Ibrahima Dan Nagwamachi was, however,
reinstated as Sarkin Kontagora town.

The Yauri Kingdom then embraced the countries between
Libata in the south to the Gulbin Ka in the north, and west of
the Niger from Shagunu in the south to Lafagu on the north.
The districts of Besse, Kunji, and Agwarra were therefore in
Yauri territory.

Aliu, Sarkin Ibello, was told to follow Kontagora. He refused
to do so, and was deposed. The village-heads also refused, but
were made to do so. Agidda, a rebel to the Sarota of Yauri, who
had formerly enlisted Ibrahima's aid against the Sarkin Yauri,
was appointed Sarkin Ibello, and still holds that post.

KONTAGORA PROVINCE. 493

In 1904 the Sarkin Yauri died and was succeeded by his son
Jibirilu, the present Chief.

Land was communal, under trusteeship of the Sarkin Yauri.
Permission to cultivate bushland was obtained through the
district-'heads, and gaisua was assessed according to the value
of the farm, but payment was not always exacted. A small
present, one bundle and one fowl, was made on application.

Though now sparsely populated all the land is apportioned,
as it has passed to the descendants of the original occupiers.

Anyone taking over land previously farmed by another man
made him a payment in the nature of compensation for clearing.

There are various local rules applying to people tapping palm
trees or farming land outside their own village boundaries.
Permission to do so has to be acquired and certain gaisua paid.

Gado was levied to the extent of one-third of the estate,
except on four persons — the Alkali, Liman, Magatakarda, and
Na Immi (messenger to Sarkin Gwando). Jangali to the extent
of five per cent, was paid, but stall-fed cattle were exempted.

Each town paid a fixed amount annually on each crop that
was grown, about three-fourths of which went to Sarkin Yauri,
the remaining fourth to Sarkin Kofa.

In certain places a percentage on fish, guinea-fowls' eggs, fire-
wood, etc., was given.

Certain trades also paid taxes. For instance, weavers, dyers,
cotton sellers (whose contribution was used to supply the Sarki
with lifidi for his whole army), and blacksmiths, who were obliged
to put in a month's free labour in repairing agricultural instru-
ments while the town walls were being repaired, and in supplying
bits, stirrups, spurs, etc., free for the Sarakuna. Leather
workers paid no tax, but worked free for the Sarkin Yauri.
Butchers contributed about 75. a head per annum, and all the
feet of the beasts were given to Sarakuna.

A fine was exacted from every girl who had a bastard child-
one hundred thousand cowries (equal to 505.), and a like sum
from her father. An average of ten yearly.

These taxes were all collected by different individuals, who,
as above stated, received either a percentage of twenty-five per
cent, or an additional present.

The district-heads used likewise to give presents, as did
certain Kamberri towns, in horses, sheep, gowns and honey,
in proportionate value, besides one hundred thousand cowries
(505.) each.

Certain office-holders were taxed according to their rank ;
for instance, the Ubandawaki paid annually two slaves, value
£10 ; Galladima, £5 ; Muta, £2 IDS. ; Rikubu, £2 IDS.

Canoemen, hunters (to the extent of one-fourth of their kill),
cattle-owners for use of grass, as well as a percentage of cattle
and free milk and butter both to the Sarkin Yauri and Sarakuna,

494 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

and tobacco cultivators paid certain fees to Sarakuna. These
latter obtained considerable revenue from fines, as criminals
were either fined or sold into slavery.

The Sarkin Yauri would sometimes settle marriage disputes,
when he took half the sadaki, or bride price.

In the markets each traveller built his own stall, but paid
no fee, though he was expected to contribute to food for prisoners
collected in the market by dogarai.

The gaoler, who kept all prisoners and slaves who were for
sale in his house, exacted 5s. for each slave sold, and is. from
each prisoner on his release.

The Yauri are Muhammadan, with very few exceptions.

Yauri is sub-divided into eight districts, besides the town
of Yelwa, which itself has a population of some 1,500. The
area is 2,400 square miles, and the population some 26,782.
The Divisional Officer resides at Yelwa, the headquarters of
Jibirilu, thirty-sixth Chief of Yauri. The Beit-el-Mal was started
here in 1911.

The district stretches from the banks of the River Niger to
within a few miles of Kontagora town. In the north-east the
country is hilly and stony. It is inhabited by the Dukawa pagans.
The greater part of the division is, however, situated on the
banks of the Niger (there is sixty miles of river frontage), or
its tributaries, the Malendo, Dan Zaki, and Kassomo, which
are perennial streams. Much of this land is flooded in the wet
season, and it remains permanently more or less swampy.

The Gungawa, island inhabitants, are particularly good
agriculturists, and realise a large profit in the export of rice, beans
and onions. Cattle, sheep and goats also prosper. Shea trees
are very numerous, and it is estimated that 3,750 tons is to be
had for the picking — value about £37,500. These in far smaller
quantities, gum-arabic, and well-cleansed beeswax and hides
are exported. The natives are unwilling to grow cotton for
export, though the land is suitable. About five thousand acres
of ground-nuts are cultivated, three-fourths of which are exported
to Jebba. Ramma is only grown for local use.

The Dakka-Karri, Dukawa, Kamberri, and Yauri are numeri-
cally the most important tribes situated in the Yauri Division.

BORGU (BUSSA AND KAIAMA).

Bussa is situated in North Borgu, and is sub-divided into four
districts. It has an area of 7,500 square miles and a population
of 16,543, men being slightly in excess of women. There are
some Filane, but ninety-five per cent, of the population are
pagans, the predominating tribes being Gungawa, Shangawa
and Kamberrawa, Borgawa and Bussawa. The country is
generally flat or slightly undulating, as in the valley of the Niger,

KONTAGORA PROVINCE. 495

but west of Bussa outcrops of rocks rise to a height of five hundred
to six hundred feet. In this part scarcity of water is felt in the *
dry season. The district is covered with thick bush, about two
thousand square miles of which are uninhabited. The area under
cultivation is, however, steadily increasing; about 1,400 acres
are under ground-nuts ; and it is estimated that there are 2,080
tons of shea-nuts to be had for the picking, at a value of £20,800.
Along the river banks there is good timber. Transport is by
canoe or carrier. There are no telegraph lines in the district.

Cattle and horses do well in the north, in Kunji, Agwarra,
and north of West Bussa.

The Beit-el-Mal was first instituted in 1913.

Kaiama, in South Borgu, is divided into four districts. It
has an area of 5,000 square miles and a population of 12,033,
Borgawa and Yorubawa. It is rich in produce, and it is estimated
that there are 1,660 tons of shea-nuts in the district to be had
for the picking, the value of which would be £16,600. Mashi, tenth
Emir of Kaiama, succeeded in 1915.

The Beit-el-Mal was instituted in 1912.

According to notes collected from the Sarkin Illo and his
Council, the Bussawa formed part of a big migration from the
Kingdom of Badar, near Mecca, their King Kishera* having
opposed Muhammad the Prophet. It appears that they journeyed
across the Sudan to Asben, where they broke off into many sections
—the Bedde (Badr) settling down in Bornu, while others under
the leadership of Kishera's descendants, came further west, and
a large body settled under the chieftainship of three brothers
at Bussa, Illo and Nikki. Another section, the Yoruba, continued
southwards. Bussa was the eldest of the brothers, and received
presents from the other two (Nikki was a brother-in-law to the
others), and on the accession of each new Chief they performed
the offices of coronation one for the other.

A somewhat similar account is given by the people of Bussa
and Sarkin Karissen. They say that Kishira was driven out
of the " Haibirra " by Muhammad as the result of a religious
dispute. He fled with his people, and was pursued until he crossed
the Niger near Illo (then a much smaller stream), putting it as
a barrier between him and his enemies ; from which time until
the twentieth century no Chief of Bussa was ever permitted to
recross the Niger. One of Kishira's brothers settled at Karissen
(Sakaba), another, Waru, at Illo ; whilst a third, Sheru, branched
off from the main camp, which was then at Gaunji, to Nikki ;
and Kishira himself turned eastward and founded the town of
Bussa, building a wall which extended from Gani Kasai to the
mouth of the River Mene.

* Kishira in Kissira (or Kosroes) Anishirwan the Persian Monarch who
conquered Yemen after it was evacuated by the Abyssinians (H. R. Palmer),

496 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Here he received a deputation from the Prophet asking him
to return, which he would not agree to do, but he consented to
receive a Mallam to instruct him in the Muhammadan religion.
After a brief interval, however, he reverted to his pagan ways.
His followers settled all over the Bussa and West Bussa Districts,
the principal men in and around Bussa itself — hence their name—
and the poorer people (the talakawa) extending westwards.
They are known as Borgawa.

At the rise of the Songhay power the three kingdoms, Bussa,
Illo, and Nikki, were attacked by Mamara at the head of the
Zabirmawa, but on his death Sarkin Nikki conquered Songhay.
He now reigned over the greater part of Borgu, his kingdom
extending northwards to Illo, south to Ilesha, and east to Kaiama.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the allied Chiefs
successfully withstood the Filane invasion, except in the extreme
north.

At the end of the nineteenth century the kingdom of Nikki
was divided, part being placed under French, part under British
protection — now included in Bussa (?). The hereditary Chief,
Wuru Yaru, decided to remain in British territory, but proved
so incompetent that Sarkin Kaiama was made paramount,
and Wuru Yaru affronted retired to Nikki.

Kishira founded and lived ten years at Bussa.

597 Chiefs, names and dates unknown.

Circ. 1796, Kitoru. — Gani Zara, ruled forty-two years, and

then died.
Circ. 1838, Kissanu. — Bayarima, ruled seven years, and

then died.
Circ. 1838, Sare Illo. — Ruled four months, and was killed

at Gani Kasai by Gajere.

Circ. 1845, Waruko. — Gajere, ruled nineteen years, and then
died. After killing Gajere he sacked Bussa town and
many of the people fled to Wawa.
Circ. 1864, Kigira. — Jibirin (or Jibirilu, or Dan Tauro), ruled

thirty-two years, and then died.
Circ. 1896, Wuru. — Kissanu Dogo, ruled seven years and

seven months, and then died.

Circ. 1903, Gani Kilishi Yarima. — Appointed 1903, is the
six hundredth Sarkin Bussa. He is a son of Dan Tauro.

TRIBES INHABITING KONTAGORA PROVINCE.

1. Atsifawa. — Population 1,396 in Sakaba Division, also a
few in the Kwongoma Division of Niger Province.

2. Bangawa. — Population 2,727 in Kontagora and Sakaba
Divisions, also 8,000 (together with Dakkarawa) in Sokoto
Province ; emigrants from Katsina.

KONTAGORA PROVINCE. 497

3. Bassa. — A few in Kontagora and Sakaba Divisions;
emigrants from the Kwongoma Division of the Niger
Province, whence they stretch southwards through
Nassarawa Province (population 47,400), across the Benue
to Bassa Province (population 12,064), and across the
Niger to Kabba Province.

4. Borgawa and Bussawa (natives of Borgu and Bussa).—
Some three thousand of whom have settled in Illo (Sokoto
Province) ; also their off-shoot, the Dandowa (Borgu and
Argungu) .

5. Dakka-Karri. — Population 31,917 in Sakaba Division ; also
in Sokoto (population 8,000, including Bangawa), known
locally as Dakkarawa.

6. Dukawa. — In Sakaba (population 730) ; the main body
in North-east Yelwa, and some in Sokoto Province.

7. Filane. — Both Gidda and Borroroje ; throughout this
Province as throughout the Protectorate.

8. Gungawa. — On islands in Yelwa District.

9. Kamberri. — Across the Province from west to east (Sakaba
population 2,646) and Bussa ; also in South Sokoto, in
Muri Emirate, and in Lafia Emirate (population 276),
Nassarawa Province.

10. Kamuku. — Population 3,432 in Koton Koro and over
the Niger Province border some 25,000 (with off-sets) in
the Kwongoma Division.

11. Kanuri. — A few throughout the Province as throughout
the Protectorate, one settlement in Sakaba being of
very ancient origin. In Bornu, their headquarters, they
number some 450,000 ; the only other considerable settle-
ment being in Gombe F-mirate. Population 28,000.

12. Nupe. — Distributed throughout the Province as through-
out the Protectorate, particularly in the riverain districts.
Their headquarters are in Niger Province, where they
number some 100,000.

13. Shangawa. — Occupy the banks and islands of the Niger
river, also in Gando Emirate.

14. Yauri. — A large tribe occupying Yelwa District.

15. Yoruba. — Scattered throughout the Protectorate;
members of a nation numbering some four millions.

IVIURI PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :
Capt. U. F. Ruxton. Capt. C. F. Rowe.

The Province of Muri contains an area of 26,752 square miles,
with a population of 400,000*. It is bounded on the north by
Bauchi Province, on the west by Nassarawa and Bassa
Provinces, on the south and east by the Kamerun, and on the
north-east by Yola Province.

It is traversed from the north-east to the south-west by the
River Benue, which is fed by the Ankwe, Simanka, Wase and
Duchi, which take their rise from the uplands in the north ; and
by the Taraba, Danga, Katsena and other streams that flow
from the Kamerun Highlands.

In the north-west of the Province the Murchison range of
mountains is situated, which have there an elevation of some
4,000 feet ; and in the north-east are the less important hills
of Wurkum and Muri. Further south are the Shebshi Mountains
on the Kamerun frontier, which reach an elevation of 5,740
feet. To the west a few miles south of the Benue and close to
Mount Herbert, silver and lead exist, and cinnabar and lignite
are reported. In this same district, inhabited by the Jukon'
tribe, salt is found at Akwana, and tozali (i.e., antimony, galena),
at Arifu, which latter is worked by the Haussa.

Though in parts the Province is broken by rocky hills and
narrow valleys, watered by numerous streams, much consists of
fertile, open plains, and it is rich in sylvan products. The Kirian
Kurmi Forest is worthy of especial mention. Shea-nuts, tree-rubber,
oil-palm and gum-acacias grow in profusion, and are among the
principal exports. Other exports are beniseed, ground-nuts,
farin ramma fibre, gutta-percha, skins dyed and undyed, and a
little beeswax. Cattle and horses are also exported to Southern
Nigeria.

Imports are kola nuts for re-exportation, salt, sugar, cigarettes,
iron bars, and Manchester cotton goods.

There are numerous trading stations on the Benue at Lau,
Amar, Ibi, Tunga Wharf, and Abinsi, etc., etc. The British
Cotton Growing Association have a ginnery at Ibi.

* The figures of areas and populations throughout are no longer
accurate owing to the readjustment of boundaries.

MURI PROVINCE. 499

Transport is by river steamers in the wet season and canoes
throughout the year — and by carrier. Animal transport is not
possible owing to the large number of tsetse fly.

Fishing and farming are the principal occupations, the usual
crops — yams, guinea-corn, millet, maize, cassava, tumuku,
beans, gwaza, and tobacco — are raised, and ginger is also found.
There are large herds of Filane cattle in the Province, numbering
anything over ten thousand. The ordinary crafts are practised-
smithying, dyeing, weaving, and basket-making.

The Sudan United Mission have stations at Ibi, Wukari,
Wase (1904), Langtang (amongst the Yergum), Dampar and
Donga ; and La Societe des Missions Africaines de Lyons have
branches at Tshendam and Damsin, amongst the Ankwe, in the
Ibi Division.

The Education Department have a school at Wanuni, in the
Munshi Division.

The population is mainly pagan. There are some 35 tribes,
vide list, of whom the Munshi are by far the most numerous.

What now constitutes Muri Province consisted of many inde-
pendent states and tribes, with little collective history. It is,
however, in Muri Province that Kororofa, the erstwhile capital
of the powerful Jukon Empire was situated. This empire
embraced a number of tribes, and from the thirteenth century,
when we first hear mention of it, until the time of the Filane
occupation (when in the latter half of the nineteenth century
the State broke up and the capital was finally destroyed), it at
various times extended its suzerainty as far west as Idah and
Ganda, north as Kano, and north-east as Bornu (vide Jukon
history).

MURI EMIRATE.

At the time of the Jihad there were practically no Filane
resident in Muri Province itself, but there was a numerous settle-
ment in the neighbouring Kingdom of Kiri, at Gombe. The
ancestors of these Kiri Filane had originally wandered from Melle
to Dilarain Bornu, thence to Kiri, on the Gongola. They formed
a considerable part of the force that was led by Buba Yero —
founder of Gombe Emirate — south to the Benue in 1815, though
some had settled at Goawe near Jalingu some ten years previously.

With him was Hamarua, who had been a fellow-student at
Sokoto — whom he left in charge of these recently acquired
southern territories. Hamarua, who took the name of Modibo,
founded the unfortified town of Muri, or Hamarua, as it used
to be called (circ. 1817), but failed to render fealty to Buba
Yero, his over-lord, who consequently had him killed. Hamarua
was succeeded by his son (Irayma, or Haman), who shook off
the authority of Gombe and who travelled to Sokoto to receive

5oo NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

confirmation of office. Bello Sarkin Mnsulmi gave him a turban,
but not a flag as had been customary.

In 1854 Dr. Baikie visited Hamarua, when the reigning Emir
Hamadu, a grandson of Hamarua, ruled over the same extent cf
territory, i.e., about one-third of the Province, as he does to-day,
with the exception of Jibu and Ibi, which have since
cast off their allegiance. The succeeding Emir, Burbo, married
a hill pagan and became so unpopular with the Filane that he
was obliged to leave Muri. He was a great fighter, and checked
the advance eastwards of the Munshi, conquered the Chamba
and destroyed the last stronghold of the Wurobo, an aboriginal
tribe. He founded and lived in the independent state of
Bakundi.

In 1893 Hamadu, the seventh Emir, founded the walled
city of Jalingu, whither he removed the capital, and thence, with
the aid of Lieut. Mizon, reduced the Jukon settlement of Kwaria.
A son of his, Haman Mafendi, is the reigning Emir.

Hamarua (1) 1817.

Bose Irayma (3). Haman (2). ' Bubakr (6), 1873.

I I I

Hamadu (4). Burbo (5). Hamadu (7), 1874.

I

I
Hassana (8), 1897. Haman Mafendi (9), 1903 .

The Emirate of Muri is situated in the east of the Province,
and is bounded by Yola Province on the east, the Kamerun on
the south, the Taraba River on the west, and by Bauchi Province
Province on the north. Since 1907 it has included the States of
Sendridi Bakundi and Gassol, and Sansansi and Wurrio were
included in the Emirate in 1912. All these States had thrown
off allegiance to Muri in the latter half of the nineteenth
century, though Gassol had only been founded by the Emir
Hamadu in the middle of that same century. The independent
pagan districts of Mumuye ?.nd Wurkum have likewise- been
recently included.

The Emir, though he keeps his palace in Jalingu, reside?
at Mutum Biu, which became the administrative headquarters
of the Division in 1910.

The town was founded in the year 1878 by two of the Emir's
slaves, who came and settled in that hitherto uninhabited tract
of country, and their village was appropriately named " Mutum
Biu" (two men). It gradually increased in size, and in 1890
Shira Filane came from the north and Filate from Bornu, as well
as Kanuri, who sought refuge in the south from Rabeh's occupa-
tion of Bornu. These latter have probably returned to their

MURI PROVINCE. 501

own country, and the Filane population of Mutum Biu is
constantly fluctuating.

The Emirate is intersected by two ranges of hills, the Ligri
and the Janowe, the former of which reaches an altitude of
1,500 feet. The River Pai, or Kudu and its tributary the Jebjeb,
are alone, besides the Benue, worthy of mention. With the
exception of these streams, the people are dependent on muddy
water-holes for their water supply throughout six months of
the year.

The land is fairly fertile, but there is little valuable timber.
Salt is found in the district.

For purposes of administration the Province has been divided
into three Divisions, Ibi, Lau, and Munshi.

The Lau Division, consisting of the entire Muri Emirate, is
divided into the districts of Jalingu Habe and Bakundi, with
a total area of 10,385 square miles and a population of 107,866.
The large pagan tribes of Wurkum and Mumuye contribute
16,878 and 17,079 respectively. Other large groups are the
Djen (9,952), Kona (4,035), and over 42,000 Filane, a considerable
number of whom are of the Bayin family.

The Division is sub-divided into fourteen districts. The principal
towns are Mutum Biu, the divisional headquarters, Lau, Jalingu,
Gassol, and Bakundi, on the south side of the Benue, with Muri,
Ligri, and Djen on the north bank.

*The Munshi Division lies in the south-west of the Province,
and is divided into two districts — that of Abinsi, the seat of
the divisional headquarters, and Katsena Allah, where an officer
is posted and which was included in the Division in 1907. It
contains an area of 6,763 square miles and a population of
170,453. The Munshi tribe, as a whole, number some 350,000.

Ibi Division contains an area .of 9,604 square miles and a
population of 116,219. It comprises eight independent States,
semi-Muhammadan and pagan, including a number of pagan
tribes at the foot of the Murchison hills.

i. Wase, area 1,645 square miles, to which Bashar has been
added, with an increase of 2,643 to the population, and Dampar,
with 1,783 Jukon inhabitants.

It lies between the north bank, of the Benue and Bauchi,
in the centre of the Province.

In Wase proper the population number some 11,457, and
include 6,414 Bayin Filane, Filane, Haussa, Burmawa, Basharawa
and Yergumawa. ' •

A Bayin Filane, from Bauchi, a. member of the family of
Giwa, founded the Wase dynasty (circ. 1800). A successor,
Abdu, (circ. 1815), was the first to receive the title of Sarkin

* Since these notes were collated certain changes have been made in
the administration of the Munshi. as also in the division of districts.

502 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Duchi, and he extended his domains westwards to the Zaria
border in the north and beyond Lafia to Burrum-burrum in the
south. The intermediate countries of Kassan Chikki, Ankwe
(not including Tshendam), and the Gani Yergum, besides Bashar,
on their eastern border, owed fealty to Wase.

Wase itself gave allegiance to Bauchi, paying an annual tribute
of two men's loads of cloth and three slaves to the Emir, and
one slave and salt to the Ajia, until the advent of the British
in 1900.

The Emirs of Bauchi appointed the Chiefs of Wase (Sarkin
Duchi) . As each vacancy occurred a talakawa (peasant) of Wase
was summoned to convey the wishes of his people in the matter,
but, nevertheless, the various candidates found it worth their
while to make presents to the \Vase Sarakuna to engage their
interest and assistance.

The taxation levied was Zakka, Gandu, Jangali (at the rate
of one cow in every 40) and a system of Gaisua.

In 1898 Wase was broken by the Royal Niger Co., and
Mohamadu II. (" Kebri ") was killed.

The present (ninth) Chief, Abdu, was appointed in 1909.

Wase is a flat, fertile and well-cultivated district, th6ugh
the people are dependent on wells for water in the dry season.

2. East of Wase is the small Muhammadan State of Bantaji,
with a Bavin Filane population of some 1,500.

3. Ankwe is a considerable pagan State in the north-west
of the Province, with a population of some ten thousand Ankwe.
It includes Yelwa, at one time a strong place populated by
runaway slaves from Wase and Bauchi, but now reduced to
under one thousand inhabitants. The tribes of Bwol. Dimmuk
Kwolla and Yergum have been included in this district.

4. The semi-Muhammadan State of Kasan Chikki comprises
nine different units under Sarkin Awe, who resides at Awe, in
the west of the Province and north of the Benue, where there
is a Haussa (Katsinawa) population of over five thousand.
It is an industrial centre, where the preparation of salt is a
considerable industry.

5. On the south bank of the Benue is Ibi, the provincial
headquarters and an industrial centre. It is 350 feet above the
sea level, the average rainfall is 46 inches per annum. The
temperature varies between 55deg. and io5deg. F., and the
climate is only moderately healthy. The town has a cosmopolitan
population of some three thousand, composed of the Wurbo
(its original inhabitants), Jukon, Nupe, and Kakanda. At
one time Ibi was conquered by the Emir of Muri, but threw
off its allegiance in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Jibu, a semi-Muhammadan State with a Bayin Filane population
of some five hundred, was formerly under the Emirate, but threw

MURI PROVINCE. 503

off its allegiance in the latter half of the nineteenth century,
and has recently been placed under Ibi.

It has an area of forty-nine square miles and a total population
of 680, including a few Borroro Filane, a few Haussa and
Abakwariga, Chamba, and Wurobo, the original Jubawa inhabi-
tants having been driven out by a Filane slave (Lamindo Kuso)
of the Sarkin Muri, in the year 1842. Jibu paid to the Emir of
Muri twenty per cent, of slaves captured, twenty to thirty
cloths, besides two or three slaves on accession.

He was also expected to assist in war, but received in return
a horse, sword and flag.

6. To the south of Ibi is the pagan State of Wukari, an
industrial centre, with a Jukon population of some 10,891.

7. South again is the State of Donga, into which Suntai
has been incorporated (1913), with an addition of 1,952 Chamba
to the population, inhabited by 3,513 Chamba, who had
migrated from Tubati in the Kamerun to escape the Filane
pressure. The Zumperr attempted to subdue the Tik'r section of
Chamba, but were repulsed.

8. Zumperr, on the Kamerun border, has an area of 360
square miles and a population of 10,583, mainly composed of
Tikrawa and Zumperr, with about 558 Haussa traders in
the town itself. Takum — now merged with Zumperr — paid
a tribute of ten to forty slaves, half male, half female, annually,
to Sokoto until 1901. They were first assessed in 1903 and pay
taxes to the Ibi Beit-el-Mal. A native court with jurisdiction
over Haussa traders was established in 1912.

