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Brief Contents
World Map
Regional and Country Coverage
Preface
About the Authors
PART I A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING
COMPARATIVE POLITICS
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 2. THE MODERN STATE
CHAPTER 3. STATES, CITIZENS, AND REGIMES
CHAPTER 4. STATES AND IDENTITY
PART II POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND HOW THEY WORK
CHAPTER 5. GOVERNING INSTITUTIONS IN
DEMOCRACIES
CHAPTER 6. INSTITUTIONS OF PARTICIPATION AND
REPRESENTATION IN DEMOCRACIES
CHAPTER 7. CONTENTIOUS POLITICS: SOCIAL
MOVEMENTS, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, AND
REVOLUTION
CHAPTER 8. AUTHORITARIAN INSTITUTIONS
CHAPTER 9. REGIME CHANGE
PART III POLITICAL ECONOMY AND POLICY
CHAPTER 10. POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WEALTH
CHAPTER 11. POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 12. PUBLIC POLICIES WHEN MARKETS FAIL:
WELFARE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Glossary
Index
8
Detailed Contents
World Map
Preface
About the Authors
PART I A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING
COMPARATIVE POLITICS
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
The Big Issues
Comparative Politics: What Is It? Why Study It? How to
Study It?
Three Key Questions in Comparative Politics
What Explains Political Behavior?
Who Rules?
Where and Why?
Plan of the Book
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Resources for Further Study
Web Resources
CHAPTER 2. THE MODERN STATE
Characteristics of the Modern State
Historical Origins of Modern States
Strong, Weak, and Failed States
Case Studies of State Formation
The Strongest States
Case Study: Germany: The First Modern Welfare State
Case Study: United Kingdom: The Long Evolution of a
Strong State
Case Study: The United States: A Consciously Crafted
State
Case Study: Japan: Determined Sovereignty
Moderately Strong States
Case Study: Brazil: A Moderately Strong, and Now
Legitimate, Modern State
Case Study: Mexico: Challenges to Internal Sovereignty
Case Study: China: Economic Legitimacy over Political
Reform
9
Case Study: India: Enduring Democracy in a Moderately
Weak State
Case Study: Russia: Strong External Sovereignty with
Weak Rule of Law
The Weakest States
Case Study: Iran: Claiming Legitimacy via Theocracy
Case Study: Nigeria: An Extremely Weak State
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
CHAPTER 3. STATES, CITIZENS, AND REGIMES
Citizens and Civil Society
Regimes, Ideologies, and Citizens
Liberal Democracy
Case Study: United Kingdom: “Cradle of Democracy”
Communism
Case Study: Russia: The First Self-Proclaimed Communist
Regime
Fascism
Case Study: Germany: Rise of the Nazi Party and a
Totalitarian State
Modernizing Authoritarianism
Case Study: Brazil: A Modernizing Authoritarian Regime
in Military Form, 1964–1985
Personalist Regimes
Case Study: Nigeria: A Personalist Regime in Uniform,
1993–1998
Electoral Authoritarianism
Case Study: Mexico: Electoral Authoritarianism under the
PRI
Theocracy
Case Study: The Islamic Republic of Iran: Theocratic State,
1979–
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
CHAPTER 4. STATES AND IDENTITY
10
Understanding Identity
The Policy Debate
The Demands of Identity Groups
Arguments for Group Rights and Recognition
Arguments against Group Rights
Nations and Nationalism
Case Study: Nationalism in Germany
Ethnicity
Case Study: The Evolving Role of Ethnicity in Nigeria
Race
Case Study: Racial Politics in the United States
Religion: Recognition, Autonomy, and the Secular State
Religion as Group Identity
State Response to Religion: Differing Forms of
Secularism
Case Study: India: Secularism in a Religious and
Religiously Plural Society
Gender and Sexual Orientation: The Continuing Struggle
for Recognition, Social Status, and Representation
Debating Goals
Objectives and Outcomes
Case Study: Iran: Women’s Social Gains, Political and
Cultural Restrictions, and Islamic Feminism
Case Study: Brazil: LGBT Rights in a New Democracy
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
PART II POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND HOW THEY WORK
CHAPTER 5. GOVERNING INSTItUTIONS IN
DEMOCRACIES
Executives and Legislatures
Parliamentarism: The Westminster Model
Case Study: Parliamentary Rule in Britain and India
Presidential Systems: The Separation of Powers
Case Study: Presidentialism in the United States and Brazil
Semipresidentialism: The Hybrid Compromise
Case Study: Russia: Semipresidentialism in a New
Democracy with Weak Institutions
Comparing Executive-Legislative Institutions
11
Accountability
Policymaking
Stability
Judiciary
Judicial Review and the “Judicialization” of Politics
Judicial Independence and Institutional Strength
Case Study: The Judiciary: Brazil
Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy and Corruption
Case Study: Bureaucratic Control and Corruption: Japan
Federalism
Why Countries Adopt Federalism
Federalism and Accountability
Federalism and Minority Rights
Trends in Federalism
Case Study: Federalism: Mexico, India, and Russia
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
CHAPTER 6. INSTITUTIONS OF PARTICIPATION AND
REPRESENTATION IN DEMOCRACIES
The Electoral System
Single-Member Districts: “First-Past-the-Post” and
Majoritarian Voting
Proportional Representation
Mixed, or Semiproportional, Systems
Formal Institutions: Political Parties and Party Systems
Political Parties
Party Systems
Civil Society
Government–Interest Group Interaction: Two Models
Case Studies in Participation and Representation
Case Study: The United Kingdom: SMD/FPTP, Two
Parties, and Pluralism
Case Study: Germany: Two-and-a-Half-Party System and
Neocorporatism under Threat
Case Study: Japan: From Dominant-Party to Two-Party
System?