TRIBES INHABITING MURI PROVINCE.

Agatu. — (A nickname for a medley of peoples). Popula-
tion 441, in Bassa Province 13,991 and in Nassarawa
Emirate 1,500.

Ankwe. — Population 11,652 (together with Mirriam and
Ngarass) in Ibi Division, 5,644 in the adjoining districts
of Bauchi Province, and a few villages in Lafia Emirate.
Bashamma. — Population 221 in Lau Division, the main
group of 10,000 in the neighbouring district in Yola
Province ; and their off-shoots, the Djen (population
9,952) and Kunini (population 292) in Jalingu district,
and Djen-Djen (population 300) in Muri Emirate.
Bashar. — Population 2,643 in Wase district also 13,000
Bashiri in Bauchi Province.

Bolewa. — A group in the Lau Division, the main body
of the tribe being distributed between Bauchi and Gombe
Emirates (population 9,155 and 7,384) and Western
Bornu (population 7,388).

504 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

6. Burumawa.— (Kibyen). A group in Wase District,
detached from some sixty thousand in Bauchi Province,
also some 679 in Jemaa Emirate.

7. Bwol. — Population 1,831 in Ibi Division.

8. Chamba. — Population about thirteen thousand, including
off-sets, Dakka (Kam district, population 2,228), Denye
(Ibi Division, population 5,500 ; Munshi Division
453), Dirrim (Kamerun border), Doros (Lau Division,
sixty-nine), Gwanda (Kamerun border), Tikr (Zumperri
district; 3,243), Tugumawa (Donga district; 151), the
main body being in Ibi Division, Donga and Suntai.
Also 8,035 m Yola Province.

9. Dampar. — Population 1,783 in Ibi Division.

10. Dimmuk. — Population 8,644 in Ibi Division.

11. Filane. — Are to be found all over the Protectorate.
At a very rough estimate they number some sixty thousand
Filanen Gidda in Muri Province, besides a few thousand
Borroroje.

12. Gurkawa. — Population (together with a Haussa settle-
ment) 1,076 in Ibi Division.

13. Gworom. — In Ibi Division.

14. Jarawa. — With their off-sets, the Dugurawa and
Galambawa in Muri Emirate, where the Jarawa proper
number some 2,575. The headquarters of the tribe is in
Bauchi Province, where, at a rough estimate, they number
some ninety thousand to one hundred thousand.

15. Jubawa. — In Ibi Division.

16. Jukon. — Population some eleven thousand scattered
over the Province. There is a further group of 1,128
in Gombe Emirate, and forty-one in Nassarawa.

17. Kam. — Population 583 in Lau Division.

18. Kamberri. — A few in Muri Emirate, the headquarters of
the tribe being in Kontagora Province. There are also
groups in Nassarawra and Sokoto Provinces.

19. Kanna. — In Lau district and in Gombe Emirate.

20. Kofiar. — In Ibi Division.

21. Kona. — Population 4,035 in the Lau Division, whence
a group migrated to Yola Province.

22. Kwoll. — Population 7,176 in Ibi Division, emigrants
from the Bauchi Hills, where the tribe now number some
8,100.

23. Minda. — Population three hundred in Jalingu district.

24. Mirriam. — Population 8,856, with their off-sets the
Lardang, Larr and Mikiet, in Ibi Division.

25. Montol. — Population 9,070 in Ibi Division.

26. Mumuye.— Population 17,079 in Muri Emirate and 7,921
in Yola Province, with their off-set, the Yundam, a further
five hundred, in Lau Division, and 1,095 in Yola Province.

MURI PROVINCE. 505

27. Munshi. — Population some 350,000 in Munshi Division.

28. Namu. — Population 1,353.

29. Nupe. — Distributed throughout this Province as
throughout the Protectorate, their headquarters being
in Niger Province, where they number some one hundred
thousand.

30. Tangale. — A few in Wurkum district. They number
some 28,200 in Gombe Division including off-sets, twenty
thousand in Bornu, and a few in Yola Province.

31. Turumawa. — In Munshi Division.

32. Wurbo. — In Ibi Division and Muri Emirate.

33. Wurkum. — Population 15,178 in Lau Division, and a
further 1,700 in Muri Emirate ; also a group of 2,800
in Gombe Division.

34. Yergum. — Population 13,262 in Ibi Division, and some
3,076 over the Bauchi border. Their principal off-set are
the Sayirr.

35. Zumperr. — Population some 0,524 in Ibi Division

NASSARAWA PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. D. Cator. Mr. J. W. Gill.

Major H. D. Larymore. Capt. A. S. Lawrance.

Mr. H. F. Mathews. Mr. C. Migeod.

Mr. W. Morgan. Mr. J. C. Sciortino.

The Hon. Edward Stanley. Capt. H. L. Norton-Traill.

Commander B. E. M. Waters. Mr. G. B. Webster.

Nassarawa Province embraces an area of some 16,710 square
miles. It is bounded on the north by Zaria Province, on the east
by Bauchi and Muri Provinces, on the south by the River Niger,
and on the west by the Gurara River and Niger Province.

The Province is intersected by rivers which flow from the
east southwards to the Benue, amongst which are the Kogin
Kogom, Mada, Kurafi, and Okwa, and south-west to the Gurara
from the west, including the Suma and Tapa. The latter has a
certain importance from the fact that it crosses the main Lokoja-
Zaria road, and is unfordable in the wet season, while the current
is too strong for the passage of canoes, and there are great
natural difficulties in the erection of bridges. The Gurara, a
tributary of the Niger, forms the north-west and western
boundaries. It is navigable in the wet season for launches and
all the year round for canoes as far as Yewune, where there is
a trading depot.

Dense jungle borders the streams in the north and the banks
of the Benue.

Valuable trees, i.e., rubber, shea-butter, the hanarua kola,
and various palm-trees, including the oil-palm, are to be found
here.

North of the Benue the country is undulating, open and
fertile. It gradually rises from about three hundred or four
hundred feet to twelve hundred feet above the sea level at
Keffi, in the centre of the Province, and to two thousand feet
in the hill country of-Abuja in the north-west, and to between
three and four thousand feet in the north-east, where it merges
with the Kibyen plateau of Bauchi.

The climate is on the whole moderately healthy, but tsetse
fly is very prevalent. In the east there are extensive tin-bearing
areas, in the vicinity of Ninkada, Randa, and Jemaa.

NASSARAWA PROVINCE. 507

Salt is worked in evaporating pans in the south-eastern
district of Lafia, and iron smelting is carried on in the Abuja
Division. In the neighbourhood of Kao iron ore is collected
for the three and a half months succeeding the harvest ; it
is worth about one hundred guineas every season. The British
Cotton Growing Association have a depot and hand-ginnery at
Abuja.

The principal exports are shea-butter, kola-nuts, palm-oil,
rubber, grain, cotton, beniseed, ground-nuts, ramma, and bees-
wax.

The Beit-et-Mal was introduced into each of the Emirates
in 1911.

The Sudan Interior Mission have stations at Kwoi (1910) ,
amongst the Jaba tribe, near Jemaa ; at Karu (1909) amongst
the Gwari, near Kefh ; and at Ida, near Abuja.

The Sudan United Mission have a station at Umaisha,
amongst the Bassa, on the Benue.

The total population of the Province numbers some 251,906,*
about a fifth of whom are Muhammadans. Nearly one-third
(70,000) are Gwari, including the sub-tribe of Gwari Y?.mma.
There are 34,648 Haussa-speaking people and other large tribes
are Bassa (47,400), Koro (17,892), Mada (24,628), and Numana
(11,000).

Before the British occupation most of the Muslim portion,
including the Emirates of ^Keffi, Nassarawa, and Jemaa were
under the suzerainty of Zaria. In 1902 the authority of the
Emir of Zaria was limited to the Province having that name.
Lafia Beri-Beri, in the same way was taken away from the Emir
of Bauchi.

For purposes of administration the Province has been divided
into four divisions, i.e., Jemaa, Keffi and Nassarawa, Lafia, and
Abuja.

Jemaa embraces besides the Emirate, an independent group in
the north, the Kagoro, Attakka, and Moroa tribes. It has an area
of 3,065 square miles and a population of 51,596.

Keffi includes the Emirates of Keffi (with the pagan units
of Karshi, Kurafi and Karu), and Nassarawa, with an area of
6,460 square miles and a population of some 68,680. The
Divisional Headquarters are at Keffi.

Lafia includes the Emirate of Lafia and an independent section
embracing the Mada, Nungu and Mama tribes in the vicinity
of Wamba.

The total area of the Division is 3,695 square miles, and it
has an estimated population of 69,201. The Divisional Head-
quarters are at Wamba.

* Areas and populations throughout must be regarded as approximate
only, adjustments of boundaries having occurred which render it impossible
to verify figures here.

508 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Abuja includes the Emirate of Abuja, the independent Filane
States of Kundu, Pai and Gwagwalida, and the independent
pagan States of Ashera and Waku. The total area of the Division
is 3,490 square miles, and it has an estimated population of
02429. The headquarters are at Abuja.

KEFFI AND NASSARAWA EMIRATES.

Keffi Emirate, situated in the centre of the Province, com-
prises an area of 3,485 square miles, and is divided into nine
districts.

The inhabitants, some 25,585 in number, are mostly Filane,
both Gidda and Borroro. The town is situated in open grass
country, some twelve hundred feet above the sea level, and
has an excellent water supply. It is surrounded by a wall seven
miles in circumference, in which there are nin^ gateways.

,

HISTORICAL NOTES BY ABDULAHI, EMIR OF KEFF

VICE-CAPTAIN H. L. NORTOX-TRAILL.

A certain Filane of Zanga, by name Abdu Lahi, was in the
habit of annually bringing his cattle to graze at the gates of the
City of Panda. Every wet season he returned with his cattle to
his town in Katsina. In this he followed the custom of his father,
who was named Mohama Gani.

In due time Mohama Gani died, and his son, Abdu Lahi,
succeeded him, and entered into possession of his cattle.

Then came the time of the Shefu, Othman Dan Fodio, who
established himself at Sokoto. In these days the present town
of Kefh had not been built. Dan Fodio called all the Filane
people and gave them flags. Abdu Lahi set out to answer his
call, but on his way to Sokoto he was turned back by Mallam
Musa, the first King of Zaria, who informed him that to him
had been granted all the country from Zaria to the River Benue.
So Abdu Lahi turned back and commenced to build the walls
of Keffi. When he had laid the foundations of, the walls he
received a flag from Musa, King of Zada.

A certain man named Umoru, who was afterwards known as
Makama Dogo, attached himself to Abdu Lahi. At first he
followed him on foot, but when Abdu Lahi found him to be
skilled in war he provided him with a horse. When the Afao
people made their submission to him he placed them under
Makama Dogo, who acted as " Kofa " between the Afao people
and himself.

XASSARAWA PROVINCE. 509

About this time a certain man came from Katsina and
claimed Umoru, Makama Dogo, as a runaway slave belonging
to his wife. Abdu Lahi refused to hand him over and offered
to redeem him with two other slaves. One slave he handed over
there and then, and he undertook to give another in the course
of a few months. The man returned to his country, but in a
few months he came back, accompanied by his wife, and meeting
Abdu Lahi at Zaria, where he had proceeded to answer a summons
by the King of Zaria, he demanded from him the second slave
as promised. Whereupon Abdu Lahi handed over a certain young
female slave who belonged to the household of one Ahamadu,
and so completed the redemption of Makama Dogo.

In due time Abdu Lahi died, and was succeeded by his
brother, Mai-Zabo. He in his turn died a few years later, and
Jiberiru, the son of Abdu Lahi, reigned in his stead. Jiberiru
proceeded to Zaria to answer a summons to attend before the
King. Previous to his going he despatched Makama Dogo to
the Afao country. In the absence of Jiberiru and Makama Dogo
from Kern, the man Ahamadu, whose slave girl had been taken
by Abdu Lahi to complete the redemption of Makama Dogo,
identified the same slave, who had grown into a very handsome
girl, and who was living in the compound of Makama Dogo.

A man named Tabo had been left in charge of the town by
Jiberiru during his absence, and to him Ahamadu came with
his complaint. Tabo advised him to resume possession of his
slave, and this he did. When Makama Dogo returned from Afao
and found what had taken place he said nothing, because he
knew that Tabo would not assist him, but when Jiberiru returned
from Zaria he complained to him. Jiberiru appeared not to be
inclined to move in the matter, so Makama Dogo said in his heart
that the young men then in power were treating him as his old
master Abdu Lahi would never have done, and he vowed by
God's name that he would take his complaint to the King of
Zaria.

When he appeared at Zaria the King advised him to let the
matter rest, but he offered him the " Sarauta " of the Igbira
or " Kwotto " Kingdom of Kwotton Karifi, which he accepted.
Makama Dogo then returned to Keffi, but the people of Kem
shut the gates against him and would not grant him admittance.
So Makama Dogo went with his following to a place called
Yankardi .

Now Makama Dogo had given one of his daughters, by name
Halimatu, to Jiberiru in marriage. Halimatu got up and left
her husband and went to her father at Yankardi, whereupon
her father ordered her to return, telling her this matter was
between men and that women were not concerned in it. So she
returned to her husband's house.

510 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

When he had sent her to her husband, Makama Dogo con-
sidered where he should settle, and it came to his mind that a
certain place by a river had been used by Abdu Lahi as his camp
when he went to war. He remembered that whenever Abdu
Lahi had camped at that place he had obtained victory over
his enemies, and also that Abdu Lahi had predicted that the
place would one day become a city. So he proceeded to the
place, and established himself there. In due time a city sprang
up, and the name of it was called " Nassarawa."

From Nassarawa Makama Dogo made war on the pagans,
until at last he conquered Panda itself, and he took the title
of " Sarikin Kwotto." He drove the people of Panda from the
town and destroyed it. When he had done this he returned to
Nassarawa and wrote a letter to Jiberiru, King of Kem, to inform
him that God had given him the victory over Panda. He also
sent a tall lamp, which he had captured from the King of Panda,
as a present to his daughter Halimatu, the wife of Jiberiru,
King of Kem.

Now to this woman Halimatu was entrusted the lighting of
the lamps in the Mosque, and she placed the lamp of the King
of Panda, which her father had sent her, in the Mosque at Kem,
where it is even to this day.

At Panda Makama Dogo captured an Igbira woman named
Wase, said to have been a favoured slave of Ohegu, the Igbira
King of Panda. He lay with her, but she ran away or was sold.
Hearing that she was with child Makama Dogo sent and recovered
her. He predicted that her son would be a mighty man. When
her time was come she gave birth to Mohamadu, who is now
Emir of Nassarawa.

Now when Makama Dogo was very old he left his camp at
Jankwoi and went to Agaza. From there he wrote a letter to
Jiberiru, the King of Kem, and said that he wished to die at
peace with him. Then Jiberiru, the King of Kem, gathered
together all his people and went to Agaza to visit him. From
Agaza they went together to Afforami, and from there they
went up against the people of Akewa and commenced to fight
with them. Then Makama Dogo's strength failed him, and he
knew that his days were near an end. So he sent for the King
of Kefn and all the people, and when they were gathered together
he addressed them. He charged his son Amadu, the " Madaikin
Kwotto " that he should follow the King of Keffi. He told him
that if he did not do so that he would certainly see that which
would not please him, and that the people of Zaria would one
day make him a captive. Amadu did not heed his father's
instructions, and that which his father said took place, for one
day he was led captive from Nassarawa to Zaria by Abdu Lahi,
King of Zaria, who, however, afterwards permitted him to
return to his town.

NASSARAWA PROVINCE. 511

Makama Dogo desired that his body should be carried to
Keffi and should be buried close to the grave of Abdu Lahi,
his foster father. After that Makama Dogo died.

After his death his son Amadu wished that his father's body
should be buried at Keffi according as he had said, but Jiberiru,
the King of Keffi, would not agree to this. He said that Makama
Dogo was the father of Nassarawa, and that his body should lie
there, in order that the people of Nassarawa should have his
blessing for ever, for it was he who had established the town.
There was a disputation as to what should be done, but in the
end the body of Makama Dogo was buried at Nassarawa.

After the death of Makama Dogo, his son Amadu, with
Jiberiru, King of Keffi, broke Akewa. Then they turned back,
the one to Nassarawa and the other to Keffi.

At Nassarawa Amadu was elected to be King of Nassarawa
in his father's place, and he became " Sarikin Kwotto." He
conquered a number of small towns, but not any big ones.

The great warrior was his brother Mohamadu, the son of
Makama Dogo by the girl Wase, who succeeded him, and is the
present Emir of Nassarawa. He it is who conquered Akum,
Iguehi and Kuradu.

There is in Keffi Emirate a place named Kokwana, concerning
which there is a curious legend, dating from the eighteenth
century. A devout Mallam named Ahamadu came to live there
at that time, and he had in his possession a long stick of peculiar
properties. Kokwana was subject to constant attacks from the
people of Ninkoro, but the Mallam always preceded the townsfolk
into battle carrying this stick, and their assailants invariably fled.
On his death he was buried just outside Kokwana and the stick
was placed lengthways on his grave. The people of Ninkoro
came by night to steal this stick, but as they seized it it turned
into a pillar of stone and was too weighty to remove.

They therefore hewed a piece off, about two feet, from one end
and carried it back to Ninkoro, where they planted it, and where
to this day they declare that it is growing. The shrine of Ahamadu
is kept in excellent order and is constantly visited that it may
bring luck upon the traveller. The pillar of stone may be seen
there and a piece undoubtedly has been hewn off, which
corresponds to the small pillar,at Ninkoro.

Keffi Emirate now includes the three pagan units of Karshi,
Karu, and Kurafi.

Karshi was founded by a man of that name, who led one.
of the bands of Gwandara south from Kano. The Sarkin Karshi
confirmed the appointment of each Sarkin Karu and Kurafi,
and doubtless received tribute from them ; all three States
made presents to Abufa in order that they might be left to farm

512 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

their lands in peace, and when Yamusa uban Majigi led
Filane southwards they commenced paying tribute to Zaria ;
though probably these payments were intermittent on the part
of Karshi, who once, at all events, made war on the Filane of
Rogwa, driving them back to Oke.

They were placed under Keffi by the British.

Nassarawa Emirate (second grade) contains an area of 3,225
square miles and a population of some 37,000, composed of a
few Haussawa and of pagan tribes, who were conquered by the
Sarkin Kwotto some years before the advent of the British.
It extends from the northern banks of the Benue River to Kem
Emirate, and has been divided into six administrative districts.

LAFIA EMIRATE.

Lafia Emirate contains an area of 3,450 square miles and a
population of 42,786. It is bounded on the east by Muri Province,
on the south by Munshi District, and on the west by Nassarawa
and Keffi Emirates. It is divided into six administrative districts,
and has considerable mineral wealth. The water supply of the
town is bad and there are tsetse fly in the neighbourhood. The
town population number some 2,200.

The State was founded about the middle of the eighteenth
century by one Anini, of the Arago tribe, but he was deposed
on the arrival of an emigrant tribe of Kanuri early in the nine-
teenth century (circ. 1818),* who, with the consent of the Emir
of Bau'chi (who claimed suzerainty over that part of the country) ,
settled in the plain situated between the Mada and Munshi
tribes. (Another version has it that the Kanuri conquered the
tribes of Koro, Gwandara, Mama, Aike, and broke the large
walled city of Jonkwill ; but Yakubu of Bauchi, to avenge these
raids on his borders, marched on Lafia, which, though unwalled,
resisted a siege of sixteen days, and its inhabitants, in a brilliant
sortie, captured the principal Bauchi war-drum. Yakubu
retreated, but the Sarkin Lafia sent after him and a truce was
arranged, by the terms of which Umur of Lafia sent one gown
annually to Bauchi, but no tribute. A wall was built imme-
diately after.) Under Dumanah, their first Chief, these Kanuri
paid a tribute of eighty tobes at harvest time and twelve tobes
after the rains, besides certain other presents to Bauchi. The
present Emir, Musa, who succeeded in 1903, is a descendant
of the royal house of Bornu.

The Kanuri have intermarried with their Haussa, Filane,
Arago and Gwandara neighbours.

* Compare Doma, p. 513.

NASSARAWA PROVINCE. 513

DOMA.

Lafia Emirate includes the vassal States of Doma and Keana.
Doma has an area of 830 square miles, and is ruled by an heredi-
tary Chief, Atta, the 2yth in direct succession. The population
of 5,121 is distributed amongst the Arago (4,159), Bassa (466),
and Koro tribes (398). There are also ninety-eight Haussa in
Doma town, besides a few Haussa who live amongst the above-
mentioned tribes — principally with the Koro — and have been
included with them. The population of Doma town includes
some 2,675 people.

The livestock consists of some thousand goats and sheep,
chickens and dogs. Cattle and horses will not live in the
district on account of tsetse. Doma lies some two hundred
to three hundred feet above the sea level, and is traversed by a
range of hills, running north-east and south-west, which attains
an elevation of fourteen hundred to fifteen hundred feet, the
source of copious perennial streams, chiefly on the south-eastern
side, where some of them form the Ahina River.

There are eight schools in the district.

A section of the Gara tribe left Atagara, near Ida, and came
to their present location, founding the State of Doma (circ.
1232 A.D.*). They settled amongst the Koro tribes, who were
already inhabiting that district.

They heard rumours of salt being found in the neighbour-
hood, and one Keana, by some accounts a younger brother to
Andoma, went to verify the fact. He found the springs so
valuable that he never returned, but built the town of Keana.
His Chief, Andoma, marched against him in anger, but his
followers refused to fight. Andoma cursed them, calling them
Aragogo— hence their present name. By another tradition
Andoma did not attempt to fight, but caused the salt workings
to be trampled into mud and proclaimed ' Ilagogo " (" our
speech shall be different"), of which expression 'Arago" is
a corruption. Since that time Keana has sent an annual gift
of two bags of salt to Doma, but does not acknowledge her
supremacy.

Both Doma and Keana paid tribute to the Jukon at Wukari.

About the year 1789 A.D. a party of Beri-Beri raiders, led
by Dunama, arrived from Bornu and received Doma's permission
to settle in the Arago village of Anani, which they called Lafia-n
Beri-Beri. At about the same time the Filane expansion

* The Doma historians allege that their ancestor was rightful heir to
the Ata of Ida, but was driven out by a usurper together with his people.

KK

514 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

occurred, and the Jukon were forced back across the Benue,
and Doma commenced paying tribute to Zaria, and Keana
to Bauchi.

Keffi, the neighbouring dependent of Zaria, called upon Doma
to pay tribute to them, but the Chief refused, saying both alike
were subjects to Zaria. Keffi and Lafia joined together to war
upon Doma, which became at the same time prey to the raiding
expeditions of Makama Dogo of Nassarawa. Meanwhile their
towns in the Munshi vicinage were likewise being sacked, and,
in fact, little more than Doma town remained intact. In
desperation Doma invited the assistance of the Munshi, and
with their aid the besieging forces were routed. Later Keffi
united with Nassarawa against Doma, but on this occasion Zaria
intervened and forbade further warfare. With the establish-
ment of the British Protectorate Doma and Keana were organised
as third grade Chiefs, but both were placed under the Emir of
Lafia.

They speak slightly different dialects of Arago.

GENEALOGICAL TABLE— DOMA.

1. Andoma.— Circ. 1232 A.D.

2. Akwe na Agodo. — Son of Andoma.

3. Aboshi \ or

4. Adra Alakaza.

5. Asabo J Asabo.

6. Anawo.

7. Oga ra Kanse "j Ogu.

8. Ogu or Amaku na Agoba.

9. Ata J Anawo.

10. Ari, a contemporary of Makama Dogo ; died circ. 1855,

(after reigning 22 years).

11. Akwe, reigned 17 years.

12. Amaku, reigned 2 years.

13. Ata, reigned 16 years.

14. Ausu, reigned 16 years ; grandson to Alakaza through

Akabi, who never reigned.

15. Agabi, reigned 2 years ; son of Akwe XL, Chief.,

16. Agulu, reigned 9 years; son of Akwe XL, Chief.

17. Agabo, reigned three years ; younger brother of Ata,

thirteenth Chief.

18. Ata, succeeded 1899 or 1901.

The above dates can only be regarded as approximate, the
reigns having obviously been over-estimated in length.

NASSARAWA PROVINCE.

By another version, both from local information, the Chiefs
were as follows : —

1. Andoma

2. Aseii.

3. Akau.

4. Akwei.

5. Adago.

6. Oka.

7. Okabo.

8. Okaku.

9. Oso.

10. Okabe.

11. Aboshe.

12. Aboshe.

13. Oga.

14. Atta.

15. Anao.

16. Oga.

17. Akwoii.

18. Amaku.

19. Ari.

20. Akwoii.

21. Atta.

22. Akwo.

23. Auso.

24. Akabe.

25. Agubu.

26. Agabo.

27. Atta.

KEANA.

Keana is situated at the extreme south-east of Nassarawa
Province and marches with Muri Province. It is about four
hundred to five hundred feet above sea level, and is extremely
flat, swampy and infested with tsetse. It has an area of three
hundred square miles and a population of 1,652, giving a per-
centage of 5.5 to the square mile. It is ruled by an hereditary
Arago Chief, Ago, the sixteenth in direct succession.

At one time it owed allegiance to Bauchi.

The inhabitants are of the Arago tribe, amongst whom are
a few Haussa.

There are valuable salt pits in the district, and only Keana-
born people are allowed to work the salt. The land is divided
into spaces about twenty by five feet, on which water from a
neighbouring spring is sprinkled. This blisters the surface into
a whitish appearance ; it is scraped off and placed in receptacles
with more spring water, which gradually filters out from holes
in the bottom. The earth is boiled, and on evaporation the salt
only remains. The scrapings are replaced on the surface. Rain
water does not produce the like effect, the work being closed
throughout the wet season and the moisture drained from off
the ground before the spring water can be collected.

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.
KEANA GENEALOGY :

Agoshi, King of Ida

Andoma. (1) Keana, Adi. (2) Madafu. (3) Egwa. (4) Oshu,

(5) Azagia. (6) Asiki. (8) Agadi. Alago.

circ. 1789 A. D.

(7) Alago.

(9) Ctaki.
1815-1818.

(11) Adasho.
1830-1852.

(10) Onyatiko.
1818-1830.

(12) Aladoga.
1852-1862..

(13) Azagia.
1862-1899.

(U) Ago.
1899-

The independent pagan district includes the Mama, Nui
and Mada tribes, who are administered through councils of
elders. The area contains 725 square miles and a population
of some 40,000.

The independent district of Nungu contains an area of 250
square miles and a population of 8,480, the women being in
excess of the men.

The height varies from 650 to 1,550 feet above sea level.

Prior to the advent of the British the Nungu district was
exposed to slave raids from the converging territories of the
Emirs of Kern, Lafia and Jemaa ; and the less strongly placed
southern villages paid intermittent tribute to Arikia or Lafia—
mostly in slaves — to avert these raids. The British administra-
tion placed them under Lafia Emirate, but in 1913 the district
was declared independent.

The Mama district has an area of 240 square miles, which
supports a population of 7,891. It is bounded on the east by
the Bauchi plateau, on the north by the Ayu district, on the
west by Nungu, and on the south by Lafia Emirate.

The Mada occupy an area of 235 square miles, with
population of 24,628. See p. 260.

NASSARAWA PROVINCE. 517

JEMAA EMIRATE.

Jemaa Emirate contains some 3,072 square miles. It is
situated in the north-east of the Province, marching with the
Bukuru Hills (Bauchi), and is divided into six administrative
districts. It has a population of 33,246, and is possessed of
considerable mineral wealth.

Jemaa was founded by Mallam Usuman, a native of Kebbi,
near Sokoto. He went to Zaria, and at the time of the Filane
invasion received permission to enter Kachicharri territory,
where, with a following of cattle Filane, he settled in the neigh-
bourhood of Jemaa-n-Daroro — which probably received its name
from the mountain of Daroro or from the people Daroro inhabiting
that mountain. It was at first a mere military outpost against
the Kajurawa pagans, but Mallam Usuman presently received
recognition as a sub-Emir under Zaria (circ. 1810), both from
the Emir of Zaria and from the Sarkin Musulmi.

In 1827 Lander visited Jemaa and found it a flourishing
trade centre. The Chief's title of courtesy is Sarkin Kajuru
Filatihu, in recognition of the fact that the country over which
he reigns was formerly owned by Kajurawa.

The independent pagan groups of Kagoro, Moroa, and Attakka
have an area of 228 square miles and a population of 17,602.
They are ruled through a council of elders, responsible to the
District Officer.

The Kagoro District embraces an area of no square miles,
and supports a population of 8,456. It is situated some six or
seven miles north of Jemaa, in the south-east corner of a fertile
basalt plain on the Nassarawa-Zaria boundary, where it termi-
nates abruptly in a spur of the Bauchi highlands.

For further information see Kagoro, p. 185, also Attakka p. 31 .

The Moroa District has an area of sixty square miles and a
population of 5,156.

It is situated in an open fertile plateau, which rises to a more
broken form in the north. The soil is rich clay, studded with
granite deposits. It is traversed by the Kaduna River. The
boundaries on the north, east and south 'dividing the district
from Zaria, Bauchi, and the Jemaa Districts respectively,
consist of an abrupt chain of rocky hills.

For historical notes and further information see Moroa, p. 278.

ABUJA EMIRATE.

Abuja Emirate has an area of some 1,147 square miles and
a population of 44,291, comprising some 11,000 to 12,000 Bassa,

518 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

12,000 to 13,000 Koro, and the remainder Afu, Arago, Gade,
Ganagana, Gwandara, Gwari, Rundawa, and Yeskwa.

It marches on the west with Niger Province, on the cast
with Kern.

The town of Abuja is situated at an elevation of 1,650 feet,
and is well watered by the river Iku and its two tributaries.
It has a population of some 3,718 of Haussa and Gwari-Gangan
nationality, amongst whom are scattered a few Afawa, Yeskwa,
Gade, Gwari Yamma, Rubawa, and Nupe.

The Emir of Abuja is a direct descendant of the Haussa Kings
of Zozo (Zaria) , being nephew to that Sarkin Zozo, Makam, who
was driven out from Zozo at the time of the Filane invasion.

Makam fled, with many of his followers, south through Gwari
country, to Zuba, where he settled in 1807. He was still
sufficiently powerful to enforce the payment of tribute from the
Gwari and Koro, that they used to give him as Sarkin Zozo ;
and in 1837 he attacked the powerful Filane town of Lapai.
Here, however, he was killed, and his followers were led back
to the Abuja neighbourhood by his brother and successor, Abu,
nicknamed Ja — the red — who founded the city of that name
and reigned as Chief for twenty-four years. He was succeeded
by his brother Abu Kwaka, who in 1870 permitted strangers
to enter Abuja and himself entered into communication with
other Emirates, a practice that had been forbidden since Makam's
advent in 1807. Ibrahima, son of Abuja, succeeded him in 1877,
and in 1893 repelled an attack on Abuja led by the Emir of Zaria
himself. It was estimated that the Filane lost one thousand
men and 253 horses in the course of the investiture of the
city, while Ibrahima lost only six men. In 1902 Abuja was
occupied by the British, who were opposed by Kaka, brother
of Ibrahima. He was deported by Government, and died in
1908 (?). Mahama Gani, son of Abu Kwaka, was appointed
Emir in his place in 1902. The district was not, however,
administered till 1904.

The Chief of Abuja is still entitled Sarkin Zozo, and prayers
are made for his return to Zaria, and have been since 1807.
Haussa customs are maintained, and the Sarki's sister holds
large estates under the title of Saraunia.

ABUJA GENEALOGY.

(1) Makam (Sarkin Zozo) . (2} Abu-Ja. (3) Abu-Kwaka.

1807-1837, A.D. 1837-1861 1861-1877

(4) Ib-ahima. (5) Kaki. (6) Mahama Gani.
1877- 1902-

• NASSARAWA PROVINCE. 519

KUNDU.

The independent State of Kundu has an area of forty-one
square miles, with a population of 20.2 to the square mile, i.e.,
829, of whom nearly two hundred are Filane, the remainder
Bassa. It is watered by the Gurara and Suma Rivers, along
the banks of which the villages are situated, the central plain
lands being waterless. Round Kundu itself the land is worked
out. The population are entirely agricultural, though a few
cattle find pasturage in the central plains. Fishing is left to
Haussa visitors. Yusufu, Sarkin Kundu, says his ancestors
came with cattle from the north, which they pastured in Kundu
— Audu Karami being their leader ; ,and that they were a later
settlement than the Filane of Pai ; that they fought the Gana-
gana of Ashera and spread south as far as Forgwe, but retired
thence in the time of his predecessor. They owed allegiance
to Zaria. For the pagan tradition concerning them see " Pai."

PAI.

The independent State of Pai has an area of 145 square miles,
and is situated in the western part of the Abuja Division. In
the north are plain lands with sandy soil, where there is pasturage
for a limited number of cattle. In the centre are hills intersected
by fertile but narrow valleys, and in the south well- wooded plains.
Oil palms, shea trees, and the locust bean are found in abundance.

The population number some 4,443 (30.6 to the square mile),
of which the Filane situated in and around the town of Pai account
for 418, the Bassa for some five hundred, and the Gwari-Yamma
for the rest.

The country was originally inhabited by Koro, who were
all driven out by the present occupants. The Filane Chief,
Sule, is the fifth in succession to one lya of Katsina, who came
south and settled at Koruko, whence his son moved to Pai,
where he and his people were welcomed by the Bassa, who were
already in occupation. The pagans south of Pai state that there
were Filane owners of cattle already in the south, where stock
had failed them, and that as they were travelling northward
they met and coalesced with the Filane from the north and
settled at Koruko. That on a fresh migration of Filane from
the north the States of Pai, Kundu, and Gwagwalida were
founded. This statement is, however, denied by the Filane of Pai.

Sule succeeded his elder brother Mohama, who was exiled
to Abuja in 1912.

5^o NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

GWAGWALIDA.

The independent State of Gwagwalida has an area of twenty-
five square miles and a population of 649, i.e., 25.9 to the square
mile. The land is flat and fairly fertile, but cattle cannot live
owing to the prevalence of tsetse.

Audu of Zaria, son of Audu Salamu, first established the cattle
Filane, Yegumawa, from the south in this neighbourhood. Their
Chief Imoru had four sons, who took up their quarters respectively
in Pai, Kundu, Izon Filane, and Gwagwalida, a noted Bassa
stronghold. Thence they raided the Haussa of Abuja as far
north as Zuba, but were driven back to Gwagwalida, where the
Bassas enabled them to make a stand, and Shefu Dan Sarkin
Musulmi is said to have come to their aid.* The present Chief
is named Bawa. There are only forty-three Filane in the district
now, the remaining 586 being Bassa.

ASHERA.

Ashera has an area of 204 square miles. The land is well
watered and is rich in sylvan produce, as well as for agricultural
purposes. The population is distributed along the river-banks,
at an average density of 12.4 to the square mile. It numbers
some 2,541, the majority of whom are of the Bassa tribe, the
remainder being Gwari Yamma and Gana-G.ana, who are the
ruling race. The present Chief, Tukurua, who succeeded in 1913,
is a descendant of the first Gana-Gana Chief, who came from a
town in Agaie named Foarge.

WAKU.

The State of Waku is situated in the extreme south-west of
the Province. The country is well watered, and its hilly northern
regions are rich in sylvan products, particularly in oil-palms
and shea trees, while iron smelting is carried on at Yebu. The
plains in the south and west are agriculturally fertile. The
area embraces some 145 square miles, and the population averages
26.5 per square mile, i.e., 4,588, the large majority of whom
are Gwari Yamma. There are also a few Gwari Gangan, a few
Bassa in the south, and one village of Gade in the south-west.
The remainder consist of the first occupants of the country, the
Arago.

A predecessor of the present Chief, Esa Tukura, (an Arago,
who succeeded in 1914) was an Arago from Doma in Lafia, who

* This account does not agree with that from Pai or Kundu.

XASSARAWA PROVINCE. 521

came with other huntsmen in pursuit of game some five genera-
tions since. They found the land unoccupied and settled down,
being followed at a later date by the Gwari Yamma, who recognised
their supremacy. They suffered greatly from the raids of the
Kundu Filane, and despite the assistance they received from
the Bassa of Pai were forced to beg off their enemy by paying
blackmail. At one time too they paid tribute to Zozo, but when
the British arrived in the country they had succeeded in re-estab-
lishing their independence.

TRIBES INHABITING NASSARAWA PROVINCE.

i. Afu. — Population some 9,575, inhabiting Kefn, Abuja,

and principally Nassarawa Emirates.
2.. Agatu. — A nickname for a medley of peoples on the banks

of the Benue, some 1,500 of whom are thus designated

in Nassarawa Emirate, 13,991 in Bassa Province, and

441 in Muri.

3. Aike. — Population 275 in Lafia Emirate.

4. Ankwe. — A few villages only in Lafia Emirate, the main
body of the tribe being situated in the south-west of
Bauchi Province (population 5,644), and in the adjoin-
ing District of Muri Province (population 11,652).

5. Arabs. — Some 325 Tripolitan Arabs in Abuja Division
and scattered throughout trading centres of the Protec-
torate. Pastoral Arabs (Shuwa) (35,000 to 40,000) in
Bornu, and in Kano.

6. Arago. — Population 3,800 in Lafia and in Abuja Divisions
and the State of Waku, also in Koton Karifi.

7. Attakka. — Population 4,000 in Jemaa Division.

8. Ayu. — Population 1,822 in Jemaa Emirate and a few in
Bassa Province.

9. Bassa population 24,429 in Nassarawa Emirate, 146 in
Kefn Emirate, 11,646 in Abuja Emirate ; also in the
States of Gwagwalida, Kundu, Pai, and Ashera, making a
total for the Province of some 47,400. There are besides
a considerable number in Kontagora and Niger Provinces
and 12,064 Bassa Komo in Bassa Province, and in
Kabba Province.

10. Daroro. — One town in Jemaa Emirate.

11. Gade. — Population 806 in Kefn Division, 5,935 in
Nassarawa Emirate, and approximately 2,000 in Abuja
Emirate, Waku and Kujeh.

12. Gana-Gana. — Population some four or five hundred in
Nassarawa Emirate and 1,500 in Abuja Emirate; also
across the Niger border in Lapai, where their sept, the

522 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Dibo, number 6,000, in Agaie (population 3,500), and
Koton Karifi.

13. Gwandara. — Some 1,336 in Kefn, 913 in Lafia Division,
1,879 m Jemaa Emirate, and in Abuja Emirate.

14. Gwari. — A tribe numbering some 151,000, distributed
from North-West Zaria (population 40,000) southwards
through East Niger Province (population 41,315)
to Nassarawa, where they are found throughout the
Province, numbering some 70,000.

15. Haussawa, immigrants from various Northern towns.

16. Igbira. — Population 4,728 in Nassarawa Emirate, the
tribe being grouped round the banks of the Niger, 7,117
in Koton Karifi, 8,553 m Bassa, and 24,374 in Kabba,
the total numbering about 45,000.

17. lyashi — A small tribe in the Kibyen Hills.

18. Jaba. — Population some 10,000 (including two Lungu
villages and a Haussa settlement) in Jemaa Division ; also
2,000 (including Kaje) in the adjoining district in Zaria
Province.

19. Jukon. — Population 41 only, the headquarters of the
tribe in Muri Province (population 11,000), and a further
group of 1,128 in Gombe.

20. Kagoma. — Population 4,509 in Jemaa Emirate.

21. Kagoro. — Population 8,456 in Jemaa Division.

22. Kaje. — Population 5,805 in Jemaa Emirate and in the
adjoining district in Zaria Province (2,000, together
with Jaba).

23. Kakanda. — Population 41 only in Nassarawa Division,
and in the riverain districts of Bassa, Kabba (popula-
tion 1,793), and in Lapai Emirate (population 4,500).

24. Kamberri. — Population some 276 in Lafia Emirate. There
are also groups in Muri and Sokoto Provinces, but the
headquarters of the tribe is in Kontagora Province.

25. Kanuri.— Some six or s ven hundred scattered throughout
the Province, as throughout the Protectorate, their head-
quarters being in Bornu, where they number some
450,000, the only considerable migration being to
Gombe Emirate (28,000).

26. Katab. — One township only in the extreme north-east
of the Province, the main body of the tribe being over
the Zaria border (population 5,000).

27. Kaura. — In Jemaa.

28. Kibyen.— Kibbo, Kibbun, or Burumawa. Population
679 in Jemaa Emirate, detached from the main body
of some sixty thousand in Bauchi Province. There
is also a small group in the Wase District of Muri
Province.

29. Kinkera.-— Population 1,235 m Nassarawa Emirate,

NASSARAWA PROVINCE. 523

30. Koro. — Population 3,646 in Keffi Division, 1,412 in Lafia
Emirate, 12,834 m Abuja Emirate ; also 2,677 in
Niger Province and 4,744 in Zaria Province.

31. Mada.— Population 24,628 in Lafia Division.

32. Mama. — Population 7,891 in Lafia Division.

33. Moroa. — Population 4,840 in Jemaa Division.

34. Munshi. — A small group of 429 in Lafia Division, the
tribe numbering some 350,000 in a Province to itself
immediately south of Lafia.

35. Nadu. — A very small tribe in Jemaa Division.

36. Ningi. — In Jemaa Emirate, and some 4,000 in Bauchi
Province.

37. Ningishi.— Population 200 in Jemaa Emirate.

38. Ninzam. — Population 4,325 in Jemaa.

39. Numana. — Population 11,000 in Jemaa Emirate.

40. Nungu. — Population 8,480 (including five Ninzam
villages) in Lafia Division.

41. Nupe. — Distributed throughout this Province and Pro-
tectorate, their headquarters being in Niger Province,
where they number some 100,000.

42. Rubu. — A very small group in Abuja Emirate.

43. Sangawa. — In Jemaa Emirate, and some 1,090 in Bauchi
Province.

44. Toni. — Population 1,351 in Keffi Emirate.

45. Yeskwa. — Population 3,421 in Keffi, 1,538 in Jemaa,
and a few in Abuja Emirates.

46. Yoruba. — Scattered throughout the Protectorate,
members of a nation numbering some four millions.

NIGER PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. H. S. Goldsmith. Mr. E. G. M. Dupigny.

Captain T. W. P. Dyer. Mr. K. V. Elphinstone.

Mr. C. K. Meek. Mr. G. L. Monk.

Captain S. C. Taylor.

The history of the Province is closely bound up with that of
the Nupe, whose numerous tribes were first assimilated into a
Kingdom by one, Choede, or Edegi. His father, Sarkin Attagara,
who was heir apparent of the Atah of Idah, chanced to come
to a certain village named Tan (a Nupe town now in the Jimma
District of Bida Emirate). He did not remain long there,
but during that time he lived with a Nupe woman, native of
Tafi. After his return to Attagara, a son was born to her of
whom we hear later under the names of Choede and Edegi.*
This Choede was summoned to Attagara by his father when the
latter succeeded to the throne, Choede being then some nine
years of age.

At this time all the Bida country — at any rate all that to
the east of the Kaduna river — paid some form of tribute to
Attagara.

As the years passed the Sarkin Attagara fell ill : the doctors
(Bokaye) were thereupon consulted. They decreed that there
was only one treatment if Sarkin Attagara wished to regain his
health. He must send a man up a certain palm tree to
cut off the topmost branches ; of these branches a fire was to be
made and a sacrifice offered. For this sacrifice to be efficacious,
however, it was essential that these branches when cut should
not fall to the ground but should be caught by a man standing
underneath the tree. Choede alone was able to catch the branches
successfully : whereupon the sacrifice was offered and Sarkin
Attagara recovered. As was only natural he had an even greater
affection for Choede from that time. Some years later, being
sick, he confided to Choede the place where all his kayan sarauta
were and told him as soon as he was dead to take the iron canoe,
put all the kayan sarauta therein and return to his birthplace.

* Compare History of Bassa.

NIGER PROVINCE. 525

Accordingly in about 1505, when the Atah died, Edegi fled
from Idah, and carried his wealth up the Niger to the mouth of
the Kaduna river.

He first settled at Bida-Nupiko, where he declared himself
Etsu Nupe. But he was pursued by the people of Attagara, and
moved to Gbara (now Jimunli), where the ruins of a very large
town may still be seen.

Here he sank the iron canoe and intimated to Sarkin Gbara that
he had come to stop. The Sarki was nothing loth, so at Gbara
Edegi settled and from thence he conquered many neighbouring
tribes, including the Bini, Dibo, Bata and Ganagana.

He was succeeded by eighteen chiefs, of whom little is known.

1. Edegi or Choede, circ. A.D. 1505-57.

2. Shaba, or Tsoacha, 1557-66.

3. Zagulla, 1566-1601, founded and lived at Pategi.

4. Jiga, 1601-1646, made Etsu headquarters.

5. Mohamma Wari, 1646—55.

6. Abdulla Wiya, 1655-76, moved headquarters to Jebba.

7. Aliu, 1676-85.

8. Sachi Gana Machi, 1685-88.

9. Ibrahima, 1688-1716.

10. Ederisu, 1716-20, moved headquarters to Labuji.

11. Abdullahi (Chado), 1720-41.

(12) Abubakr Kolo — moved head- (14) Maasu — moved head-
1741-45. quarters to 1758-66 quarters to

and 1776-95, Bedeghi.

(13) Mallam Jibirilu (15) Zubeiru, 1766-76,— lived at Biaghi.

1745—58 I

(16) Iliasu, 1776,— lived at Bedeghi.

Iliasu.

Jimada. Majia.

Ederisu.

On the death of Maasu in 1795 accounts vary as to who
were his immediate successors. According to one authority*
Kolo " reigned for a few months and was succeeded by Moham-
madu, who is said to have reigned for one year and to have died
circ. 1805. f At that time, two brothers, grandsons of Iliasu,
the sixteenth chief, by name Jimada and Majia, each claimed
the right to the chieftainship and civil war broke out between
them.

* Mr. H. S. Goldsmith on information collected from native sources
in 1902.

t Note discrepancy in dates.

520 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Jimada became Sarkin Gbara. His people were styled Isaji*
and their descendants are now distributed over the Pategi Division
of Ilorin Prevince, Kontagora Province and the Bida Emirate.

Majia became Sarkin Jengi (near Rabba.) His people were
styled Gwagbaji and fled north to Kontagora on the Filane
aggression.

It was at this period (1805 A.D.) that the Jihad was being
waged in the north and a flag was given by the Shehu, Osuman
dan Fodio, to Mallam Danyo, that he might go and conquer and
rule over the Nupe. The kingdom was to be under the suzerainty
of the Shehu's brother, Abdullahi, of Gando. Danyo had,
however, no easy task. He arrived from his native town near
Birnin Kebbi, to find civil war between the abovementioned
chiefs. The Etsu, Majia, had just slain his rival claimant and
brother at the battle of Ragada, and his nephew Ederisa, still
a boy, with his followers, sought aid from the Filane Mallams
at Ilorin. At first Mallam Danyo joined with Majia, and during
this period cured, it is said, a Nupe Princess named Fatuma,
from some illness. She was given him in marriage and bore
him a son, named Masaba. Mallam Danyo subsequently quar-
relled with Majia, joined the Filane Mallams at Ilorin, and led
them Against the Etsu on behalf of Edeiisa. Majia had followed
to Ilorin, but was forced to retreat with heavy loss. Seven years
inaction followed, when Ederisa, who had then attained the age
of manhood, became impatient of Filane control, and led a Nufawa
army against the Mallams at Rabn. Danyo at once transferred
his support to Majia, and Ederisa's army was routed and he him-
self fled to Ekagi. Courtesies were exchanged between Majia and
Mallam Danyo, and Majia gave his daughter, Sofia, in marriage to
Osuman Zaiki , son of Mallam Danyo , by a Filane wife . The Mallam
himself remained at Raba, where he died in 1832. On his death,
Osuman Zaiki was recognised as Sarkin Filane at Raba, but, over-
thrown in an intrigue for the office of Yerima, Masaba, son of
Mallam Danyo, by the Nupe Princess Fatuma, allied himself with
both Majia and Ederisa to drive Osuman Zaiki from the country.
They were defeated and shortly after commenced quarrelling
among themselves. The Sarkin Gando sent an emissary to make
settlement between the factions. Ederisa was sent to Gbara
(Jimunli), where he died. Masaba to Ladi, and the Etsu, Majia,
was ordered to remain at Zuguma. There he died and was suc-
ceeded by his son Sado. Osuman Zaiki at once informed Sado
that he was king over all the Nupe, and ordered him to hand
over the Kakaki and other insignia. Sado gave fight, was de-
feated, and withdrew once more to Zuguma. Osuman Zaiki
introduced a system of rule through Ajeles, and became un-

* They are sometimes called Gbara or Jgbara and must not be
confused with the Tgbira, being in reality of Eini origin.

NIGER PROVINCE. 527

popular. Sado and Masaba joined against him, his armies were
defeated, and he himself was finally recalled to Gando, Masaba
being declared Sarkin Filane in his stead. About this time
Sado died, was succeeded by his son Jia, who became involved
in further civil war with Masaba and Isa, son of Ederisa. He
was routed and fled to Yeni, where he made peace. He died
three years later, and was succeeded as Etsu Nupe by his
brother Maza, who shortly sent a force to assist Isa against
Masaba. Masaba's war-chief, Uma, a Bornu man, turned against
his master, offered his services to Maza and drove Masaba from
the country. Masaba was taken to Ilorin and virtually kept
prisoner there. A few years later the traitor, Uma, quarrelled
with his new master, led a force against him, and the Etsu Maza was
killed at the ensuing battle. Uma thereupon declared himself
Etsu Nupe, but the Filane would not admit his authority, and
Umoru Majigi, a grandson of Mallam Danyo, then in the country
as deputy from Gando, led a Filane army against him. He also
sent to Gando to ask for the return of Osuman Zaiki as Sarkin
Nupe, and to Ilorin for Masaba's release as Sarkin Filane. Both
these chiefs came at the head of armies and the three allies, after a
campaign lasting a few months, overthrew the upstart Uma, who
had been holding Umoru Majigi hard pressed at Bida. Uma was
decapitated, and peace was once more restored. In 1859 Osuman
Zaiki died, and Masaba was nominated Sarkin Nupe by Gando.
A period of tribal warfare ensued, and there was a serious rising
of the Nupe in the Kaduna district, which was ultimately over-
come. Masaba no.w claimed sovereign rights over the Filane of
Agaie andLapai, but the dispute was settled by the Sarkin Gando,
who himself came to Bida and laid down both the boundaries and
the systems of administration to be practised in the Emirates of
Lapai, Agaie, Shonga and Lafiagi. The following year Masaba
died and was succeeded by Umoru Majigi in 1873. Another
period of tribal warfare ensued, and Umoru Majigi sent forces to
assist Gando against the Haussawa, and Kontagora against the
Gwari ; whether at home or abroad he was uniformly successful.
In the early part of his reign Umoru Majigi sent to salute the Royal
Niger Company's representative at Egga, but at the time of his
death, and against his express orders, the Bida army looted .the
Niger Company's factory at Shonga. He died in 1884, and was
succeeded by Maliki, son of Osuman Zaiki. Maliki proved a
nonentity, who, till his death in 1895, never exercised the least
control over his many powerful chiefs . Abubekri , a son of Masaba ,
now succeeded, but was driven out by the Royal Niger Company,
who, in 1897,. appointed Mohammadu, son of Umoru Majigi.
When the British forces retired Abubekri reinstated himself
until 1901, when the troops again advanced on Bida and he fled,
Mohammadu again being nominated Emir under letters of ap-
pointment, though he was not formally installed until 1905, when

528 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

the prescribed oaths of allegiance were first taken. Abubekri died
at Lokoja in 1911 .