Case Study: India: From Dominant-Party to Multiparty
12
Democracy
Case Study: Brazil: Parties and Civil Society in a Young
Democracy
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
CHAPTER 7. CONTENTIOUS POLITICS: SOCIAL
MOVEMENTS, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, AND
REVOLUTION
Framing Contentious Politics
Why Contentious Politics Happen
How Contentious Politics Happen
Case Study: The United States: Reacting to Economic
Decline—Occupy and the Tea Party
Political Violence
Theories of Political Violence
Civil War
Terrorism
Case Study: Mexico: The Zapatista Rebellion
Case Study: Nigeria: Boko Haram and Terrorism
Revolution
Types of Revolution
Why Do Revolutions Happen?
Case Study: Revolution: China and Iran
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
CHAPTER 8. AUTHORITARIAN INSTITUTIONS
Authoritarian Rule around the World
Governing Institutions in Authoritarian Regimes
The Problem of Succession
Case Study: China: From Communist to Modernizing
Authoritarian Rule
Case Study: Russia: Creating an Electoral Authoritarian
Regime
Case Study: Iran: A Theocratic, Electoral Authoritarian
Regime
13
Elections, Parties, and Civil Society in Authoritarian
Regimes
Elections and Parties
Civil Society
Clientelism
Case Study: China: Growing Participation but Not
Democracy
Case Study: Russia: Weak Opposition in an Electoral
Authoritarian Regime
Case Study: Iran: From Participation and Reform to
Renewed Repression
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
CHAPTER 9. REGIME CHANGE
The Military in Politics: Coups d’État
Why Do Military Coups Happen?
What Are the Results of Coups?
Case Study: Comparing Coups: Brazil and Nigeria
Revolution
Democratization
Transitions to Democracy
Explaining Democratization, Consolidation, and
Breakdown
Case Study: Mexico: Transition from an Electoral
Authoritarian Regime
Case Study: Russia: Transition to an Electoral Authoritarian
Regime
Case Study: Nigeria: Neopatrimonial Transition
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
PART III POLITICAL ECONOMY AND POLICY
CHAPTER 10. POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WEALTH
The Market, Capitalism, and the State
Capitalism
Essential Roles
14
Beneficial Roles
Politically Generated Roles
Key Economic Debates
Keynesianism
Neoliberalism
Keynesianism versus Neoliberalism: An Ongoing
Debate
Types of Capitalist Economies
Liberal Market Economies (LMEs)
Coordinated Market Economies (CMEs)
Globalization: A New World Order, or Déjà Vu All Over
Again?
A Brave New World?
Causes of Globalization
Political Responses to Globalization
Globalization and the European Union
State Responses to Globalization
States and Markets around the World
Case Study: The United States: The Free-Market Model
Case Study: United Kingdom: Radical Reform in a Liberal
Market Economy
Case Study: Germany: Struggling to Reform a Coordinated
Market Economy
Case Study: Japan: The Developmental State and Its Crisis
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
CHAPTER 11. POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DEVELOPment
What Is “Development”?