It will be, observed that in each case the succession passed to
a descendant of the three families of Osuman Zaiki, Masaba and
Umoru Majigi, in regular alternation. Thus on the death of
Mohammadu, son of Umoru Majigi, in 1916, the office reverted
to the Osuman Zaiki branch, one Bello, son of Maliki.

Another authority* has it that Mallam Danyo (or Isa) had
already been residing in Nupe as a teacher of the Faith some three
years prior to the Jihad — that on the outbreak he offered his
services, together with those of all his followers, to Sheikh Othman
dan Fodio, who, however, bade him remain where he was to
prepare the way for Filane conquest in Nupe. Mallam Danyo
found favour with the Etsu, who gave him his daughter in
marriage ; by her he had a son, Masaba.

The Etsu was succeeded on his death by his brother Idirisu,
who, noting the conquests of the Filane, was fearful of the
Mallam's intrigues and withdrew his favour from him. Mallam
Danyo, in fear of his life, wrote to Sokoto for help and received
the answer that he was to make war on the Etsu without delay,
for that when Nupe was conquered he should reign over it subject
to the suzerainty of Abdullahi of Gando. In the war that ensued
both Idirisa and his brother and successor Jibirim were slain in
battle. The third brother, Jimado, succeeded, but only to make
peace with Mallam Danyo, to whom he paid homage.

The Mallam built the town of Raba and reigned there until
his death, when his son, Osuman Zaiki, succeeded him and reigned
for twelve years, at the end of which time his half-brother, Masaba,
drove him out. He fled to Gando, where he remained for nine
years. Masaba reigned for eight years, when he was forced to
fly to Ilorin by a famous Haussa warrior — Umaru of Kano—
who killed the submissive Jimada and installed himself as King
over Nupe. After a lapse of three years Masaba, Osuman Zaiki,
and Umaru (a grandson of Mallam Danyo by Majigi) joined
forces and marched on the interloper, who fell in battle after two
years' warfare. Together they founded the town of Nupe, where
Osuman Zaiki reigned for eight years until his death ; whilst
Masaba ruled in Bida for seventeen years, where he was succeeded
by Umaru, who reigned for fourteen years. His successor was
Abu-Bakar, son of Masaba, who reigned for five years, when he
was deposed by the British, who appointed Maku, son of Umaru,
in his place.

The Niger Province contains an area of 15,538 square miles.

On the south it is bounded by the river Niger ; on the west
by Kontagora ; on the north by Sokoto, a point of Kano and

* Mischlich's extracts from Haussa manuscripts, translated from the
German bv Mrs. A. L. Ross.

NIGER PROVINCE. 529

Zaria ; and on the east by Zaria and Nassarawa, between which
the river Gurara forms the boundary line.

Mountainous in the north and with rich lowlands in the south
the Niger province includes most of the characteristic features
of Northern Nigeria. From an elevation of less than four hundred
feet in the south it rises to over two thousand feet above the sea-
level in the north. Fertile river valleys, swamps, open bush, well-
cultivated plains and rocky hills are all found within this area.

Ironstone occurs throughout the province and smelting works
are carried on in the Birnin Gwari and Koriga districts. Gold
has been found in Birnin Gwari and a prospective mining lease
issued, but the opinion of experts is divided as to whether it
exists in working quantities. Some alluvial gold has been won
at Shapa on the Bako river.

Besides the Niger and Gurara rivers the province is traversed
by the Kaduna, which takes its rise in the northern watershed
of Nassarawa and flows through Zaria and the Niger Province,
finally adding its waters to the Niger at Nupeko. It is navigable
by canoe as far as Zungeru. The Bako, on which Bida is situated,
is also an important, though a much smaller tributary of the Niger.

There are tracts of forest round the river valleys, and in the
south the sylvan products are valuable. These include many
palms, the oil-palm, date-palm, and bamboo palm ; three species
of rubber, including the Funtumia Elastica ; and all over the
province shea-butter trees, balsam copaiba and locust bean are
found. Mangoes, oranges, limes, bananas, plaintains, cocoanuts,
pineapples, paw-paws and wild custard apple thrive. Ginger also
grows plentifully.

The land is highly cultivated and produces good crops of cotton,
Hibiscus lunarifolius (the fibre from which, it is said, would compare
favourably with Indian jute if skilfully rotted, but the natives
merely soak the stem in water for a week before cleaning and
making it into ropes, with the result that it stretches and spoils
if exposed to the wet), tobacco, millet, guinea-corn, maize,
ochro, cassava, sorrel hibiscus, ground-nuts, beans, rice, capsicum,
peppers, sweet potatoes, beniseed, yams, onions and sugar cane
(this latter is indigenous to the country but of an inferior quality.
It is grown mainly as a cattle food, though the stalks are eaten ;
no process is applied for extracting sugar). The dyes commonly
used are indigo, two species of guinea-corn (Jan Karandem, which
yields a red dye, and Karandem which yields a black dye;) and
yellow from the bulb of an Iridaceae (Ture) and from a bush,
cochlospernum tinctorium (Balungunda) both of which grow
wild. Others are a blue dye from ashes of the heart of the shea-
butter tree, which resembles indigo in colour and is fast, but, of
course, destructive of the tree ; red from the powdered wood of
the Pterocarpus Erinaceus (Kiria and Madobia) and Pterocarpus
Tinctorius (Majigi) and a certain seedless Sorghum, but this is

LL

530 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

not fast ; and yellow from the ripe fruit of the fan palm, from the
Magena tree, and from the root of the Cochlospermum Niloticum
(Ramman Daji).

The principal export trade is in raw materials ; they are of
relative importance in the order mentioned. Shea-nuts, palm-
kernels, ground nuts, hides, capsicums, gutta-percha and potash.
For local industries see Bida Emirate.

The Church Missionary Society have Europeans stationed at
Bida (since 1913), Kutigi (1905) Kuta and Katsha (since 1909),
and there are sixteen outstations under their control.

The Memnonite ,Brethren-in-Christ have one European
stationed at Jebba South (1909), and one out-station at Mokwa
(1906), which was taken over from the C.M.S. in 1911.

The Sudan Interior Mission have seven Europeans stationed
at Wushishi (1904), Paiko (1909), and Minna (1913). Medical
treatment is given at the two former.

The Roman Catholic Mission have a station at Minna (1913)
under the supervision of two Europeans.

Transport is by carrier and by donkey, by river and by the
Lagos Railway, Northern Extension, and the Baro-Kano Railway.
The Nupe are bad carriers and the work is mainly done by women.

Herds of cattle are brought down for pasturage from i he north
by Filane Borroro, but there are many localities where none are
kept owing to the prevalence of tsetse fly in the thick vegetation
round the rivers. Herds of goats and some sheep are kept uni-
versally, and in the Bida division black pigs are bred. In the
higher ground round Lapai, however, a considerable amount of
stock is kept, and horses are bred at Gaun.

The industries are principally agricultural and riverain
(fisheries). Besides these the usual dyeing, weaving and mat-
making may be included as universal throughout the province.
For special reference see Bida.

The population numbers some 273,342, and is mainly Mu-
hammadan. The majority are Nupe, Gwari, and Filane, but
besides these there are some twelve tribes — vide list.

For administrative purposes the province is broken into four
divisions.

i. Bida Division, with an area of 4,824 square miles and a
population of 135,826. It is sub-divided into 12 districts under
District heads (who were obliged to reside in their districts first in
1907), and Bida City and the whole is under a First Grade Emir
of Filane extraction — vide Historical Notes.

Bida is the headquarters of the Provincial Administration,
and officers are posted at Baro, Kwongoma and Minna. Zungeru,
where the headquarters of the Protectorate was established in
1902, is situated on the Kaduna river, and there is a popula-
tion of some eighty Europeans. It, together with Lokoja, is under
Cantonment regulations. In the Emirates of Bida, Agaie and

NIGER PROVINCE. 531

Lapai the Beiyut-el-Mal was inaugurated in 1910, the Emirs,
chiefs, judiciary, Alkalis, assessors, court messengers, treasury
officials and dogarai being placed on fixed salaries. One half of
the revenue of each Emirate is paid into the Protectorate treasury
for general purposes, one half is retained in the native treasury,
from which local payments are made, including the maintenance
of prisoners and public works. A central Beit-el-Mal for the
Kwongoma division was started in 1911, and at Wushishi in 1911.

The native administration school at Bida is attended by some
thirty-seven scholars, who study Koranic law, reading, writing,
arithmetic, geography and the Taki system of land measurement.

There is another native administration school at Agaie, in the
Agaie-Lapai division. Instruction is given in the Haussa language
only. Both these schools were started in 1911.

The teachers are Mallams, trained at the Nassarawa (Kano)
school.

BIDA EMIRATE.

The Emirate is undulating and well watered. The Kaduna,
Bako and Eba rivers flow through the division ; the latter tribu-
taries of the Niger and Kaduna respectively — both are practically
unnavigable. The soil is generally light and sandy. Eastwards
it degenerates into rugged stony bush and in the north there are
some outcrops of granite where ironstone peaks and plateaus
form a principal feature ; however, 4,000 oil-palms have been
recorded, and the land is rich in the aforementioned products.
Tobacco is exported to the Gwari tribe in big coils, weighing 4olbs.
and 5olbs. Bida town is an important trade centre, and is cele-
brated for its cloth, and for gowns of tsamia silk. Excellent
rectangular and oval mats are woven in ornamental patterns.
Straw hats and baskets are made. Skins are tanned and dyed.
Imported glass bottles are smelted down and converted into
bracelets. Brass bowls and pots are made. Iron is smelted.
Earthenware pots are made.

Divisional headquarters are at Bida, where there is a popu-
lation of 24,793. The town was first fortified by Umoru Majigi
in 1857, up till which time it had been a mere village inhabited
by Bini.

The population of Bida Emirate is composed mainly of Nupe,
who, throughout the province, number some 100,000. At a
rough estimate rather more than half of these are Muhammadans .
Amongst the tribes of Nupe extraction are the riverain Batachi
and Kede, and the Bini, original pagans. Other inhabitants are the
Gwari, who are probably indigenous to that region bordering the
north of the Niger Province and south of Zaria. Kanuri, some
of whom migrated to the Nupe kingdom in the eighteenth century ;

532 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Yoruba, Filane and Filane Borroro, over a thousand of whom
pasture their cattle in this locality during the wet season.

2. The Baro Division, headquarters Baro, has an area of 2,804
square miles and a population of 92,198. It is divided between
the second grade Emirates of Lapai and Agaie, and the inde-
pendent district of Koton Karifi.

LAPAI EMIRATE.

Lapai comprises an area of 1,377 square miles and contains a
population of 33,696. It is sub-divided into eight districts, which
includes the town of Lapai.

There are over 5,000 Nupe in Lapai Emirate, not including
their off-shoots, the Bata and Dibo, 6,000 ; Ganagana and Gupa,
7,500. Other tribes are : the Bira ; Bassa, 400 ; Gwari, 5,000 ;
Kakanda, 4,500 ; Yoruba, and there are also Filane and Haussawa,
5,000.

The country is rocky and hilly — ironstone and granite — but
in the valleys the soil is very fertile. There is a great dearth of
water, Central Lapai being sparsely inhabited for that reason,
and in the capital the supply is so bad in the dry season as to
cause much d sease (guinea worm, etc.) even amongst horses.

In the time before the Jihad the country in the neighbourhood
of what is now Lapai was much of it under the influence of Zaria,
and the Haussa chief of Zaria, Jatao, nominated a Filane Borroro
Damatumai-Ki-Dampami, by name Sarkin Filane. Neither he
nor his son who succeeded to the title attempted to form any
permanent settlement ; but his grandson, Daudu Maza, having
had trouble with the Gwari and Ganagana, obtained a flag iiom
Mallam Abdullahi, of Gando. He then set about subduing the
country and had obtained firm hold over it when he was subjec ed,
in 1837, to a severe attack ^rom Makam, ex-Chief of Zaria, who had
been driven south by the Filane conquest . This Chief had occupied
the country immediately to the east of Lapai, whence he was
enforcing his old rights over the neighbouring tribes. A fierce
battle took place immediately outside Lapai, in which Makam
was killed. The victorious Daudu Maza immediately afterwards
obtained confirmation of his rank as first Sarkin Lapai from
Gando. The people of Agaie claim that Daudu Maza had been
Mayaki to their Chief, Mallam Baba, who first sent him into Lapai
to subdue the warring tribes, and that, instead of returning to
his Chief, he made himself Sarkin Lapai. He was succeeded by
three brothers. The third, Jantabu, who reigned from 1849 to
1885, extended the borders of the Emirate down to the Niger.
It was in his reign that English cloth was first introduced into the
country and was greatly prized. In his reign Masaba, in whom
the ranks of Etsu Nupe and Sarkin Filane had been combined,

NIC.KK PROVINCE. 533

claimed sovereignty over the neighbouring kingdoms, and in 1872
the Emir of Gando himself journeyed to Bida, settled the boun-
daries, and laid down general principles of government. A son of
Jantabu, Abdul Kadiri, seventh Emir, sent a force to' assist the
Emir of Bida against the Niger Company in 1897 ; but on the
advance of the British he and his forces fled. Lapai was burnt,
and after the withdrawal of the British battered down by inimical
Gwari and Ganagana.

In 1902 Abdul Kadiri retired, owing to his continual drunken-
ness, and was succeeded by his brother Ibrahima, who still reigns.

LAPAI GENEALOGY:

Damatumai-ki-Dampami

I
Jaura

I I I

(1) DaudaMaza (2) Ja^addi (3) Baji (4) Jantabu

(appointed Emir 1840-46. 1846-49. 1849-85.
under Gando in 1 835) . (

T~ ~T~ I I

(;">) Atiku (6; Bawa (7) Abdulkadiri (8) Ibrahima
1885-86 1886-92. 1892-1902. 1902.

AGAIE EMIRATE.

Agaie Emirate embraces an area of 737 square miles, and a
population of 29,037, to which the town itself contributes some
6,694.

The population of Agaie Emirate is almost entirely composed
of Nupe, of whom there are over 24,000, not counting their off-set,
the Ganagana, who number some 3,500. There are a few Filane,
Haussawa and Gwari.

The Emirate is uniformly flat and undulating, with sandy but
fertile soil. It is well watered. The State of Agaie was founded
in 1822 by a Katsina man whose son was first Emir in 1832.

By another account, Mallam Baba, a Filane who had lately
arrived in Ilorin, joined with Ederisa against Majia Etsu Nupe,
who was defeated at a battle close to Mokwa. The vanquishing
forces dispersed and Mallam Baba we.t to Agaie and founded
the Emirate.

KOTON KARIFI.

The independent district of Koton-Karifi was incorporated
in the Agaie-Lapai division in 1914. It is divided into seven sub-
districts, with a total area of 690 square miles. It lies on the

534 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

L, and

banks of the Niger and Benue rivers in the form of an L,
consists of swamp, separated from the rivers by a belt two miles
wide of thick forest, rising by a gently sloping glacis to the foot
of an indented plateau where streams take their rise, cutting their
way out into fertile valleys. The soil varies from heavy loam to
light sand and is productive. In the dry season the water from
the swamps is impure and herds cannot be kept in the district.

The population number some 29,465 ; men being in slight
preponderance over women in three districts.

The Bassa and Igbira are the most numerously represented,
other tribes being Ganagana, Gwari, and a few Haussa, Nupe,
Yoruba, Gupa, and Filane. The first invasion took place about
1750 A.D., when the Kwotto, or Igbira, came from the south
and formed the two rival kingdoms of Koton-Karifi and Panda.*
whose power extended from the Niger to the confines of the Mada
tribe and from the Benue to the foot of the Gwari hills.

Both kingdoms were in their zenith when Barth visited Haussa-
land (Panda is mentioned by Landar as second only to Tim-
buctoo and Kukawa in importance), but fell before the victorious
arms of Umoru, founder of Nassarawa, and of his son, the present
Emir.

Another version has itf that the Bira or Igbira originally (the
earliest history dates from 1400, A.D.) occupied territory to the
south of the River Benue, their headquarters being at Attagara,
south of Etobe, in what is now Bassa Province.

A son of one of the Attas, Ohimi, left the country on his
father's death and established his kingdom north of the Benue,
where he assumed sway over the peoples already in occupation of
that country.

A dispute as to the succession arose and the rejected candidate,
grandson of Ohimi by his daughter Yankah, removed with his
adherents to Panda (Nassarawa Province).

Haitu, the new chief, presently removed to and built Egu,
now known as Koton Karifi, the fourth capital, a name given to it
by the Haussa traders who knew this area of Nassarawa as Koton-
tawa. Hence the " koto " whilst the last syllable is derived from
the fact that it was a commercial centre for brass rods (Kerifi-
metal) imported from the lower reaches of the Niger.

The succession now alternates between the descendants of
Haitu and of his younger brother Gaku, who succeeded him.

(!) Ohimi.

(2) Haitai. (2) Haitu. (.':) Gaku

I
(4) Muhammadu Chekpa.

* North of Umaisha.
| Mr. F. Dwyer.

NIGER PROVINCE. 535

Another account again says* it is believed that the conquering
immigrants came from Ida and that the settlement at Koton
Karifi was established by one Adarike, who, on his death, was
succeeded first by his son Hitenge, and then by his comrade in
arms, Owetu. These two chiefs each founded a powerful family,
now known respectively as ' ungwa Dawaki " and " ungwa
Aukwe," and each containing four branches. The chief is chosen
in rotation from the four branches of each ungwa. The reigning
chief, Ali, the twenty-third in succession, is of the Aukwe family.

The Kingdom of Koton Karifi was first raided in the time of
Masaba, at some date subsequent to 1832 A.D., who inflicted a
heavy blow on its power. The sixteenth chief was, however,
sufficiently strong to repel another Filane invasion, but in the
time of the eighteenth chief Filane from Bida broke all towns from
Koton Karifi to Ida. It was their last venture, but Koton Karifi
was shorn of its powers and fell a ready victim to raids from
Nassarawa, which continued until put a stop to by British rule.

3. Kuta division, headquarter station Minna, has an area of
3,600 square miles and a population of 49,143, amongst which
are some 1,545 railway labourers without permanent domicile.
The division is in three sections, under the Emir of Wushishi, the
Sarkin Galadima Kogo, and the Sarkin Kuta.

The town of Wushishi was founded about 1885 by the Emir
of Kontagora as a frontier war-camp, whence he could organise
slave-raids amongst the Gwari and other tribes. He appointed
his son as Sarkin Wushishi, and in 1901 the British Government
confirmed the appointment, converting Wushishi into an inde-
pendent second grade Emirate.

Wushishi proper contains an area of 1,182 square miles and a
Muhammadan population of 9,774 ; the pagan districts of Paiko,
Bosso and Maikonkelli were recently included, to which Fuka
and Gini were added in 1913. This brings the total area to 2,376
square miles and the population to 33,222.

Fuka District contains a population of Gwari, Koro and
Kadara. They owed allegiance to Zaria, and when the last Habe
king fled to Abuja continued their allegiance to him there. The
Filane were anxious to obtain a slave-raiding base at Fuka and
won over the Gwari by many presents, so that they transferred
allegiance to Kontagora a few years later.

The population of Wushishi is principally composed of Nupe,
Filane and Gwari. There are also a few Kede, and Kam Kawa.
The pagan districts include a large number of Gwari and Koro,
and in Fuka there are : Koro, 1,436, and Kadara, 570.

* Captain T. W. P. Dyer.

536 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Galadima Kogo, which includes the district of Guni, embraces
an area of 647 square miles and a Gwari population of 6,361.
The Sarki is a Bazazegi by birth, whose grandfather held the rank
of Galadima in Zaria. He quarrelled with the Emir and started
out with many followers to create for himself a kingdom. He
was warmly welcomed by the Gwari, who regarded him as a
protector against the Filane aggression, and he and his people
settled in the district, intermarrying with the inhabitants. Ku-
mada, the chief of a group of villages in Guni has been under a
female Magajia since the time of Makam, last Haussa chief of
Zaria.

Kuta District comprises an area of 577 square miles, with
a Gwari population numbering some 8,015. There are also a
few Kadara and Koro in the district. The prevailing religion
is pagan, though so-called Muhammadanism is penetrating,
especially in the larger towns ; and there are settlements of Filane
and Kanawa. The Sarkin Kuta, Baiyanza, is supported by a
council of elders without whose co-operation he is powerless.

4. Kwongoma division contains an area of over 5,000 square
miles, and a population of 26,196. It was transferred from Zaria
to Niger Province in 1908. Situated in the extreme north of the
province it is bounded on the north by Sokoto, on the east by
Zaria, and on the west by Kontagora provinces. It is composed
of ten separate units, Birnin Gwari, Kwongoma, Kusheriki,
Allawa, Tegina, Gumna, Koriga, Kushaka, Kagara and Makan-
gara. The entire division was first assessed and the Beit-el-Mal
started in 1911.

The district is undulating and covered with fairly thick bush,
though the Makangara, Kwongoma and Allawa districts are very
mountainous and comparatively bare. The soil is for the most part
shallow and stony, except in the fadama, but suffices to produce
the usual crops, and considerable local trade is done in corn and
shea-nuts. The hills are mostly of granite formation, and there
is a considerable amount of laterite. Iron is almost universally
found. Smelting is carried on in the Birnin Gwari and Koriga
districts, both by natives and Haussas. The district used to provide
a large percentage of the Kano and Zaria iron supply. In the
Birnin Gwari district gold has been found, but the opinion of
experts is divided as to whether or not it is in workable quantities.

There is a good water supply, though the rivers are not
navigable.

NIGER PROVINCE. 5/,/

Transport is by carriers only, and it is hard to obtain them,
for the division is scantily populated owing to the devastating
raids from Kontagora, which were successfully withstood by tlu
Makangara and Pongo only.

Less than a fifth of the population are Muslim, who with few
exceptions are lax. The tendency is to lapse to the local pagan
cult.

(i) Birnin Gwari is divided into four districts and contains

an area of 2,875 square miles, and a population of 9,024. It is

said to have been founded by an Arab Mallam, from Bornu,

who married a Gwari wife, and whose descendants have reigned

ever since. He first settled at Kuta, writing charms for Sarkin

Kuta, who presently gave the Mallam Sheriff his daughter in

marriage, by whom he had sons. He left Kuta with a

considerable following and went to Allawa, a fief of Zaria,

where he again acquired riches by writing charms for the Sarki.

Instead of returning to Kuta, as he at first intended, the Sheriff

followed the line of hills to the north until he reached Jebuga

—now a hamlet of Birnin Gwari — where he settled. His sons

sought land in the neighbourhood, and the younger, Mairobo,

settled at what is now Birnin Gwari, where, after his father's

death, he gradually accumulated followers and established

suzerainty over the neighbouring villages. He owned, however,

overlordship to Kwiambana, a Maguzawa town which held

the surrounding districts, though it itself, like Birnin Gwari and

Koriga, paid tribute to Katsina. Birnin Gwari grew in powei ,

andWaiki, grandson to Mairobo .built the outer wall, and revolted

from Kwiambana, capturing all the Kamuku and Gwari tributaries,

so that at his death the boundaries were practically what they

are now. In his reign Mallamai first settled there, and Haussa was

spoken. He was succeeded by his three sons in turn, but in

the reign of the last Birnin Gwari was raided from Sokoto by

Bello and the Chief carried captive. The headmen went to

Katsina to ask the Emir Umoru who should be made chief, and

he selected a Muhammadan Mallam, Abu Maidubu (the first

Muslim Chief), grandson to Waiki. He was further given leave

from Sokoto to kidnap anyone he could for a period of three

years to repopulate the town. He built the first mosque and

forbade heathen rites, also the inner wall, and could raise a force

of 1,200 horsemen. After an interval of four brief reigns, his

son AH succeeded and reigned till 1882, but the horsemen had

dwindled to thirty-five, and his reign of forty- four years was

one long series of revolts and fights. Two reigns later the Sarkin

Kontagora succeeded in sacking Birnin Gwari, after a seven

months' siege (1895). After a brief interval the present Sarki,

Abubakr, a son of All, was elected, and received confirmation in

538 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

the title from Kontagora, to whom an annual tribute of mats,
gowns, horses and slaves was paid. When the British occupied
the country Abubakr at once joined with them against Kontagora.
It is worth remark that the mother of every Sarki must be a
Gwari, and that though succession is by election those who are
eligible must be both Mallams and the sons of former kings, while
usually the younger brother succeeds before the elder. It is said*
that the system of election is by placing the written name of each
eligible candidate, wrapped in ashes, into water. Whichever
jumps out first is the Alkali's choice, but the Limams and Mallams
preside over the arrangements. At the same time he says "The
vote of the people has a real if somewhat undefined place."

Women hold two offices of rank, lya, the Sarki's elder sister,
and Magajia, his younger sister.

Kwongoma District has an area of 250 square miles and a
population of 1,612. A resident is stationed there.

It was founded by a son of the Habe Sarkin Zozo, Ibrahim
who came to Kurumaza and was given certain towns by Allawa,
Kusheriki and Tegina in virtue of their relations with Zaria.
His successors intrigued to extend their sway and brought Kwon-
goma into strained relations with nearly all its neighbours. They
possess a sacred knife. f

The Kusheriki District has an area of 270 square miles and a
population of 1,383. They more or less acknowledged the suze-
rainty of Zaria.

The approximate area of the Allawa District is 780 square
miles, which has an average population of 2.5 per square mile,
the total number of inhabitants being 1,954. The Gwari and
Baushi each have a population of 886, there are a few Kamuku,
and a settlement of some 126 Haussa. Men are in preponderance
over women amongst all three pagans.

Allawa was founded by Gwari hunters from Daggam and
Massaka (Kushaka) and the chiefs of these two towns still claim
a voice in the appointment of each fresh Sarkin Allawa and invest
him with the insignia of his rank. On his initiation each new
Sarki is shown the tombs of his ancestors, which lie together on
on a small hillock outside the town, arid is told their names.
Annual sacrifice is made at the grave of Zakworra, founder of

* Mr. C. K. Meek.

f Compare Allawa.

NIGER PROVINCE. 539

the dynasty, at which a Haussa mallam takes a small part, proving
a curious mixture of Muhammadanism and paganism. He is not
permitted to speak Haussa, as Zakworra knew Gwari only and
disliked Haussas. No date is given of his reign, but the present
chief, Abubakr, who succeeded in 1886, is in the fourth generation.

Allawa was on terms of collective blood-brotherhood with the
states of Kusheriki, Tegina, Gumna, Ushiba and other Kamuku,
by the Gwari ceremony of shaving.*

Allawa always tendered allegiance to Zaria, even after the
Filane had ousted the Habe dynasty, but it did not save them
from the attacks of Na Gwamache of Kontagora, to whom they
always opposed resistance.

There are three office-bearers — Kansa Kali, Sarkin Lau and
Takalmi — whose duties are in connection with the sacred sword
' Wukan Giddanmu," they alone, together with the Sarki,
being allowed to see or handle it. The former introduces the new
Sarki to it when, as on any other special occasion, and at an
annual ceremony, a cock, or a ram with black round the eyes
(mai tozali) is offered to it, together with honey, rice, etc.f

Tegina district has an area of 530 square miles and a
population of 2,221. The chiefs are Bassa of the eldest branch of
the royal house of Gumna. They were driven out from their
heritage, but their precedence is still recognised. They more or
less acknowledged the suzerainty of Zaria. and gave allegiance
to Ngwamachi, of Kontagora, but in this most of the Kamuku and
Baushi refused to follow them and many of their villages were'
raided and sacked.

The Bassa have intermarried with and now consider them-
selves to be Kamuku. They possessed a sacred knife, which
has been lost owing to the neglect of the last Sarki, who allowed
the house in which it was kept to be eaten by white ants and fall
to ruins, through not having a wife from the villages of Ussa,
Inga, or Ubu, who alone have the right to take charge of it !

The principal occupation is farming and a considerable trade
is done in grain. Some stock and horses are bred.

Cotton is grown and woven locally, and there are a fair number
of dye- pits.

Gumna, including Pongo, has an area of ninety-five square
miles and a population of 2,571. Before the advent of the Filane
Gumna was the largest and most important unit between the

* " Akwoi aska tsakanin mil."

fA practice common not only to the Gwari, but to the old Habe
dynasties. Compare Kwongoma, Kushaka, Tegina, Gumna.

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Zaria and Nupe Kingdoms, but was gradually shorn of its power
by the inroads of Ngwamache and Ibrahim of Kontagora, and
by Maliki, of Bida. It is probable that the Bassa inhabitants were
conquering immigrants and that the kingdom was a very old one,
though the record of chiefs only carries back to 1817, before which
live names are given. The present chief, Ali, succeeded in 1912.
The senior branch of the house was ousted from Gumna very
early in its history and founded the Tegina district, Gumna
recognising their seniority : but the Tegina branch soon became
merged with the Kamuku inhabitants, and now object to being
considered other than Kamuku.

They possess a sacred knife.*

Koriga District has an area of approximately 150 square
miles, with a population of 579, giving an average per square mile
of 3.8. The original inhabitants were Kamuku, amongst whom
Haussa and Gwari have settled. The majority are nominally
Muhammadan, but the only mosques are one or two small private
ones in the Liman's ungwa. There is, however, a Kamuku
' Dakin Maigirro " close to the Sarki's Zaure, and certain spots
in the town where sajcred trees once stood, a Rimi for one, are
still considered sacred and tabu, though the annual sacrifice of a
white bull at the one and a black bull at the other is no longer
continued. Should an unlicensed person set foot within these
sacred precincts he would die within the year. The inhabitants
have lost their distinctive customs, which, however, may still
be traced to a Kamuku origin.

The local dynasty (the Kamuku stock like the original inhabi-
tants of the town) claim descent from the younger of two Katsina
hunters. The elder assumed and retained the title of Magaji in that •
same neighbourhood, but suggested to his younger brother,
Richichi, to found the "ungwa Sarki " at Koriga; this he did
about 1805, and until the branch became extinct it was the
custom for the Magaji of the day to invest each successive Sarkin
Koriga with his rank. Abubakr, who succeeded in 1914, is the
reigning chief.

Originally for a short time, Koriga paid gaisua to the Habe
dynasty of Zaria, but transferred their allegiance to Katsina,
owing, it is said, to the niggardly way in which Zaria treated
their envoys ; but possibly the origin of their chief had something
to do with it.

Later on they were compelled to pay gaisua to Sarkin Sudan
at Kontagora, though they were never attacked from that quarter ;
they joined, however, with the Gwari and Kamuku, of Kusheriki,
to drive the Sarkin Sudan thence after one of his wars with
Allawa. They are now independent.

* Vide Allawn.

NIGER PROVINCE. 541

Autocratic kingship is unknown, the Sarki doing nothing
without his fadawa. The chieftainship is hereditary, but it is
elective and based on the representation of the Ungwaii by their
various rank-holders.

The headmen of each ungwa settle purely domestic matters
under the presidency of the head of their family.

The community is mainly agricultural, but Koriga is also
the seat of a very old-established iron-smelting industry.

The method differs from that practised by the Katsinawa
at Birnin Gwari. A large crucible of clay is made in the ground
(generally on the edge of the pit from which the ore is dug) with
a vent at the bottom. Two of them are generally built side by
side, the vents join and discharge into a common channel. The
turmi is then filled up with live charcoal and the rough ore ; the
top of the crucible is covered with a leather which is strongly
fixed on all round the edge with clay, and forced draught is made
by beating on the leather covering as on a drum. A clay seat of
convenient height is made for the man smelting, who is relieved
at intervals. This operation takes place at night and lasts
almost from sunset to dawn. In the morning the crucible is
unsealed and allowed to cool and then raked out, and the rough
iron taken out of the specially made trough into which it has
flowed.

For notes on Kushaka see p. 123, r.nd on Makangara p. 207.

TRIBES INHABITING NIGER PROVINCE.

1. Arago. — In Koton Karifi and in Nassarawa Province, Lafia
and Abuja divisions, population 3,800.

2. Atsifawa. — A few only in the Kwongoma Division and in
Sakaba Division of Kontagora Province, population 1,396.

3. Bassa. — Stretching southwards from the north-east of the
province through Nassarawa Province (population 47,400) across
the Benue to Bassa Province (population 12,064) and across the
Niger to Kabba Province ; also westwards from their most
northerly point to Kontagora Province.

4. Baushi. — A small tribe in Kwongoma Division, principally
in Pongo District, sept Arringeu, population 2,250.

5. Filane. — Both Gidda and Borroroje, scattered over Niger
Province as throughout the Protectorate.

6. Ganagana. — In the Emirates of Agaie (population 3,500)
and Lapai and across the border to Abuja Emirate, (population
1,500), and southwards to Nassarawa Emirate (400-500) and in
Koton Karifi. Their off-set, the Dibo, number some 6,000 in
Lapai Emirate.

7. Gupa. — Population 7,500, in Lapai Emirate.

542 NORTHEKN NlGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

8. Gwari. — Population 41,315 ; a tribe numbering some
151,000, stretching from north-west Zaria (population 40,000),
through East Niger Province to Nassarawa where they are found
throughout the Province, population 70,000.

9. Igbira. — In the south of the province with a small group
near Wushishi, and principally in Koton Karin, population 7,117 ;
the tribe being grouped round the banks of the Niger, 8,553 in
Bassa, and 24,374 in Kabba ; the total numbering about 45,000.

10. Kadara. — Population 574 in Fuka District, the main body
being in South Zaria, population 8,000.

11. Kakanda. — In Lapai Emirate, population 4,500, and in
the riverain districts of Kabba, population 1,793, Bassa, and
Nassarawa, population 41.

12. Kamuku. — With their off-set, the Ngwoi and Ura, popu-
lation 6,000 in Makangara, Kusheriki, Tegina, Birnin Gwari, etc.,
and over the border in Kontagora, population 3,342, numbering
in all some 25,000. Kamkawa, in Wushishi.

13. Koro. — Population 2,677, ^n Paiko and Kuta districts,
also in Zaria Province, population 47,441, and in Nassarawa
Province, population 17,882.

14. Nupe. — Population some 100,000 with their off-sets, the
Bangawa (Bida), Bata (5-6,000 Lapai Emirate), Batachi (Bida
Emirate), Bini (Bida Emirate), Kede, etc. Nupe are to be found
scattered throughout the Protectorate.

15. Yoruba. — With their off-set, the Baedegi, scattered through-
out the Protectorate, members of a nation numbering some four
millions.

SOKOTO PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :

Mr. E. J. Arnett. Mr. H. F. Backwell.

Lieut .-Col. H. D. Foulkes. Mr. G. C. Gerahty.

Mr. M. L. Liddard. Mr. R. McAllister.

Mr. G. Malcolm.

The Province of Sokoto contains an area of some* 34,092
square miles. It is bounded on the north and west by French
West Africa, south by Kontagora and the Niger Province, and
east by tjta Katsina Emirate (Kano Province).

In the north the country is flat with occasional low hillocks
on the tops of which limestone is found ; the soil is sandy. In
the extreme east and west it is undulating, though the bush
preserves the scrub character which it has in the north. To the
south the hills become bolder and the bush heavier and there is a
certain quantity of timber, while the soil consists of heavy argil-
laceous loam.

The principal watershed is in the south of Katsina, from
which the streams flow in a westerly direction to the Gulbin
Rima and Niger ; while there is a smaller watershed in the
Kwiambana District, whence the streams flow south into the
Gulbin Kara and so into the Kaduna. The, Gulbin Gindi, a
tributary of the Niger, is navigable for large canoes as far as
Jega all the year round.

The lakes or ponds scattered throughout the province, notably
in the neighbourhood of Yabo, are characteristic features. There
are probably close upon a hundred of these which hold water
all the year round. In the north-west corner wells have to be
sunk to a depth of some two hundred feet, though in most parts
water is found at twenty or thirty feet. To the west of Sokoto
a big swamp stretches for some thirty miles by two. It is certain,
however, that the country is drying up, as these lakes are fewer
and shallower than in Earth's times. It is to be hoped that the
Government will not longer delay in searching for artesian water.

Iron is found in the Goronyo District (Sokoto Emirate) and
is worked by the natives. There is a small foundry at Giddan
Dan Tsofua, where some hundred smiths go every year. They
dig and smelt their own ore, and provide their own labour, huts,
wood and charcoal.

544 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

The rainfall is only some twenty-six inches per annum,
averaging one inch more at Sokoto than at Birnin Kebbi in the
west. Though health in the province is generally good it is less
so in Birnin Kebbi, where there are many mosquitoes. In the
harmattan season, from November to February, the winds are
very cold, and the dust is blinding.

A fuel plantation has been laid out in Sokoto (1915) over an
area of some 104 acres.

There are Forest Areas in Godabawa and Sabon Birni Districts.

The locust bean, mahogany, shea, gutta percha, durumi
(Ficus Syringifolia), mareki, (Anageissus' Leiocarpa), tamarind,
kurna (Ziziphus Jujuba), dainye, tabkis, fan and dum palms are
all found, though it is only in the southern districts that any
quantity of timber exists, but this is not of sufficient importance
to reckon amongst the exports, which consist principally of
livestock, i.e. cattle, sheep, goats,, fowls and guinea-fowl. Other
exports are skins, rice, guinea-corn and gero.

The usual crops are raised — guinea-corn, maiwa (millet),
gero (millet), Indian corn, rice, sweet potatoes, pumpkin^, cassava,
beans, ground-nuts, yams, bananas, gwaza, tamba (millet), sugar-
cane, rama (Fibrean Hibiscus), cotton, tobacco and indigo.

The principal exports are kola nuts, cloth and salt. Much
kola is carried from the east and northern territories of the Gold
Coast, via Jega and Sokoto, to Kano. Also from Lagos via Illo
and Jega. Owing, however, to the rapid advance of the Dahomey
railway towards the Niger (latitude 12°) traders from Lagos or
Porto Novo are increasingly adopting this route.

Asben salt (kantu) is imported from French territory in the
north. Foga salt from French territory in the west. English salt
via Zungeru, Bida, or Lagos, Illo and Jega.

The modes of transport are by carriers, by pack-oxen and
donkeys (in the dry season only) and by the Niger river as far as
Illo and the Gulbin Gindi as far as Jega. Jega is the principal
trade centre of the province. Sokoto is second in importance and
its commerce is rapidly increasing.

A certain local trade is done in " turare," the scent obtained
from the musk cat (Viverra Civetta), which is worth 2s. per cat
per week throughout the year, the male cat giving four times
the amount of the female. Many of them are kept in captivity
for this purpose. They are not carnivorous, being fed on beans
and bananas, to which meat is added one day in seven. They live
for some eight to ten years. The claws are not retractile.

The total population is some 1,400,908.

The province has been divided into four administrative
divisions — Sokoto, Gando, Argungu and Illo.

The Sokoto Emirate, under the Sarkin Musulmi Mohammadu
(Maiturare) (first grade), has an area of 24,263 square miles. It
is sub-divided into fortv-one districts and nine composite home

SOKOTO PROVINCE. 545

districts, under the supervision of headmen, each of whom has.
since 1905, resided in his own district.

Tambawel is the largest town in the division, having a popula-
tion of 35,038 ; but Sokoto (population 19,666) is the capital
and seat of the administrative headquarters for the division.

The population numbers some 1,094,844. The Filane, who
include some fifty different septs, number some 277,000. The
principal branches are the Kebbawa, 70,000, and Zanfarawa,
50,000.

Of the Haussawa there are some twenty-five sections, number-
ing some 613,000. Of these the Zamfarawa (including Burmawa)
account for 200,000, the Gobirawa for 120,000, the Kebbawa for
100,000, and the Katsinawa Laka for 70,000.

Other important races are the Adarawa, 54,000;, Bugaje,
45,000 ; Dakarawa, 8,000 ; and Zabermawa, 4,000.

The taxes levied are Zakka, 10 per cent, of the grain crops ;
Jangali or Cattle Tax, is. 6d. per head of cattle, 50 per cent, of
which goes "to Government, 25 per cent, to the Emir, 12^ per cent,
to the district heads and ditto to the village heads ; Kurdin-
Kassa, or land tax, 33 J- per cent, going to the government, ditto
to the Emir, 25 per cent, to the district heads, and 4^ per cent,
to the sub-district heads, ditto to the village heads. Compound
rent and farm rent are also charged.

Prior to the British administration the following taxes were
collected :—

1. Zakka, i.e., ^-th of the corn and Zakkan Shanu, one beast
in thirty of all cattle.

2. Kurdin Kaibi, i.e., 1,500 cowries on farms.

3. Kurdin Raft, i.e., 1,500 cowries on each market garden.

4. Kurdin Marina, i.e., 250 cowries per dye pit.

5. Kurdin Saka, i.e., 500 cowries per weaver (levied in some
towns only).

6. Kurdin Diya, i.e., 500 cowries for every wife.

This latter tax was paid by the whole of Zanfara.

Sarkin Diya was the Sarauta of the man who collected it and it
was shared between him and the head of the town. Half the
amounts collected by numbers 1-5 inclusive went to the town
head and the remainder was kept by the big men from whose
following the collection was made.

In Sokoto women are not debarred from inheritance of farms,
but in Zanfara they have no rights.

(a) If there is more than one male inheritor they consult
together and arrange for one of them to keep the farm
on paying the others out.

(b) It is at the option of the headman to give the farm to one
outright, or he may value the farm and cause the inheritor
to pay compensation to the other claimants.

MM

546 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

A farm is never divided — only standing crops ; but a farm
may be worked jointly though the co-partner is liable to be
turned out if he fails to do his share.

If a man dies without leaving a male heir the farm is disposed
of by the headman for sums varying from two thousand cowries
to ten thousand cowries.

Should a man clear bush land in order to make a farm no
payment is demanded, but should Filane have herded their
cattle there, and thus manured it, the incoming farmer would
pay two thousand cowries, which is divided between the Filane
and the headman ; or, if the Filane have left, the headman
takes all the money and divides it with the Sarakuna in whose
following the prospective farmer is. Land is plentiful and is
worked for seven or eight years only, unless it is manured, which
is usually only the case close to towns.

An average holding is two acres, and by the time a man dies
his sons have usually cleared farms for themselves. The above
is the judicial procedure, but in cases of disputed inheritance the
farm is usually given to him who makes the biggest payment,
which is divided between the headman of the town and the Sara-
kuna in whose following the deceased was.

Gando Emirate, in the west of Sokoto, has an area of 5,551
square miles, which is divided into fifteen districts. The popu-
lation number some 249,649. Of these the Filane and Kebbawa
(Haussawa) account each for some 20 per cent. The Gimbinawa
number some. 3, 500, and other Haussa races exceed two-fifths of the
total population. The Emir, Basheru, is of the first grade.
The taxation is identical with that of Sokoto Emirate. The
divisional headquarters are in Birnin Kebbi. The cost of food in
Jega (Gando Emirate) has been assessed as below :—

(1) The very poorest person alike breakfasts and dines oft
tuo (a mixture of water and ground dawa, maiwa, or rice),
at Jd. a meal. Total cost, id. per day.

(2) A man of the carrier class will add to his haporth of tuo
Fura (a drink made of water mixed with pounded gero or
rice) value Jrd of a penny for breakfast. For lunch he eats
a halfpennyworth of rogo or dankali, and for dinner a
pennyworth of tuo. Total cost, 2d. per day.

(3) Whilst a richer man will spend 2d. on his breakfast, id.
on his lunch, and 2d. on his dinner. Total cost, 5d. per day.

Kola is becoming a necessity rather than a luxury.

Illo, under the chief Bio, has one district with an area of
864 square miles and a population of some 6,834.

The principal tribes are the Bussawa and Kengawa, each
of. whom number some 3,000.

Zakka, Kurdin kassa, Jangali and a capitation tax are levied.
70 per cent, of Jangali goes to Government, 30 per cent, to the

PROVINCE. 547

Sarkin Illo, and 60 per cent, of the land tax to Government,
25 per cent, to the Sarki and 15 per cent, to the village heads.

Argungu Emirate (2nd grade) , west of Sokoto and north of
Gando, under Ismaila Sarkin Kebbi, has an area of 3,414 square
miles. It is agriculturally poor and sparsely populated. Out
of a total population of some 49,581 thirty-four thousand are
Haussa-Kebbawa, two thousand are Filane, and the rest Kengawa
and Ariwa.

The Emirate is sub-divided into eight districts, headquarters
being at Argungu, a town with an area of twenty-two square miles
and a population of 5,157. It was founded by Ismaila, Sarkin
Kebbi, about the year 1817 A.D.

The taxes levied are Kurdin Kassa, which includes Kurdin
shuka and stock tax — Jangali — and on Industrial Compounds.

It is disputed whether Gobir or Hadeija was one of the seven
original Haussa States. It early became a fief of Bornu, probably
in the thirteenth century, when that empire held sway from the
Nile in the east to Fezzan in the north. A slave Bawa was ap-
pointed ruler over Gobir and he and his descendants continued
to pay tribute to Bornu for many years. They presently ceased
to do so on the plea that the reigning chief and his people were
free by origin, being the remnants of some Copts who had migrated
from Egypt, who, on reaching Gobir (through Asben) , had expelled
the ruler and had appointed their own king.

There is further mention of this link with Azben in Bello, S.
Musulmi's writings. In "the Garden of Memory " he states that
the inhabitants of Gobirawa lived previously in Azben until,
driven thence by the Tuarek, they sought refuge in the sandy
deserts and tree-covered hills of higher (i.e. Southern) Gobir.
From this time, he says, they became a powerful race, warring
with fair success against Zanfara, Zaberma, the Tuareks and
others. Since the days of the Bornu conquest the Gobirawa were
devout Muhammadans, but with the sway of Bornu this seems
to have lapsed and in the eighteenth century they were wor-
shipping fetishes. The chiefs, too, were dissolute, kept 1,000
wives, and sold the children of their people into captivity.

About the middle of this (the eighteenth) century a certain
devout Mallam, named Haj Jibrilla,* returned to Gobir from a
pilgrimage to Mecca after an absence of twenty years. At
this time a Filane, named Fodio, came and settled in Gobir,
from a place named Toronka, whither his forbear Jakolo (of
whom Fodio was thirteenth descendant) had led some Mallams
from the west country, probably Futatoro.

He had two sons, Osuman, who was born at Marata in 1754 A.D.
and Abdullahi, born in 1766. These boys became pupils of
Jibrilla, who instructed them in the Koran, the Risala and other

%L

* According to Miscblich " Jibirim."

548 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

mil and

authorities of the Maliki school. Osuman was an apt pupil
later tradition credits him with the gift of tongues. He aided
Haj Jibrilla in preaching the Faith in Gobir. Bawa, the reigning
King of Gobir, though he would not renounce his own evil ways,
made Osuman, after the death of Mallam Jibrilla, tutor to his
son Yunfa. It is clear that Osuman must have acquired con-
siderable influence over the King, f or permisssion was granted him
that all Filane might wear a fez or turban, whereas hitherto each
individual had had to crave personal leave to do so. This greatly
enhanced the reputation of Mallam Osuman, who was already
famed for his learning and devoutness. Bawa, on his death, was
succeeded by his brother, who, however, died suddenly while
away from the capital. The ordinary procedure would have been
to elect a king from among the members of the royal family, but
Osuman immediately caused his pupil Yunfa to be declared
Sarki. Yunfa in gratitude promised to grant the Mallam anything
he might like to ask, but gradually an estrangement grew up
between them, and Osuman withdrew to Dagel, whence he con-
tinued to spread the Muhammadan Faith, travelling to and fro
and preaching constantly.

He acquired widespread influence over large sections of the
natives, and when, in 1802, news came to him that the inhabitants
of Ginbana (Muslims who had migrated thither for fear of pagan
persecution) men, women and children were to be carried captive
to Yunfa, because a Filane Mallam of that town had failed to do
honour to one of the Gobirawa war-chiefs, Osuman sent to Yunfa
to remind him of the promise given on his accession to grant him
a favour, and asked for the freedom of the Mallam and all the
Muhammadans with him. The request was granted, but Osuman
overpassed the permission given and had every captive released,
whether Muslim or pagan. Yunfa was angry and sent for the
Mallam to come and explain, but Osuman would not leave Dagel,
and Yunfa sent an expedition to bring him. The Filane met them
with force and inflicted a severe defeat, but although successful,
Osuman, together with his brother Abdullahi, and his son Bello,
left Dagel and went to Gudu (Tabkin Kwoto.)

In a somewhat highly coloured version given by Abdullahi,
brother of Osuman, he claims that the summons was obeyed, and
that Osuman, in rr's (Abdullahi 's) company, did repair to the
capital. He writes : ' When we entered his palace . . .he
(Yunfa) fired against us his naphtha to burn us with its fire, but
the fire came back on himself, and it very nearly burnt him, while
we were calmly looking on, not one of us moving, and he fled
backwards."

In consequence of their refusal to obey Yunfa's order to
separate from their people, troops were sent out in diverse direc-
tions against the Faithful, who had, however, been collecting
arms for the previous year in anticipation of their need, and when

SOKOTO PROVINCE. 549

Yunfa sent an expedition to Gudu against Osuman a defeat was
inflicted on the pagans. Sarkin Gobir, infuriated by this reverse,
started out with a great army to attack the rebels, declaring in
his anger that he would not leave one Filane alive in the whole
country. The threat was carried to the Filane settlers, who,
realising the necessity of securing their independence, elected
Othman Dan Fodio Sarkin Musulmi, and each of their leaders
took his hand and called him by that title. Thus commenced
the Jihad, 1804 A.D.

When the Filane were gathered to give battle it is said that
Othman addressed them in the following words : ' If I fight this
battle that I may become greater than my fellow, or that my son
may become greater than his, or that my slave may lord it over his,
may the Kafiri wipe us off the land." Yunfa approached with
a great host, horsemen clad in cotton armour,* some with bows
and arrows, and others with swords and shields, but only to be
defeated with great slaughter by the Filane, who had no horses,
who were armed with bows and arrows only, and who were
clothed in the traditional white cotton riga. Yunfa's camp was
taken and he narrowly escaped with his life to Alkalawa, his
capital.

The Shehu's name had spread far and wide, and now the
heads of various Filane clans came to seek his blessing and to
obtain authority to conquer the pagans amongst whom they lived.
Their request was granted and flags were given to the following,
amongst whom, it is worthy of note, there were no relatives of
the Sarkin Musulmi.

1. Umaru d'Alhaji to whom was given Katsina.

2. Suleimano ,, ,, Kano.

3. Mallam Musa ,, ,, Zaria.

4. Gwoni Muktar ,, ,, Bornu (subsequently

driven back by Ka-
lumbu) .

5. Sambo ,. ,, Hadeija.

6. Modibo ,, ,, Adamawa.

7. Buba Yero ,, ,, Gombe.

8. Mallam Zaki ,, ,, Katagum.

9. Danyo ,, ,, Nupe.
10. Abdu 1'Alimu ,, ,, Ilorin.

n. Muhoma Labo ,, ,, Segu (subsequently

driven out by Tejane
and never really vic-
torious) .

* Lifidi first used by a Haussa Sarki at Kario, circ. 1307-43 A.D.

550 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

12. Muhoman to whom was given Bagharmi (subse-

quently revolted).

13. Isiaku ,, ,, Daura.

14. Yakubu ,, ,, Bauchi

These were all Filane with the exception of Yakubu-Bauchi,
who was a Dena, but a pupil of the Shehu's. In every case a
descendant of these flag-bearers is now Emir of the lands con-
quered by his ancestors, with the exception of Bornu, Segu, and
Bagharmi, as mentioned above, and of Kano, owing to the fact
that Suleimano died childless.

The Shehu returned himself to Foru and thence to the neigh-
bouring village of Gando, and gave all the country to the west
of that town to his brother Abdullahi and all the^country to the
east of it to his son Bello. When the Shehu left Gando Ab-
dullahi converted it into a big city.

Bello had been sent meanwhile to subdue the Gobirawa, whose
chief Yunya had allied himself with the Asbenawa. First the
Asben King and then Yunfa was killed in battle, and Alkalawa
the capital was razed to the ground. The Gobirawa, however,
refused to submit and the next eight chiefs died fighting the
Filane.

Their successors retreated north to Asben, and built the town
of Tsibiri, whence they continued the struggle until the advent of
the British in 1903. Since then the greater part of Gobirawa has
been included in French territory.

The tribe are still extremely numerous, amounting to some
120,000 in Sokoto Province. This reckoning probably includes
the Bachirawa, the ruling caste, and the Mazumawa, their
talakawa.*

Bello returned from his successful expedition to Sokoto,
camping at the spot where the Kofar Rimi is now situated, and
first built the walls of the town.

The Sarkin Musulmi, having disposed of the cares of Govern-
ment to his brother and son, lived at Sifawa for five years,
preaching the Faith, and occupying himself with literature, for
he was author of many works. He then came to Sokoto, whose
walls he now saw for the first time. On hearing that the walls
had been built by Zanfarawa he made the characteristic remark
that they should have been built by Filane. He remained at
Sokoto, where he died in 1817, aged 73.

* Their tribal marks are variously described as consisting of six semi-
circular lines on the right cheek, and seven semicircular lines on the left
cheek, which start with the corners of the mouth as their apex: or seven
short lines on the right cheek and six on the left, with nine short lines
above each, and a shatani, i.e., a long deep scar on the cheek on the left
side of the nose.

So KOTO PROVINCE. 551

At the time of his death the principal tribes in the neighbour-
hood of Sokoto, who had been there many generations,' i.e.,
the Zanfarawa (Maf araf ari) , Katsinawa, Gimbinawa (Jega), Sulu-
bawa, Zomawa, Arewa, Adarawa, Kubawa, some Gobirawa,
and a few Asbenawa and Zabermawa, were tributary to the
Filane.

He was succeeded by MuhammaduBello, who, as has been seen,
had for some years had the Government of the country.

It was, however, the custom of the Filane for a brother to
succeed rather than a son, and Bello, fearful lest his uncle
Abdullahi should dispute his title, closed the gates of Sokoto
against him. The Emir of Gando returned therefore to his
capital, and found the Kalambena had taken advantage of his
absence to rebel. Bello marched to his assistance, and, the
rising subdued, Abdullahi formally acknowledged his nephew
as Sarkin Musulmi.

As Sarkin Musulmi, Bello owned suzerainty over all those
States to which his father had given flags.

His reign was one long warfare against rebellious tribes, and
it was not until 1835, two years before his death, that the Filane
were firmly established.

He founded the office of Waziri, as well as other Sarota, whose
descendants now hold the same offices ; but, like his father,
his tastes were literary, and he is the author of books of
geography, history and divinity. It was by his order, however,
that there has been a universal destruction of Haussa MSS.

In 1827 Commander Clapperton visited Sokoto, the first
Englishman to penetrate there, and was well received. About
that same year Bello removed, together with his court, to the
town of Wurno, which he had had built, and where he lived the
remainder of his life, died and was buried. Since then the capital
has alternated between Wurno and Sokoto, the latter being
finally selected as lately as 1902.

Bello died in 1837, an<^ was succeeded first by his brother,
and then by his son Aliu Baba — 1842-59 — who fought many
campaigns, occupied Kotorkoshi and scattered the Zanfarawa.
In his reign the Emirate of Kontagora was founded, and Dr.
Barth visited Sokoto.

Little of importance occurred until the reign of Abdurahman
(1891-1902), whose nickname " danyen kasko " 'unbaked
pot " (the man who never finishes what he has taken in hand) —
shows the estimation in which he was held by his people. He
made Tukur Emir of Kano, which was so unpopular an appoint-
ment that it brought about civil war. He responded to the
overtures of the British in 1900 by stating there could be nothing
but war between the Muhammadan and Kafir, and this despite
a treaty concluded between the then Emir of Sokoto and Mr.

552 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Joseph Thomson in 1884, and the visit of Sir George Goldie am
Sir William Wallace in 1894.

He was succeeded in 1902 by Muhammadu Attahiru I.., who
reigned only five months before fleeing from the approach of the
British troops, who entered Sokoto in March, 1903. He was killed
at Burmi in action against the British in the July of that same
year.

His cousin Muhammadu Attahiru II. (son of Aliu Baba) was
appointed in his stead, and reigned until 1915. The reigning
Emir, Muhammadu (Maiturare) is also a direct descendant of
Sheikh Othman dan Fodio.

In the early years of the occupancy constant small expeditions
were required to put down disturbances that were mainly due
to boundary disputes, or to raids of highway character. The
only serious disturbance took place in 1906, when a rising took place
under the leadership of Dan Makafo, a soi-disant Mahdi, a few
miles south of Sokoto. The troops were moved out to put down
the rising, but at Satiru suffered a reverse, three officers and
twenty-five rank and file being killed. The rebels, who had com-
menced by burning Tsoma on February 13, destroyed the towns
of Danehadi and Denge, before they were annihilated by the
troops on March 10, Dan Makafo himself being captured two
days later.

SOKOTO PROVINCE,

553

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554 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

ZANFARA.

AUTHORITY : Mr. H. F. Backwell.

The Zanfara districts, which now form part of the Sokoto
Emirate, were once an independent State of considerable
antiquity, which held its own in warfare against the neighbouring
Kingdoms of Gobir, Katsina and Kebbi. Malu, a Zanfara Chief
in temporary alliance with Gobir, gave the Sarkin Gobir, Babani,
permission to settle on his farms of Alkalawa. From this period
dates the pressure of the Gobirawa to the more desirable lands
of the South, and Babani, taking advantage of his foothold in
the country, wrested much of Zanfara from Malu (or Maroki)
and finally captured Birnin Zanfara.

Alkalawa henceforth became the capital of the Gobirawa.
Sarkin Malu fled to his neighbour the Sarkin Kiawa for refuge.
The inhabitants of Kiawa were Burmawa, under the rule of
Katsina Sarakuna and a Katsina Sarki. They therefore received
the support of Katsina in the prolonged war that ensued between
Gobir, the ousted Zanfara, and his allies of Kiawa.

It appears that Gobir must have forced Kiawa to own their
supremacy, for later on we hear of one Namoda, who rebelled
against the Gobirawa and was obliged to leave their town of
Zurmi, coming southwards to the present site of Kaura Namoda,
where he founded the town of that name, but was attacked by
Kiawa and fell in conflict.

It was his elder brother, Abu Amin, who received a flag from
Othman Dan Fodio immediately after the battle of Gudu, as
Sarkin Zanfara. Another brother, Mamudu, joined in the Jihad
and avenged the death of Namoda, capturing the city of that
name and killing the Sarkin Kiawa. In reward for his services
Bello, Sarkin Musulmi, gave him command of the neighbouring
districts of Zurmi, and on his brother's death, of Zanfara. He
lived at Kaura Namoda, and his son was made Sarkin Kiawa.

Mamudu's nephew and successor made his headquarters
at Zurmi, and for the next three successions Zanfara and Kiawa
remained independent. They were, however, then united under
a son of Mamudu, Umoru, who had obtained much influence at
Sokoto. He again divided the States between his two sons,
Natira, who still lives at Zurmi as Sarkin Zanfara, and Dango,
as Sarkin Kiawa. He was, however, deposed on the occupation
of the British, and Muhammadu, nephew to Umoru, was appointed
in his stead.

The Zanfarawa number some 200,000, including the
Burmawa, and there are some 50,000 Filane Zanfarawa in
addition.

SOKOTO PROVINCE. 555

Their tribal marks consist of numerous semicircular lines-
ten on the forehead, twelve to fifteen lines on the cheeks, and
thirteen to sixteen at the corners of the mouth. There are usually
more lines on the left cheek than on the right. There is also
a shatani, i.e., a long deep scar on the cheek, on the left side
of the nose.

GANDO.

The Emirate of Gando consisted of all that country lying
to the west of the town of Gando which the Filane at the time
of the Jihad could subdue, with lordship over the Southern and
Western States, including the Kingdoms of Nupe, Yauri, Yoruba
(Ilorin) and Borgu.

Abdullahi, brother of Othman Dan Fodio, Sarkin Musulmi,
was the first Emir of Gando, though he refused to adopt any title
but that of Mallam.

The history of Gando is one of perpetual warfare with the
neighbouring States, and particularly with Kebbawa, Nupe, and
Borgu, which only ceased with the British occupation in 1903.

Muhammadu Basheru is the reigning Emir ; he succeeded
in 1915, and is a great grandson of Mallam Abdullahi.

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

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SOKOTO PROVINCE 557

HISTORY OF ILLO.

ATTHORITY: Mr. R. McAllister.

According to the Sarkin Illo and his council, he is a direct
descendant of Kishera, himself the sixty-second King in the direct
line of the Bussawa race, who reigned over the Yorubawa,
Gurumawa and Kengawa in his kingdom in the vicinity of
Mecca, of which Badar was the capital. Kishera opposed the
advance of the Prophet Muhammad and sought assistance from his
kinsman, the Sarkin Bornu, but in vain. He was defeated and
killed, and his son led his people in flight to the town of Bussa,
where he settled. His brother Agwasa founded Illo, with the
Kengawa as subjects, and Nikki was founded by the husband
of Amina, a daughter of Kishera. The Yorubawa went south
of Bussa and the Burumawa west. At the rise of the Songhay
power these three States and Borgu were attacked by the King
Mamara, his principal fighting force being the Zabirmawa, who
came to the country from the west hundreds of years after all
Bussawa, though now Zabermanchi is a common language.
After his death Sarkin Nikki took Songhay, and the Kengawa
spreading their borders broke off from Illo and became inde-
pendent. They were, however, conquered and subdued by
the Kebbawa under Kanta in the sixteenth century. Illo retained
its independence till it was made subject to Gando by the second
Emir.

HISTORY OF THE KEBBAWA (ARGUNGU).

The Kebbawa are a large tribe inhabiting the territory west
of Sokoto and Gando, situated on both sides of the Gulbin Rima.
A large portion of the tribe were cut off from their headquarters,
Argungu, and their lands handed over to the French in about
the year 1895. There remain in British territory two sections,
one of which is subject to Sokoto and Gando Emirates, and one
which forms an independent chieftainate under Sarkin Argungu.
Among the latter are found many settled Filane and a tribe
of nomadic Filane termed Furfurau. The Kebbawa all speak
Haussa, and though not generally included when a native speaks
of Haussawa, yet they claim that they are the original Haussa-
speaking people from whom the other tribes acquired the language.
There are no records of any events among the Kebbawa till the
rise of the power of Kanta, of whose origin there are three versions.
One (the Argungu one) makes him come from Firzan (Fezzan
or Fez?), whence he migrated in obedience to the word of a
Mallam who bade him go forth and seek a splendid career destined
for him. He went first to an Asben town (name forgotten) and

558 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

married the Chief's daughter, Keau. Here again he was told
of an eminent position awaiting him, but that he must look
for it further afield. He set forth once more and arrived at
Kebbi. The second version states that Kebbi — one of the ancient
Haussa States — was an independent unit previous to its capture
by Sunni Ali, King of Songhay.

That in the sixteenth century Kota of Leka,* surnamed
Kantaf a Filane slave and general of Askia, King of Songhay,
then ruling over Kebbi, joined with his suzerain in an expedition
against Agadez (Asben). He did not consider that he was justly
treated in the division of the spoil at the end of the campaign,
and consequently revolted. He formed Kebbi into an independent
kingdom and became extremely powerful. And the third, related
by the people of the Silame district of Kebbi, but hotly denied
by Argungu, is that he was born a native Habe of Kebbi, and
was one of the slaves of the Filane there ; that he broke away
from his master and that his example and words induced numbers
of others to do the same ; that they all placed themselves under
his leadership in the ensuing struggle with their owners, and
that they and he emerged from it with success.

Whichever version is correct it is evident that Kanta did
found an independent empire. He built a strong and well-
fortified town, Surami, as his headquarters, situated some ten
miles from where Sokoto now stands. It was built of stone and
was surrounded with walls of stone, five miles in circumference,
encircled by a fosse strengthened with stone work, and
the gateways were back from the fortifications and up a
slight slope, so that they were commanded from the flank as
well as front. The water required for the building was brought
three miles, being passed up a double row of some eight thousand
men. When first built the town was smaller, but was increased
seven times, each wall being left standing as a new one was
thrown out. Tradition says it would furnish twenty thousand
mounted men. He also founded the towns of Gunga and Leka.
The ruins are still in a good state of preservation.

The Asbenawa of Zaberma were probably tributary to him,
and his Empire extended west over part of Borgu, over the
Haussa States, including Kano and Katsina, which were a
constant cause of dispute between Kebbi and Bornu, and over
part of what now is included in Bornu.

He ruled strictly, and though there were large numbers of
wandering Filane in the country, tradition states that Kanta
would not allow them to build houses, as he foresaw danger to
the States should they acquire an established footing. After a
reign of close on forty years, Kanta fell at about the age of eighty,

* The ruling race in Kebbi were called Lekawa after their founder .
j The term Kanta is possibly a title of office, such as King.

SOKOTO PROVINCE 559

in the last of his many battles with the Katsinawa, whom he
never subdued.

The battle is stated to have taken place at Rini na Ashita,
in Katsina, during the reign of Magaji Korau, King of that
country. The victors wished to get possession of the body of so
great a hero, but his followers got away with his corpse and
buried it secretly, and no one can be found to say where his
grave was. It was said that the pursuit was so close that the
fugitives had recourse to the expedient of digging grave after
grave as they went, that time might be gained while the victors
opened each one in search of the body.

The date of his death was probably not later than 1550 A.D.,
though the Kebbawa are quite clear that it took place 603 years
ago (A.D. 1310).

Owing perhaps to dissensions over the succession, the disin-
tegration of his Empire commenced immediately after his death.
Bello writes that Kebbi remained firmly established only for
one century subsequently to the death of Kanta. He adds " no
remains like those of that Empire are to be seen in this country,
and more than a hundred years have now passed since it was
broken up."

After a lapse of some years Kebbi was conquered by Gobir
and remained tributary to them for apparently 240 years.

Amongst the fifty-five Chiefs who ruled over Kebbi since
the beginning of the sixteenth century there were no fewer than
five alternating groups of heathen and Muhammadan.

During this time the capital was removed to Birnin Kebbi,
which probably occurred towards the middle of the eighteenth
century, though Mischlich gives the date one hundred years
earlier.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Shefu Dan Fodio
conquered Kebbi, seizing it from the Gobirawa, and various clans
of Filane entered the country and settled there. By far the most
important of them were the Galankawa, who occupied practically
the whole of the southern valley, founding Birnm Rua as their
chief town. During the war with Shefu, some half of the Kebbawa
acknowledged that Chief, though they were the last of the Haussa
States to accept Muhammadanism. The other half, however,
fled to Birnin Kebbi, already an old Kebbi town. These were
eventually subdued by Abdullahi, brother of Othman Dan Fodio.
who broke the town and finally caught and killed the Chief
(circ. 1804-7), and for a period of eighteen years the Kebbawa
served the Filane and a Filane dynasty was founded over them.
Ismaila, brother of the late Chief, broke away from the yoke,
and founded the independent kingdom of Argungu. In incessant
conflict with the Filane the Kebbawa never attempted to occupy
the lands they raided, but destroyed and carried away captives,
whom they either sold into slavery or from whom they accepted a

560 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

ransom of 210,000 cowries. These succeeded in maintaining
their independence as against the Filane till the arrival of the
British, but they were gradually losing ground, and would no
doubt have come to be absorbed into the Filane Empire. In
1900, on the advent of the British, Sama Ismaila, son of the
Sarkin Kebbi, offered his co-operation and was appointed Emir
of Argungu (first grade) . A considerable portion of his kingdom
was, however, incorporated into French territory. He still
reigns.

At the present time there are some 100,000 Habe Kebbawa
in Sokoto Emirate ; 50,000 in Gando Division, and 34,000 in
Argungu Emirate, giving a total of 184,000.

Their tribal marks consist of eleven and ten keskestu on the
right and left of the forehead respectively, with eleven and
twelve lines on the right and left cheeks respectively ; also a
shatani, or two rows of very numerous gado.

1. Kanta. — Reigned 35 years (circ. 1550-1585 A.D.).*

2. Muhomadu Nkau. — Reigned 37 years.

3. Dauda. — Reigned 18 years.

4. Suleimanu. — Reigned 4 years.

5. Ibrahimu. — Reigned 22 years.

6. Amadu. — Reigned 15 years.

7. Umaru. — Reigned 38 years.

8. Muhomadu. — Reigned 12 years.

9. Ibrahima.— Reigned n years.

10. Amadu. — Reigned 18 years.

11. Tomo.— Reigned 14 years. Built Birnin Kebbi.

12. Dan Giwa. — Reigned 27 years.

13. Ismaila. — Reigned 18 years.

14. Muhomadu Dan Taganda. — Reigned 12 years.

15. Toga. — Reigned 20 years.

16. Suleimano. — Reigned 25 years.

17. Hodi. — Reigned 2 years (1802-1804).

18. Ismaila. — Reigned 4! years. Founded Argungu.
Interval of 46 years.

19. Yakubu Nabame. — Reigned 5| years.

20. Mainasara.— Reigned 5j years.

21. Muhomadu Baare. — Reigned ij years.

22. Toga. — Reigned 18 years.

23. Sama (Ismaila). — Reigned 1884-1915). Appointed first

grade Emir of Argungu in 1900.

24. Sulimanu. — Brother to Ismaila. Succeeded 1915.

* The number of years given is obviously approximate.

SOKOTO PROVINCE 561

TRIBES INHABITING SOKOTO PROVINCE.

1. Adarawa. — Population 54,000, with another 15,000

who are virtually Filane, and 9,000 in the Emirate.

2. Ariwa. — Population 7,000 in Argungu Emirate.

3. Bangawa. — Population 8,000 (including Dakka- Karri,

locally called Dakkarawa), in Zanfara district ; also
2, 727 in Kontagora Province. Emigrants from Katsina.

4. Bazagawa. — In Godabawa District.

5. Bugaje. — Population 45,000. Formerly slaves of the
Asbenawa, now the name includes the Asbenawa,
Adarawa, and Tokarawa, each in the order named being
masters over the other.

(>. Borgawa and Bussawa. — With their off-shoot the
Dandowa, some 3,000 of whom have left their country
in Kontagora Province and spread further up the River
Niger to lllo.

7. Dukawa. — The main body being in West Kontagora.

8; Gabera. — Emigrants of a Tuareg tribe from Timbuctoo.

9. Gobirawa. — A name including the inhabitants of the
ancient State of Gobir, Bachirawa and their talakawa,
the Mazumawa ; population 120,000, principally in
North-East Sokoto. There are settlements in Bauchi
Emirate (2,000), Zaria, and Ilorin town.
10. Gurumawa.: — Emigrants from Bussa.
IT. Kamberri. — Emigrants from Kontagora.

Small groups are also settled in Muri and Lafia Emirates.
Kambarawa or Kambarin Beri-Beri ( = Berber), a term
frequently applied to emigrants from Bornu, creates
confusion.

12. Kamu-Kawa (together with Katsinawa Latka).—
Originally inhabitants of Katsina, number some 70,000.

13. Kanuri. — In this Province, as throughout the Pro-
tectorate. In Bornu they number some 450,000. The
only considerable settlement is in Gombe Emirate.
Population 28,000.

14. Katarawa. — In Godabawa District.

15. Kebbawa. — Originally inhabitants of the Kingdom of
Kebbi, now dispersed throughout Sokoto Emirate
(170,000), Gando (100,000), Argungu (46,000), showing
a total of some 316,000 ; besides others over the French
border.

16. Kengawa. — In Gando Emirate (population 3,000),
Argungu (6,000).

17. Kurtawa. — Small settlements from Sayi (in French
territory), in Moriki, Maradu, and Dakingari Districts,
also in Zaria.

18. Magorawa. — In Godabawa District.

NN

502 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

19. Moshawa. — In Wagadugu.

20. Naweyawa. — In Tangaza District.

•2i. Nupe. — In this Province, as throughout the Pro-
tectorate, their headquarters being in Niger Province.
Population 100,000.

22. Shangawa. — In Gando Emirate ; also in Kontagora
Province, along the Niger River.

23. Yorubawa. — Scattered throughout Sokoto, as through-
out the Protectorate, members of a nation numbering
some four millions. *

24. Zabirmawa. — Population 4,000 in Illo.

25. Zargawa. — In Kebbi and Girkau.

ARIWA GENEALOGY

(1) An dan Sarkin Kukawa . (4) Dan Kami. (7) Kada. (10) Be

(2) Akazamma (5) Tamu Kuturun Kusu. (8) Ganelu.

(3) Abubakr. (6) Birri. (9) Salama.

(11) Barabaloma.

(1) Maidoka. Maiyaki.
Sarkin Nassarawa.

(2)

Tukwia.

1

1

i

(3)
l«)

Gagara.
Yaji.

L

(4)
(7)

1
Babari.

1

Daura.
1

(5)
(8)

Fodi.

L

Mainassara.

1

1

(9) Gamma

Dadi.

(10) Kaka. (11) Nabara. (13) Maidoka. (14) Abershi.

ex S. Ariwa Gabas. S. Ariwa Gabas
(1) Maiyaki.
S. Giwaye.

,1

(2) Alberka. (3) Bawa Raha.
(4) Kiasa. (5) Maroki. (6) Gumabi. (7) Asuman.

(8) Falke (9

) podi Gwoje. (10) Dadin Kai.

(11) Usumana. Aliu.

S. Ariwa Yemma.

YOLA PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :

Captain J. M. Fremantle. Major W. S. Sharpe.

Mr. G. W. Webster.

Yola Province, named a*fter the capital, which in the Filane
language means " eminence in a plain," has an area of 11,350
square miles, and a population of approximately 250,000.

On the north it is bounded by Bornu, on the west by Bauchi
and Muri Provinces, on the south and east by the Kamerun.

The province is traversed by the Benue river, meaning in the
Batta language " mother of waters." It flows in a westerly
direction and is navigable to canoes all through the year, and to
steamers in the wet season, July to October. It is fed by many
tributaries, of which the Gongola is the most important. It is
navigable for light draft-steamers for about two months in the
year as far as Nafada or even Gombe City, but between December
and June is impassable for any craft but canoes Other principal
tributaries are the Faro, Maieni and Belwa, which flow north into
the Benue, the Kilengo flowing south into the Benue, and the
Hawal which flows south-west into the Gongola. The Benue
current flows about two and a quarter, the Gongola about
three to five miles an hour.

The country is undulating, with irregular masses of low rocky
hills scattered over the Province. The average height of the
hills is about a thousand to three thousand feet, the highest
peaks Umboi, and Hong in the north-west, being about five
thousand feet. Limestone is found in considerable quantities
on the banks of the Gongola. Iron-ore is plentifully dis-
tributed and is smelted locally. The ground is covered by
grass, scrub and stunted trees, for there is not sufficient depth
of surface soil to admit of forest growth, and except in the valleys
the bed-rock is close to the surface. This prevents the water
sinking and even on the hill sides the ground becomes very marshy
in the wet season, and travelling at this time is difficult.

Transport is entirely by carrier, and river.

Though parts are fertile it is an essentially pastoral country,
and there is a good type of Filane cattle, they are, however,
subject to plagues and lung disease. Cattle rearing is the principal

5(>4 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

industry of the province. Sheep and goats are not so compara-
tively numerous as the cattle and are not run with them. Horses
also are reared.

The people are poor agriculturists, manuring cereals is un-
known, and the ground is exhausted before it is allowed to lie
fallow. This may be due to the fact that the Filane consider
any personal labour would lose them caste and that for generations
the work has been carried on by slaves.

Jigare (a tall, slender-caned, red guinea-corn) and Masokwa
(a dwarf, firm-headed guinea-corn) are largely cultivated, because,
though less palatable grains, they grow in poor soil and exhaust
it less than other cereals.

The only sylvan products of value are shea butter, and gum
arabic, both of which are exported, together with dried fish, red
skins, cattle, and potash, which is brought by traders from Bornu.
ground-nuts, and a little tsamia (silk), beeswax and gutta.

Dyed skins, cows' hides, shea nuts, gum arabic and ground-
nuts are the principal exports to Europe.

The Niger Co. have trading stations at Yola and Numan.

Salt, leather, Kano cloths, black cloths, kolas, and potash are
imported, besides hardware, beads and other Manchester goods.

The industries are the ordinary ones— butchers, barbers,
leather workers, blacksmiths, and, to a lesser extent, dyers,
weavers, tailors, and mat makers.

The province is occupied by some thirty tribes, including three
principal sections of Filane, the Walarabe (singular Bolaro), who
first settled at Bundam and subsequently founded Bagno, Tibati,
N'gaundere, Holma, Zummu, Gruda, Bundang, Banyoel, Kilba
and Koncha : the IH'ga who settled at Chamba ; and much later
the Ba-en who came to the Verre hills under the leadership of
Hassana, father of the first Emir of Adamawa, about the middle
of the eighteenth century. Song, Malabu, Gurin and Yola were
founded by the Ba-en. There is now a fourth section, known
as the Weyla-en or Bornu Filane, which include the Bewe and
Isse septs. They gradually intermarried with and absorbed the
customs of the aborigines. Those (originally of the same stock)
who kept themselves pure are now known as the Borroro and
Kitijen.

Of the pagan tribes there are two principal groups in the
Emirate : the Vere, who are probably indigenous with their
offsets the Chamba, Kugamma and Mumbake ; the Lala, a nick-
name applied to the Dingai, Gaanda, Gabun, Mboi, Robba
(besides the Yungur who are not in the Emirate), to whom the
Hona and Kilba are probably connected. Other tribes are the
Mumuye, with their off-set the Batisu ; the inter-related Burra
and Gabun, the Gudawa, Jire (an off-set of the Batta), Kona,
Marghi and three hundred Mandara.

YOLA PROVINCE 505

Outside the Emirate there are a number of independent units
of which by far the most important is the Batta section. They
number, together with the Bashamma and M'Bula — branches
either by blood or conquest — some 31,000, but exclusive of the
Malabu who are a fusion of Batta and Lakka.

Kanakuru is a nickname given to the tribes of Dera and Jera.
who are related to the Lala group, Yungur, and possibly the
Longuda and Piri. The Yakoko, Yundam and Zinna are off-shoots
of the Mumuye. There are some Tangale in the province.

It is thus seen that with but few exceptions all the tribes belong
to one or other of four families — the Vere, Lala, Mum'ye and
Batta.

For administrative purposes the Province is divided into two
sections, the Emirate and the Independent Pagan divisions.
The Emirate division is sub-divided into two sections — the Fulbe
Emirate, with an area of 4,710 square miles, and a population of
145,059, administered by seventeen district headmen under the
Emir, including Yola Town. Headquarters at Yola ; and the
Habe (pagan) Emirate, with an area of 3,410 square miles and a
population of 19,333, which is divided into six districts. Head-
quarters at Pella.

The Independent Pagan Division is sub-divided into ten
districts, with an area of 3.230 square miles and a population of
83,881. Headquarters at Numan.

The Sudan United Mission have posted two medical officers
at Numan (1913) , who give elementary instruction through the
medium of the Haussa tongue to the Bashamma and Batta pagans.

Yola is the seat of the provincial headquarters. It is 508 feet
above sea-level arid has an average rainfall of forty inches per
annum. It is only moderately healthy, the temperature some-
times rises to no0 F. in the shade and seldom goes lower than 60°.

The Beit-el-Mal was started in 1912.

In Yola Emirate all land is held theoretically on a direct
grant from the Emir. Such grants belong to the grantee and his
heirs in perpetuity, relapsing to the Emir only on failure of male
heirs in the male line, on abandonment, or on the failure of the
settlers to carry out the Emir's orders.

Such lands cannot be pledged, let, or sold, by the occupier ;
but permanent crops, such as dates or cotton, can be sold or other-
wise disposed of. Annual crops may be disposed of, but they must
be removed by the buyer during the life of the occupier. Should
he die before this is done the buyer can only take one-third.
The value of the land is not taken into account in valuing an
estate, on death, nor are improvements, but standing crops only.

The occupant of land might employ his slaves to work for him
on various terms :—

(a) They paid a rent varying from a tithe to a half of all the
crops.

566 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

(b) The whole crop might belong to the master, who gave a
small percentage in return ; and in addition gave them a
little land of their own on which they could farm every day
after 3 p.m. and all Friday.

(c) They might perform special services, such as making zana
mats, or turning out to work on some distant farm of their
master's.

In all cases they were liable to be called on to maintain their
master's town-house and to keep themselves while so em-
ployed. The master, however, almost invariably paid most of
the taxes, and if they desired marriage with his female slaves gave
them free. Moreover, there was no one to enforce the full hours
of work being done for the master.

It will be seen that the Emirate comprises over two-thirds of
the area of the entire province, though it falls short of the same
proportion of population. Before the advent of the European
the area was, however, far greater, as the Emirate of Adamawa
included the Marghi country in the north and territory as far
East as Lere and Lame, and as far south as Ngaundere.

The founder of this Emirate was Modibo* Adama, whence the
name Adamawa. His father, Hassana, was a learned Mallam
of the Baen or Baa- jo tribe of Filane who had been in that part
of the country for many centuries. Modibo Adama came from
the districts of Song and Beti, north and south of the Benue. He
journeyed to Kukawa, where he was pupil to one Mallam Kiari,
and returned to preach the faith to his people who were mostly
pagans. He then travelled to Gombe and on to Sokoto, where in
1805 or '06 the Sarkin Musulmi gave him a flag and men, bidding
him subdue his country to Islam on receiving a signal to that effect
from Sokoto. Meanwhile he established himself at Gurin, now in
the south-east of the Province, and in 1809 commenced the Jihad
by attacking the Batta on the Benue, then journeying north he
founded Song, where his father had been killed by the Batta
pagans. Here he established Modibo Haman as Lamido of Song
with power? over large territories to the north and west. He then
marched west and joined with Buba Yero, Emir of Gombe. He
founded Ribado as his headquarters in 1831, after having lived
for twenty-three years at Gurin, Jobalio in 1839, and Yola in 1841 ,
where he lived till his death in 1848. It is said that he visited
Sokoto no fewer than nine times and obtained flags for many
(twenty-four) of his chiefs.

He left four sons, who all succeeded him. It was in the reign
of the eldest, Lowal, that Barth came to Yola (1851), but as he
came from Bornu — with which there was great rivalry at the
time — he was badly received and retired in three days. Lowal

* Modibo, a title similar to Mallam, but only given to men of noted
piety and learning.

YOLA PROVINCE 567

founded some schools in Yola before his death in 1872. His
brother Saanda did much to consolidate the Empire, which in the
reign of Zubeiru (1890) perhaps reached its zenith. He, however,
steadily refused to have anything to do with the British and an
expedition was sent against him in 1901. Yola was unfortified,
the marsh from which it rises being relied on for defence. Owing
to the abnormal height of the river at the time, the 2nd of Sep-
tember, a steamer carrying troops was able to come right up to
the town, the people lost heart and Zubeiru fled. He was attacked
by the Germans in Adamawa and returned to Gudu, where the
population — only some three hundred in number now — were
devout Muslims from earliest times. They worship a hill where
the mark of Muhammad's foot can be seen as he stepped over from
Mecca. Every man can both read and write Arabic. Here again
he was pursued and was driven out to the Lala country, where
he was killed by the Lala pagans, eighteen months after the occu-
pation of Yola, in 1903. In the meantime his brother, Bobo
Amadu, was appointed Emir in his place, but the Emirate was
necessarily shorn of vast tracts of land now under German
dominion, and instead of being Emir of Adamawa, Bobo Amadu
was Emir of Yola only. His conduct was not found satisfactory
and in 1909 he was deposed and brought to Lokoja. Mohamadu
Yerima lya, son of Saanda, was appointed in his stead, but he
resigned in the following year, and Abba, son of Bobo Amadu,
became Emir in 1910.*

In the meantime a vast number of small expeditions were
necessary before the various pagans, particularly those who had
never been conquered by the Filane, were subdued.

YOLA GENEALOGY.

(I) Modibo Ada ma
1809—1848

|

(2} Lowal (3) Saanda (4) Zubeiru (5) Bobo Amadu

1848-1872 1872-1890 1890-1901 1901-1909

I I

(6) Mohamadu Yerima lya (7) Abba

1909-1910 1910

TRIBES INHABITING YOLA PROVINCE.

i. Bashamma. — Population 10,000, situated on the banks of
the Benue. Their off-sets, the Djen (9,952), Kunini (292) and Lau
(270) are in Muri Province.

* Until British adminstration was established the Emirs of Yola, or
Adamawa, had paid annual tribute to Sokoto, amounting in the time of
Modibo Adama to 1 ,000 slaves in the year.

568 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

2. Batta. — Population 14,000, in the Ind. Pagan and Pagan
Emirate Divisions south of the Benue ; and a settlement of 221
across the Muri boundary, with their off-set the Jire ; or, in-
cluding their off-sets in Muri Province, total 20,735.

3. Burra. — Population 1,375 in the Pagan Emirate Division,
and some 37,000 in Bornu, principally in the Biu District.

4. Chamba. — Population 8,035 m the Pagan Emirate Division,
along the Kamerun border and in Muri Province, population
13,000, including off-sets.

5. Chibuk. — Together with Marghi number some 5,000 in the
Pagan Emirate Division, and some 3,238 in South Bornu.

6. Filane. — Gidda and Borroroje throughout this Province as
throughout the Protectorate.

7. Gudowa. — In the Emirate Division (Song).

8. Hona. — Population 4,456, in the Pagan Emirate Division.

9. Kanakuru. — A nickname for the Dera and Jera tribes in the
Ind. Pagan Division.

10. Kanuri. — A race numbering some 450,000, inhabitants of
Bornu, but members of which are to be found all over the Pro-
tectorate.

11. Kilba. — The population of the Kilba District in the Pagan
Emirate Division numbers 16,923.

12. Kona. — A group in the Pagan Emirate Division, emigrants
from Lau in Muri Province, where the tribe number 4,035.

13. Kugamma. — In the Pagan Emirate Division.

14. Laka. — Emigrants from the Kamerun.

15. Lala. — A nickname applied to the Dingai, Gaanda, Gabun,
Gworum, Mboyi, Robba, Shere, Tenna, Yan and Yungur, in the
Pagan Emirate Division.

16. Longuda. — In the Ind. Pagan Division and over the
border in Gombe.

17. Malabu. — In the Ind. Pagan Division.

18. Mandara. — A group of 300, emigrants from the Kamerun
in Song District, Emirate Division.

19. Marghi. — Population 5,000, in the north-east of the Pro-
vince and over the Bornu border, where the tribe number some
35,000.

20. Mbula. — Population 7,000, in the Ind. Pagan Division.

21. Mumbake. — In the Emirate Division.

22. Mumuye. — Population 7,921, in the Pagan Emirate
Division, and 17,079 in the Lau Division of Muri Province, with
their off-sets the Waka (population 990), Yakoko (population
5>355)» Yundam (population 1,095 and 500 in Muri) and Zinna
(population 7,667).

23. Nupe. — A tribe numbering some 100,000, natives of Niger.
Province, members of which are scattered throughout the Pro-
tectorate.

24. Piri. — In the Ind. Pagan Division and in Gombe.

YOLA PROVINCE. 569

25, Tangale. — In the Ind. Pagan Division, also a small group
in Muri Province, the main body of the tribe being astride the
Gongola, 20,000 in Bornu, 28,000 in Gombe, including off-sets.

26. Vere.— Population 18,440 in the Emirate Division.

ZARIA PROVINCE.

AUTHORITIES :

Major F. Edgar. Mr. K. V. Elphinstone.

Mr. E. G. M. Dupigny. Mr. A. C. Francis.

Captain J. M. Fremantle. Mr. C. Migeod.

Mr. M. P. Porch.

The Province of Zaria has an area of 12,764 square miles.
It is bounded on the north by Kano, on the east by Bauchi, on the
south by Nassarawa and on the west by Niger Provinces.

There is a belt of high land running east to west and the north-
west part of the province averages some two thousand feet high,
where it is open, flat and undulating.

Tin is worked in the hill districts, but principally near Leri
in the eastern districts, adjoining the Bauchi tin-fields.

The province is well watered, the principal rivers being the
Kaduna, with its tributaries, the Kubanni, the Shika, Tubo, and
and Kogin Sarkin Pawa. The Kaduna takes its rise in the south-
east hills and flows first north-west and then south-west into the
Niger River. It may be said to drain the south and south-east
of the province, the Galma the centre, and the Gurara the south-
west. The water supply is, however, generally obtained from
wells.

The character of country is open bush, broken by rocky hills.
It is rich in sylvan products, principally in shea-butter and locust-
bean, but in the river valleys oil-palm and rubber (vine and tree),
are found and there is good timber. A good deal of cotton is grown
and a very large ginnery under the British Cotton Growing Asso-
ciation has been established at Zaria.

The principal exports are hides, shea-nuts, ground-nuts, gutta-
percha, capsicum and beeswax.

Cloth is the most important import.

The usual crops are grown — guinea-corn, millet (acha, dauro),
risga, (one of the Labiatai), yams, ground-nuts, gwaza (Colocasia
Esculenta), pumpkins and rice. Large herds of cattle are kept.

The African Ranches, Ltd., have enclosed an area of some
9,422 acres near Riga-Chikun, with a view to supplying frozen
meat for the European market.

The provincial headquarters are at Zaria (altitude 2,000 feet),
a town of some 17,182 inhabitants, on the left bank of the Kubanni

ZARIA PROVINCE 571

river, whither it was moved at some date prior to the Jihad.
The original site was on the right bank of the Kubanni imme-
diately below the Residency. Remnants of pottery are still
to be found amongst the neighbouring rocks, the place where
the people observed their religious rites, and a very old cotton-
tree standing immediately above a well was a place of worship
that is still resorted to in secret by some very old members of
the community.

The local tradition concerning its orig'n is that in ancient
times a warrior named Abakwa, or Bako, came from the south
to the Turunku hills, together with a great following. The walled
town of Turunku was built by his slaves, while he was absent in
war against the Nupe. Possibly he was the twenty- first Chief,
Bakwa Turunku ; that Abakwa had two daughters — one, Amina*,
who never married but wandered the country, making war, and
finally died at Attagana in Bassa country, where her tomb is
greatly revered, the pagans resorting there to pray for a fruitful
harvest ; emd that her sister Zaria founded the city of that name
in the first half of the fifteenth century, and Abakwa came and
settled there, when Zaria moved off to Yawuri on the Niger,
where she died.

Situated at a height of two thousand feet above the sea level
the climate is on the whole good, and in the winter months it is
cold and bracing ; the health of Europeans is fair. The maximum
temperature is 107* F. and the minimum 46* F. the greatest diurnal
variation being 50* F. The average annual rainfall is about 43
inches.

A school was opened in Zaria town in 1914 by the Education
Department. It has an attendance of seventy-six pupils.

The C.M.S. have a station in Zaria town, where medical work
is carried on and teaching given to some twenty-six pupils. It
was moved there from Girkuin 1905, where it had been since 1900.
It is managed by five Europeans.

A C.M.S. school has been opened at Gimi, and the Sudan
Interior Mission have opened a medical station at Idda, under an
English missionary and his wife.

The Forestry Department have their headquarters at Zaria,
where they have a reserve of I J miles in its immediate vicinity
for the purpose of supplying firewood. An area of two hundred
square miles in the Kaduna District has been declared a reserve
with the object of preserving the timber.

A site named Kaduna has been selected on either bank of the
Kaduna river, for the creation of a capital for the entire Protec-
torate, and for headquarters of the railway. Work there wa>
commenced in 1913. It is intended to construct a line connecting

Kaduna with the Benue-Port Harcourt railway. The Lagos-Kano

•

* See further mention on p. 572.

572 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

railway traverses the province with stations at Kaduna and Zaria,
and there is a branch line from Zaria town to Bukuru on the
Bauchi plateau.

Transport in other parts is exclusively by caravans, camels
or donkeys, and chiefly by head-porterage.

The population includes some thirty tribes and numbers some
404,269, including 16,387 Filane Borroro, see table.

The Beit-el-Mal was instituted in 1910.

The entire province is under the Emirate, and has been divided
into twenty-nine sub-sections for administrative purposes, besides
the states of Kagerko, Janjalla and Jiri.

Kagerko; area five hundred square miles, population 7,465.

Janjalla, area, 100 square miles, population 361.

Jiri, area 616 square miles, population 5,666.

The population are mainly of the Gwari tribe, amongst whom
are a few Koro . In Jiri there is good pasturage . 1 ron is found and
smelted by Haussas, and a good deal of trade is done with the
Gwari by merchants who exchange cloth and kola for a particular
mat used as a rain-coat.

The soil is fertile, and the country flat, with out-crops of rock.
It is well watered.

The Saraki are Filane, who, like the Filane of the district,
originally came from Zaria.

Zeg-zeg or Zozo, as the kingdom of Zaria was variously entitled,
was an ancient Haussa state. The first king wus Gunguma, who,
according to the " Daura Makas Sarki," was directly descended
from the kings of Baghdad. Gunguma's father, Bawo, being the
son of Makas Sarki through a slave woman, and Makas Sarki, who
had married the Queen of Daura, being son of a Princess of Bornu
by a son of the King of Baghdad. An old MS. found at Zaria
gives much the same origin, but relates that Abdullahi the an-
cestor came from Bagadaza (said to be east of Medina), with half
the inhabitants of that country on their defeat by the Chief of
Sham. That he settled in Bornu and that his people gradually
spread at the bidding of the Shehu. That it was Abdullahi himself
who eventually reached Daura and who slew a snake in the well
which had prevented anyone from drawing water except on
Fridays. That the queen married him and gave birth to Bawo,
the father of Gunguma, first Chief of Zaria. This chronicle gives
the name of Abdullahi's child by the daughter of the Shehu of
Bornu as " Birum ta Gabas."

Roughly speaking the date of Gunguma's reign must have
commenced about 1200 A.D.

In the Kaho Chronicle it is mentioned that a Queen, Amina,
was ruling over Zaria (circ. the first half of the fifteenth century),

ZAKIA PROVINCE, 573

and that she " conquered all the towns as far as Kworarafa and
Nupe. Every town paid tribute to her. The Sarkin Nupe sent
forty eunuchs and ten thousand kolas to her. She first brought
eunuchs and kolas into Haussaland. In her time the whole of the
products of the west were brought to Haussaland. Her conquests
extended over 34 years."

The names of fifty-five pagan chiefs are recorded, and,
though contemporaneous evidence points to the advent of
Islam in the fourteenth century, it is stated by the above-
mentioned MS. to have been introduced about 1465. There
were however, lapses, and at the end of the eighteenth
century a Habe Sarki, Jatao, reigned, who became a convert to
Islam and built a mosque. His son Makkam reverted to paganism
and on his accession demolished the mosqu^, thus declaring him-
self an enemy of the Faith and on the outbreak of the Jihad a
Filane Mallam — Musa by name -who had spent many years
preaching in the neighbourhood repaired to Sokoto and receiving
a flag from Othman dan Fodio returned in 1807-1808 to carry the
Jihad into Zeg-zeg.

Makkam, the last Haussa chief, fled south, and settled among
the pagans in what is now Abuja. Mallam Musa established him-
self as first Fulbe Emir, and after reigning fourteen years was
succeeded by his comrade in arms, a Bornuese Filane Mallam,
Yanmusa, who had also fought against El Kanemi in Bornu,
in response to the call of Muh?.mmadu Bello. He was succeeded
by a Katsina Filane. a pupil of Mallam Musa, and it is from these
three families that the Sarkin Musulmi has selected each suc-
cessive Emir, with one exception only.

The eleventh Filane Emir, Yero, circ. 1881-1890, made war on
Abuja, but was severely repulsed- owing it was thought to the
powerful machinations of the daughter of the Haussa King. She
delayed the army going out from Abuja while she made tsafi.
After many days she led them out herself, dancing before them
as they went, and presently she loosed a dove, the results proving
fatal to the invaders.

It was a Haussa custom of ancient date that two offices of
state should be held by women in Zeg-zeg and in Birnin Gwari
(the latter was transferred to the Niger Province in 1908, but till
then formed part of the kingdom of Zeg-zeg). This custom has
been maintained but since the Filane occupation it has become
nominal.

Zaria was occupied by the British in 1900, when the Emir
Kwasso came out to salute them. He, however, continued slave-
dealing and was consequently deposed and sent to Lokoja in 1902.
Aim being appointed his successor in 1903 on the advice of the
Emir of Sokoto. He is a grandson of the first Emir, Mallam Musa,
and is the thirteenth Filane Emir, and the sixty-eighth chief of
Zaria.

574

NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

Mallam Musa (1).
1804-1812 A.D.

Sidi Abdulkadiri (6)
1851-1851

Nufu Aliu (13)

| I

Wambai Zozo 1903-

Madaikin Galadiman
Zozo Zozo

KATSINA DYNASTY

Abdul Karim (3)
1825-1837

I

Sambo (10)
1872-1881

Abubakr (9)
or Bawa
1869-1872

Dardao

Dan Galadima Mallam Haleru

BORNUESE DYNASTY

Yan Musa (2)
1812-1825

Abdul Salami (7)
(a Sulibawa)
1851-1854

These dates are approximate only.

Hamada (4)
1837-1837

Abdullah! (8)
1854-1869

Yero (11)
1881-1890

I

Kwasso (12)
1890-1902

Mahoma Sani (5)
1837-1851

Umoro

Nufu

HABE DYNASTY OF ZOZO.

Abdulahi x Daura.
Bawo.

1. Gunguma.

2. Matani.

3. Tumso.

4. Sulimano.

5. Nasabo.

6. Dan Zaki.

7. Saiwago.

8. Kwasari, said to have reigned from 1260 to 1473 A.D. !

9. Nwaiku.

10. Besekal.

11. Kuna.

12. Maji Dadi.

13. Sukuna.

,

ZARIA PROVINCE. 575

14. Kirari.

15. Jenhako.

16. Sukana.

17. Rabon Bawa, 25 years.

18. Gudumua Muska, 2 years.

19. Tukuariki, 3 years.

20. Uwan, i year.

21. Bakwa Turunku, 30 years.

22. Ibrihimu, 20 years.

23. Karama, 10 years.

24. Kafow, 2 years.

25. Ali, 6 years.

26. Bako Majirua, 13 years.

27. Bako Su Aliu, n years.

28. Bako Musa, 6 months.

29. Bako Manama Gabi, 3 years.

30. Bako Hamza, i day.

31. Bako Abdu Ashkuku, 7 years.

32. Bako Brima, 3 years.

33. Bako Ali, 25 years.

34. Bako Makam Rubu, 9 months.

35. Bako Brima, 13 years.

36. Bako Shukunu, i year.

37. Bako Aliu, 7 years.

38. Bako Brima Hasko, 3 years 6 months.

39. Bako Mahama Rubo, 27 years 10 months 27 days.

40. Bako, 8 years 8 months.

41. Bako Aliu, 8 years 8 months.

42. Bako, 8 years 9 months.

43. Bako Ishihako, i year n months.

44. Bako Makam Danguma, 12 years 2 months 10 days.

45. Bako Ruhawa, 7 years.

46. Bako Makam Gaba, i year 6 months.

47. Bako Mair ari Ashakaokao, 2 years.

48. Kao, 2 years.

49. Bako Bawa, 2 years.

50. Yonusa, 5 years 7 months.

51. Baba, 52 years.

52. Aliu, 6 years 6 months.

53. Mai haman Maigano, 2 years 3 months.

54. Ishihako Jatao, 2 years 20 days.

55. Makkam, 5 years 10 months.

When the Filane broke Zaria he fled south to Zuba, where he
arrived in 1807. His brother became first Sarkin Abuja.

576 NORTHERN NIGERIAN TRIBES AND EMIRATES.

TRIBES INHABITING ZARIA PROVINCE.

1. Binawa. — In the Southern Division.

2. Chawai. — Population 9,226 in the Southern Division,

3. Filane. — Both Gidda and perhaps some 16,000-17,000
Borroroje.

4. Gobirawa. — Emigrants from North Sokoto, where they
number some 120,000. There is also a group of 1,930 in Bauctii
Emirate, and in Ilorin town.

5. Guri.— In the Southern Division.

6. Gwari. — Some 40,000 of whom inhabit Zaria, stretching
from the north-west of the Province through East Niger Province,
where they number some 41,315, to Nassarawa Province, where
they number 70,000, making a total population of over 150,000.

7. Jaba. — Population 2,000 (including Kaje) in the Maaji
District, the main body, numbering under 10,000, being in the
adjoining district of Nassarawa Province.

8. Jiwapa. — In the Southern Division.

9. Kachicharri. — Population 550 in the Southern Division.

10. Kadara.— Population 8,000, including their off-sets, the
Ikolu 2,000, Kamantam 1,000, and Kuturmi 1,000, in Maaji
District, situated in the south of the Province, principally in
the Kajuru District, also in the Fuka district of Niger Province,
population 574.

11. Kahagu. — In the Southern Division.

12. Kaibi. — In the Southern Division.

13. Kaje. — Population 2,000 (together with Jaba) in the Maaji
district, and 5,805 in the adjoining territory of Jemaa Emirate.

14. Kiballo. — In the Southern Division.

15. Kinuka. — In the Southern Division.

16. Kittimi. — In the Southern Division.

17. Konu. — In the Southern Division.

18. Koro. — Population 4,744 in Kagherko district ; also 2,677
in Niger and 17,892 in Nassarawa Provinces.

19. Kurama. — Population 5,000 in the Southern Division.

20. Kurtawa. — A settlement from Sayi (French territory), also
in Sokoto.

21. Kuzumani.— In the Southern Division.

22. Maguzawa. — Also in their aboriginal home of Kano and in
Bauchi Emirate (population 6,510), Katsina and Sokoto.

23. Pitti. — Population 5,000 at a rough estimate in the Southern
Division.

24. Rebinawa.— Population 400 in the Southern Division and
in the Bauchi Emirate.

25. Rishua. — In the Southern Division.

26. Rukuba. — Population 600 in the Southern Division, and
11,700 over the Bauchi border in the Bukuru district.

ZARIA PROVINCE 577

27. Rumada. — Scattered throughout the Province and 4,000
in Bauchi Emirate.

28. Rumaya. — In the Southern Division.

29. Ruruma. — In the Southern Division.

30. Shaini. — In the Southern Division.

31. Srubu. — In the Southern Division.

oo

TRIBAL INDEX.

PAGE

Abakwa Riga : Jukon word for Haussa.
Abeywa or Ebe : Nupe clan . . . . . . . . . . 334

Abogwe. (See Agatu, page 6.)

Acha : Zumperr clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 394

Achipawa or Atsifawa . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Adagoji. (See Agatu, page 5.)

Adamawa : inhabitants of a district that included Yola

Province and the adjacent territory in the Kamerun

as far north as Lake Chad.
Adarawa : inhabitants of the State of Adar in North

Sokoto. They now number some 54,000 .. .. 561

Adiku. (See Agatu, page 5.)

Adoma. (See Dakkakarri, page 88.)

Agabi : Nupe of Pategi . . . . . . . .

Akallobe : Sept of Akuba, sub-tribe of Bassa

Akanda or Kakanda

Akilene : Sept of Akuba, sub-tribe of Bassa

Akoko. (See Kukuruku, page 249.)

Akuba : Sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . t . . . .

Ambarache : Sept of Shanshama, sub-tribe of Bassa
Amo. (See Chawai, page 84.)

Amonu : Sept of Shanshama, sub-tribe of Bassa ..
Ampier : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . . .

Angure : Sept of Batta . . . . . . . . "

Apa. (See Igara, page 147.)

Arashamashi : Sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . . .

Aregi or Arengi : Sept of Akuba, sub-tribe of Bassa
Arringeu : tribal name for Pongo, clan of Baushi . .
Arum : Mama clan . . . . '.'. . . . .

B'Aiya : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . .

B'Apeni : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . .

Bachirawa . . . . . . . . . . . .

Badan : Yoruba clan (in Southern Provinces only) . .

Badara : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . . .

Badawa : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . .

Baduku : Sub-section Munslii . . . . . .

Baedegi : Yoruba off-shoot . . . . . . . .

Ba-en : Filane clan . . . . . . . . . .

Bagba : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . .

ii TRIBAL INDEX.

PAGE

Bagerni : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 296

Bagirimi : Emigrants from east of the Shari River.

Bagwara : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 297

Bagwaza : Sub-section Munshi .. .. .. .. 298

Baika : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . . . 298

Bai Pussu : Munshi section . . . . . . . . . . 296

Bai Tchongo : Munshi section . . . . . . . . 296

Baiyo : Sub-section Munshi .. .. .. .. .. 297

Baiyongo : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 297

Bajamawa : Jarawa clan .. .. .. .. .. 171

Bakanga : Sub-section Munshi .. . . ' .. ... 297

Bakara : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Bakariye : Shuwa Arabs . . . . . . . . . . 22

Ba-Koro : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . 296

Bakperi : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 296

Bandirri : Jarawa clan .. .. .. .. .. 171

Bangawa : Nupe clan . . . . . . . . . . 333 and 561

Bankalawa : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . . . 170

Ba-Nyongo : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 296

Barawa : Jarawa clan.. .. .. .. .. .. 170

Barr'ba : Yoruba name for inhabitants of South Borgu . . 76

Barrku : Mama clan .. .. .. .. .. .. 267

Barta or Bartak : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . 170

Bashamma, Bashima or Betsama. (See Batta, page 48.)

Basheho : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 298

Bassa Bunu. (See Bunu, page 71.)

Bassa Komo : Bassa tribe . . . . . . . . 5 and 41

Bassa Nge. (See Nge, page 305.)

Bata : Nupe clan . . 333

Batachi : Nupe clan . . . . 333

Ba-Teribi : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . 296

Ba-Tiava : Munshi clan . . 296

Batisu : Mumuye clan . . . . 291

Ba-war : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . 296

Bayana : Sub-section Munshi . . . . 298

Bayere : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . 298

Bayini : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . 298

Bayirr : Jarawa clan ...... 17°

Ba yorno : Munshi clan .... 296

Betsama or Bashamma. (See Batta, page 48.)

Bewe-en : Filane clan . . . . . . 4°3

Bini : Nupe clan . . . . 333

Bira or Biri : Contraction of Igbira . . 154

Birrim : Jarawa clan . . . . I71

Bogorro : Jarawa clan . . . . 17°

Bokalawa. (See Bussa, page 76.)
Boko. (See Bussa, page 76.)

TRIBAL INDEX. iii

PAGE

Bokuma. (See Kukuruku, page 249.)

Boram. (See Ron, page 339.)

Borgawa : inhabitants of Borgu. (See Bussa, page 76.)

Borot or Brodt : Yergum clan . . . . . . . . 369

Budjia : Buduma clan . . . . . . . . . . 69

Buji or Bujawa. (See Chawai, page 84.)

Bumaso : Yoruba clan (in Southern Provinces only) . . , 377

Bundun : Yergum clan . . . . . . . . . . 369

Burruza : Mama clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Burumawa. (See Kibyen, page 228.)

Buzai : pi. for Bugaje. . .. .. .. ,. .. 70

Chiariya : Kilba clan .. .. .. .. .. . . (231

Chuchinawa : from the Haussa word " amana=^part pay- >v

ment " or " security," " ba-chuchana = children of

household slaves " —applicable to any race.

Dabon or Zumfa : Clan of Mumuye . . . . . . . . 290

Dagua : Kilba clan .. .. .. .. .. .. 231

Dakka : Chamba clan.. .. .. .. .'. .. 80

Dallaa : Buduma clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Dandovva. (See Bussa, page 76.)

Degeshi : Sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . . . . . . . 41

Demolo. (See Jarawa , page 171 .)

Denye : Chamba clan . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

Dera. (See Kanakuru, page 214.)

Dibo 113

Diginte : Sept of Batta . . . . . . . . . . 49

Dingai. (See Lala, page 255.)

Dirrim : Chamba clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Djen : Bashamma sept . . . . . . . . . . 49

Djen-djen : Bashamma sept . . . . . . . . . . 49

Djon : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Doka : Ankwe clan . . . . . . ..... . . > 19

Dollong. (See Angas, page 9, and Yergum, page 369.)

Domawa. (See Dakkakarri, page 89.)

Doros : Chamba clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Dubur : Clan of Tal Angas . . . . . . . . . . 370

Duchu : Nupe clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Dugurawa : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . . . 165

Ebe or Abeywa : Nupe clan . . . . . . . . . . 334

Egba. (See Agatu, page 5, a Yoruba clan in Southern

Nigeria, page 377.)

Egbira or Igbira . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Enegi. (See Nupe, page 335.)
Epe. (See Agatu, page 5.)

IV

TRIBAL INDEX.

Etsu. (See Nupc, page 334.)

Euyusu : Sept of Akuba , sul>tribe of Bassa

Ezubio : Shuwa Arabs

Faawa. (See Afawa, page 3.)

Flaga-en : Filane clan

Foburawa : Tarawa clan

+J , 4

Fungun : Tribal name for Mumuye . .
Sub-tribe of Koro
(See Lala, page 255.)

Funtu

Gaanda

Gabera

Gabun.

Gallambawa

Gallamkeau

Gams aw?,

Gani or Sa :

Ganjua-en

(See Lala, page 255.)
Jarawa clan . .
Jarawa clan

Yergum clan
Filane clan

j

Gar : Jarawa clan

Garra-en : Filane clan

Gazum : Yergum clan. .

Gbachi. (See Nupe, page 335 )

Gengli : Kugp.mma cb.r

Germawa

Gimbinawa

Gobirawa

Gongon : Yergum clan

Gori. (See Kukuruku, page 249.)

Guria : Buduma clan

Gurrum

Gurumawa. (See Bussa, page 76.)

Gurumtu : Jarawa clan

Gussum

Gwa : Jarawa clan

Gwagbaji : Sept of Bini, Nupe clan

Gwanda : Chamba clan

Gwari Gangan. (See Gwari, page 121.)

Gwari Kunu or Yamma. (See Gwari, page 121.)

Gwarin Waiki. (See Gwari, page 123.)

Gwondo : Munshi clan

Gworum. (See Lala, page 255.)

Gyang-gyang : Jarawa clan

Gyun : Yergum clan

Habaru : Batta sept . .
Haraba : Munshi clan
Hinna. (See Tera, page 351.)

Ibara or Ngc

22

4°3

171

287
239

170
170

95
369

4°3
170

4°3
370

244
95

54f>
550

369

69
84

170

84

170

334
Si

298

170

37°

298
305

TRIBAL INDEX. v

PAGE

Ibie. (See Kukuruku, page 247.)

Ife or Apa. (See Igara, page 147.)

Igamba : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . . . 297

Igara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 and 147

Igava : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . . . 297

Igbona or Igbolo : Yoruba clan . . . . . . . . 390

Igboro or Ileboro : Yoruba clan . . . . . . . . 377

Igibe : Zumperr clan .. .. .. ... .. .. 394

Igoro : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . . . 296

Ikobi. (See Agatu, page 6.)

Ikolu : Kadara clan .. .. .. .. . . .. 179

Ikpav : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . .... 297

Ikurava or Ikworiba : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . 298

Ileboro or Igboro : Yoruba clan . . . . . . . . 377

Illaga : Filane clan . . . . . . . . 403 and 564

Imoshak or Asbenawa . . . . . . . . 30

Ipava : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Irrigwe. (See Kwoll, page 253.)

Isaji : Bini Nupe clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Ituruvu : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Jagnung : Ankwe clan. . . . . . ... . . . . 19

Jahun-en : Filane clan . . . . . . . . . . 403

Jaku : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Jatt : Yergum clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Jattu. (See Kukuruku, page 249.)

Jebu : Yoruba clan in Southern Nigeria . . . . . . 377

Jellum : Sept of Kerikeri . . . . . . . . . . 225

Jengre or Jere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Jeppel : Ankwe clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Jera. (See Kanakuru, page 214).

Jere or Jengre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Jereawa. (See Jeriyawa, page 171.)

Jetkos. (See Kanembu, page 216.)

Jibawa or Jubawa : Jukon clan . . . . . . . . 172

Jire : Batta tribe . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Jiru : Wurbo clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Jiwapa (See Binawa) . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Joama : Shuwa Arabs . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Juhaynah : Shuwa Arabs . . . . . . . . . . 25

Jumoku : Sept of Shanshama, sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . 41

Kabaga : Buduma clan

Kachicharri

Kafogo or Kahagu. (See Guri)

Kailogoma : Buduma clan

Kaiyorawa : Jarawa clan

vi TRIBAL INDEX.

Kam. (See Chamba, page 80.)

Kamantam : Kadara off-shoot . . . . . . . . 179

Kamkawa. (See Kamuku, page 205.) '

R.amu : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Kamukawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561

Karshana or Zube : Mada clan . . . . . . . . 260

Katsinawa. (See pages 471 and 472.)

Kebbawa. (See page 557.)

Kede : Nupe clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Keggie : Sept of Akuba, sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . . . 41

Kendeve : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . 298

Kerang : Tribal name for Angas . . . . . . . . 10

Khuzam : Shuwa Arabs . . . . . . ' .'. . . 25

Kibbo or Kibbun. (See Kibyen, page 228.)

Kindabi : Clan of Wurbo

Kinuka

Kiri-en : Filane clan

Kirifawa

Kitije. (See Filane pages 400 and 442.)

Kittimi

Kolak : Yergum clan

Komotui : Sept of Shanshama, sub-tribe of Bassa

Konu (See Bin^.wa)

Koro : Munshi clan

Kororofawa or Jukon

Kubei : Kanembu clan

Kuberi : Sept of Akuba, sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . . . 41

Kumbon : Yergum clan . . . . . . . . . . 370

Kunava : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . 297

Kunini : Bashamma clan . . . . . . . . . . 49

Kunum : Ankweclan.. .. .. .. .. .. 19

Kupa : Nupe clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Kusopa : Nupe clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Kussuva : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 296

Kutsere : Mumuye clan . . . . . . . . . . 290

Kutsere Sungre : Mumuye clan . . . . . . . . 290

Kutlaa : Buduma clan . . . . . . . . . . 69

Kuturmi : Kadara clan . . . . . . . . . . 179

Kutegi. (See Nupe, page 335.)

Kuzumani (See Binawa) .. .. .. .. .. 62

K'wakwa : Sept of Shanshama, sub-tribe of Bassa .. .. 41

Kwalme : Shuwa Arabs . . . . . . . . . . 25

Kwampi : Wurbo clan . . . . . '. . . . . 364

Kwiakwia : Sept of Shanshama, sub-tribe of Bassa . . 41

Kwoji : Mumuye clan.. .. .. .. .. .. 290

Kwona : Mumuye clan . . . . . . . . . . 290

Kwonum : Ankwe clan . . . . . .,- . . . . 19

TRIBAL INDEX. vii

PAGE

Kvvoraba : Munshi section . . . . . . . . . . 296

Kwotto. (See Igbira, page 155 and 356.)

Laka : Yergum clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Langtang : Yergum clan . . . . . . . . . . 369

Lardang. (See Mirriam, page 276.)

Larr : Ankwe or Mirriam clan . . . . . . 19 r.nd 276

Lau : Bashamma clan . . . . . . . . . . 49

Let : Ankwe clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Likam : Tribal name for Zumperr . . . . . . . . 394

Lila. (See Dakkakarri, page 88.)
Lissan : Clan of Zumperr
Lopawa. (See Kamberri, page 206.)
Lungu or Nungu

Maaba : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Magumi. (See Kanembu, page 216.)

Maibulua : Buduma clan . . . . . . . . . . 69

Maiyin : Shuwa Arabs . . . . . . . . . . 22

Majagujia : Buduma clan . . . . . . . . . . 70

Makangara. (See Kamuku, page 207.)

Manna : Mumuye clan . . . . . . . . . . 290

Mare : Filane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442

Mazumawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550

Mbadawa : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . . . 171

M'barawa : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . . . 170

Mbara : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . . . 297

Mbotuwa or Butawa . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

M'boyi. (See Lala, page 255.)

Megongo : Kukuruku . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Meka : Mumuye clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Mekeke : Kukuruku . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Mikiet. (See Mirriam, page 276.)

Miri. (See Angas, page 9.)

Mobber. (See Kanembu, page 216.)

Morova : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 297

Mudurr. (See Ankwe, page 19.)

Mufons or Medong Mufons . . . . . . . . . . 276

Nakwashe : Sept of Shanshama, sub-tribe of Bass;> .. 41

Nanava : Munshi clan ' . . . . . . . . . . 2qy

Narabuna : including Buji, Gurrum, Gussum and Jengre. . 1X4

Nazuam : now extinct . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Ngarass : Ankwe clan .. .. .. .. .. .. iq

Ngwoi. (See Kamuku, page 206.)

Niengeve : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 297

Ningishi or Ningashi . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

viii TRIBAL INDEX.

PAGE

N'ja : Sub-tribe of Koro . . . . . . . . . . 239

Njamb. (See Jarawa, page 171.)

Nongovo : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . 298

Nunguda or Longuda . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Nyamra : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . . . 170

Nyeve : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Obah. (See Agatu, page 5.)

Obanje : Sept of Akuba, sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . . . 41

Ogbadoma. (See Agatu, page 5.)

Ogidi o

Ogushi : Sept of Akuba, sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . . . 41

Ohoso : Sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . . . . . . . 41

Oja. (See Kukuruku, page 249.)

Oji. (See Agatu, page 5.)

Okpoto and Igara . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Olagwa : Sept of Shanshama, sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . 41

Onemi. (See Kukuruku, page 248.)

Onukpashe : Sept of Shanshama, sub-tribe of Bassa . . 41

Oroggo : Kamuku clan . . . . . . . . . . 208

Otindi : Sept of Akuba, sub-tribe of B?.ssa . . . . . . 41

( Kvr 6

Paawa. (See Afawa, page 3.)

Pambo : Zumperr clan . . . . . . . . . . 394

Paraba : Munshi section . . . . . . . . . . 296

Pategi : Nupe clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Pe or Dollong. (See Angas, page 9, and Yergum, page 369.)

Pero : Wurkum clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Pirpum : Ankweclan.. .. .. .. .. .. 19

Pongo or Arringeu : Baushi clan . . . . . . . . 55

Raga : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Rebin or Riban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Rishua. (See K?,ibi) . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Robba. (See Lala, page 255.)

Rogdo. (See Bolewr., page 63, and T?,ngalc, page 347.)

Rukuba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Rum?.ya. (See Kaibi, page 193.)
Ruruma. (See Kaibi, page 193.)

Sa or Gani : Yergum clan . . . . . . . . . . 369

Samberiki : Sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . . . . . 41

Sangamuku : Kamuku clan . . . . . . . . . . 208

Sanshama or Shanshama : Sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . 41

Saraje : Shuwa Arabs.. .. .. .. .. .. 22

vSatei : Sub-section of Mumbake 282

TRIBAL IN DFX. ix

PAGE

Sayirr : Yergum clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Seiyawa : Jarawa clan . . . . . . . . . . 170

Semolika. (See Kukuruku, page 249.)

Sesi : Wurbo clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Shaini. (See Gun, page 118.)

Shangava : Munshi clan

Shanshama : Sub-tribe of Bassa

Shau or Sho

Shere. (See Lala, page 255.)

Shirawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Shorova : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 296

Shuwa : Arab tribe . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Sibi. (See Kukuruku, page 249.)

Siteri : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Srubu. (See Guri, page 118.)

Sugurti : Kanembu clan . . . . . . . . . . 216

Sumpa : Mumuye clan . . . . . . . . . . 290

Sundai : Wurbo clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Tal : Angas clan

Taratara or Tatra : Mada clan . . . . . . . . 260

Tari : Sub-tribe of Bassa . . . . . . . . . . 41

Tarok : Tribal name for Yergum ..'. . . . . . . 369

Tehe : Yergum clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Tejani : Filane clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

Tenna. (See Lala, page 255.)

Teribi : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Teshenawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Tie : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Tijani or Tejani : Filane clan.. .. .. .. .. 402

Tikarawa : Chamba clan . . . . . . . . . . 80

Tivi : Tribal name for Munshi . . . . . . . . 295

Tochippo : Achipawa clan. (See Makangara, page 208.)

Tokarawa. (See Bugaje, page 70.)

Tombo : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Tondovo : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 297

Tongovo : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . 298

Toronbe-en : Filane clan . . . . . . . . . . 403

Tsamba : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 297

Tshamba or Chamba . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Tuareg or Asbenawa . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Tubu. (See Kanembu, page 216.)

Tugumawa : Chamba clan . . . . . . . . . . 80

Tumot: Yergum clan.. .. .. .. .. .. 370

Tunjur : Shuwa Arabs . . . . . . . . . . 25

Ture : Off-set of Tangale . . . . . . 347 and .5 j.v

Turuba. (See Filane, page 397.)

x TRIBAL INDEX.

Turubu : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . 298

Ugbami : now extinct. (See Kukuruku, page 247.)

Ukana : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . . . 298

Ukorho : Sub-section Munshi . . . . . . . . . . 297

Unchinda : Kamuku clan . . . . . . . . . . 208

Upie : Mama clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Upila. (See Kukuruku, page 248.)

lira. (See Kamuku, page 206.)

Ureggi : Kamuku clan . . . . . . . . . . 208

Uiara : Munshi clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Utanga : Munshi clan.. .. .. .. .. .. 297

Ute : Sub-section Mur.shi .. .. .. .. .. 297

Waka : Mumuye off-set . . . . . . . . . . 291

Walarbe : Filane clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

Wange. (See Tula, p'g' 354.)

Weyla-en : Filane clan . . . . . . . . . . 564

Wona. (See Kukuruku, pag v 247.)

Wulad Hi met : Shuwa Arabs . . . . . . . . 25

Wursan : Wurbo clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Yaffudawa : Tangale . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Yakoko : Mamuye oft-shoot . . . . . . . . . . 291

Yan. (Sec- Lala, page 255.)
Yandava : Munshi clan
Yedina : Tribal name for Buduma
Yidda : Tribal name for Mada
Yiwanava : Munshi clan
Y'wanava : Sub-section Munshi
Yofo : Sub-section of Mumbake
Yorno : Munshi clan
Yundam : Mumuye off-shoot

Zagum : Tribal name for Mumuye . . . . . . . . 287

Zanfarawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

Zarandawa or Gezawa. . .. .. .. .. .. 116

Zargawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562

Zarshiwa or Zariwa . . . . . . . . . . . . 394

Zinna : Mumuye off-shoot . . . . . . . . . . 294

Zongolo : Sept of Akuba, sub-section of Bassa . . . . 41

Zuba : Koro clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Zube or Karshana : Mada clan . . . . . . . . 260

Zumbuf u : Nupe clan . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Zumfa or Dabon : Mumuye clan . . . . . . . . 290

PROVINCIAL INDEX.

PAGE.

Abuja Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . . 517

Agaie Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Allawa . . . . . . . . . . . . 538

Ankwe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502 and 17

Argungu Emirate . . . . . . . . . . 547 and 557

Ari 423

Ashera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520

Awtun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 and 101

Bakundi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

Bantaji . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . 502

Bashar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501

Bauchi Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Bedde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 and 60

Bida Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531

Birnin Gwari . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 and 537

Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 and 38

Borgu, i.e. Bussa and Kaiama . . . . . . . . 494

Bornu Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

Burra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

Bussa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

Chum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Dadia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416 and 354

Dambam Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

Dampar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501

Dass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

Daura Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Doma . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . 513

Donga 503

Duguri . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . 420

Fika . . . . . . . . . . . . 440, 62 and 64

Fuka 535

Galadima Kogo . , . . . . . . . . . . 536

Gandjua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Gando Emirate . . . . . . . . . . 546 and 555

Gassol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

Xll

Gobir

Gombe Emirate

Gumel Emirate

Gumna

Gwagwalida

Hadeija Emirate

Ibi

Illo

Ilorin Emirate . .

Jan j alia
Jemaa Emiiate
Jemaari Emirate
Jibu

Kagara

Kagerko

Kaiama Emirate

Kanam

Kano Emirate . .

Karshi

Karu

Kasan Chikki . .

Katagum Emirate

Katsina Emirate

Kazaure Emirate

Keana

Keffi Emirate . .

Kontagora Emirate

Koriga

Koton Karifi

Kundu

Kurati

Kushaka

Kusheriki

Kuta

Kwongoma

Lafia Emirate . .

Lafiagi

Lapai Emirate . .

Leri

PROVINCIAL INDEX

474

502
546 and 557
. . 446

453
532
414

Makangara

207 and 536

PROVINCIAL INDEX. xiii

PAGE

Marghi . . . . . . . . . . . . . - 440 and 271

Mar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Messau Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . 478

Miri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Muri Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

Nassarawa Emiiate . . . . . . . . 508

Ningi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

Offa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452

Pai 519

Pategi . . 454

Pero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417 and 365

Potiskum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440

Sakaba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490

Sansansi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

Sendridi . . . . . . . . . . , . . . 500

Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456

Shonga 456

Sokoto Emirate . . . . . . . . . . 544 and 547

Suntai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

Takum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503 and 80

Tangalto . . . . . . . . . . . . 417 and 347

Tarkunya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Tegina 539

Tula . . . . . . . . . . . . 416 and 354

Ture .. 417, 347 and 348

Waku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520

Warji . . . . , . . 424

Wase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501

Wukari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 }

Wurrio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

Wushishi Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

Yauri 401

Yola Emirate,- . . . . . . . . , . . . . .

Zanfara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Zaria Emirate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572

Zumperri . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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