Development and Globalization
The Development Debate
Regime Type and Development Success
Case Studies in Development
Case Study: Mexico: From Protectionism to Neoliberalism
Case Study: China: An Emerging Powerhouse
Case Study: India: Development and Democracy
Case Study: Iran: Struggling with the Blessings of Oil
Case Study: Nigeria: A Weak State, Oil, and Corruption
Conclusion
15
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
CHAPTER 12. PUBLIC POLICIES WHEN MARKETS FAIL:
WELFARE, HEALTH, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
“Welfare”: Social Policy in Comparative Perspective
Types of Social Policy
Types of Welfare States
Explaining the Development and Evolution of Welfare
States
Comparing Welfare States
Social Policy in the Global South
Case Study: Germany: Reforming the Christian Democratic
Welfare State
Case Study: The United States: Reforming the Liberal
Welfare State
Case Study: Brazil: Starting a Welfare State in a
Developing Economy
Health Care and Health Policy
Health Care and Market Failure
Health Care Systems
Common Problems
Case Study: Germany: Pioneer of Modern Health Policy
Case Study: United Kingdom: Reforming the NHS
Case Study: U.S. Health Policy: Trials and Tribulations of
the Market Model
Environmental Problems and Policy
The Environment and Market Failure
Risk and Uncertainty
Policy Options
Climate Change
Case Study: The United States: Pioneer That Lost Its Way?
Case Study: China: Searching for Sustainable Development
Conclusion
Key Concepts
Works Cited
Web Resources
Glossary
Index
16
Africa
Nigeria: An Extremely Weak State 90
Nigeria: A Personalist Regime in Uniform, 1993–1998 129
The Evolving Role of Ethnicity in Nigeria 166
Nigeria: Boko Haram and Terrorism 390
Comparing Coups: Brazil and Nigeria 477
Nigeria: Neopatrimonial Transition 508
Nigeria: A Weak State, Oil, and Corruption 624
Americas
The United States: A Consciously Crafted State 65
Brazil: A Moderately Strong, and Now Legitimate, Modern State 71
Mexico: Challenges to Internal Sovereignty 74
Brazil: A Modernizing Authoritarian Regime in Military Form, 1964–
1985 126
Mexico: Electoral Authoritarianism under the PRI 133
Racial Politics in the United States 171
Brazil: LGBT Rights in a New Democracy 204
Presidentialism in the United States and Brazil 231
The Judiciary: Brazil 251
Federalism: Mexico, India, and Russia 268
Brazil: Parties and Civil Society in a Young Democracy 344
Americas
The United States: Reacting to Economic Decline—Occupy and the
Tea Party 370
Mexico: The Zapatista Rebellion 386
Comparing Coups: Brazil and Nigeria 477
Mexico: Transition from an Electoral Authoritarian Regime 498
The United States: The Free-Market Model 553
Mexico: From Protectionism to Neoliberalism 605
The United States: Reforming the Liberal Welfare State 653
Brazil: Starting a Welfare State in a Developing Economy 657
U.S. Health Policy: Trials and Tribulations of the Market Model 673
The United States: Pioneer That Losts9781506375489.i3622 Its Way?
688
Asia
Japan: Determined Sovereignty 68
China: Economic Legitimacy over Political Reform. 77
17
India: Enduring Democracy in a Moderately Weak State 81
Russia: Strong External Sovereignty with Weak Rule of Law 84
Russia: The First Self-Proclaimed Communist Regime 115
India: Secularism in a Religious and Religiously Plural Society 184
Parliamentary Rule in Britain and India 223
Russia: Semipresidentialism in a New Democracy with Weak
Institutions 240
Bureaucratic Control and Corruption: Japan 260
Japan: From Dominant-Party to Two-Party System? 332
India: From Dominant-Party to Multiparty Democracy 339
Revolution: China and Iran 339
China: From Communist to Modernizing Authoritarian Rule 421
Russia: Creating an Electoral Authoritarian Regime 429
China: Growing Participation but Not Democracy 445
Russia: Weak Opposition in an Electoral Authoritarian Regime 452
Russia: Transition to an Electoral Authoritarian Regime 503
Japan: The Developmental State and Its Crisis 571
China: An Emerging Powerhouse 611
India: Development and Democracy 617
China: Searching for Sustainable Development 692
EUROPE
Germany: The First Modern Welfare State 59
United Kingdom: The Long Evolution of a Strong State 62
Russia: Strong External Sovereignty with Weak Rule of Law 84
United Kingdom: “Cradle of Democracy” 110
Russia: The First Self-Proclaimed Communist Regime 115
Germany: Rise of the Nazi Party and a Totalitarian State 120
Nationalism in Germany 161
Parliamentary Rule in Britain and India 223
Russia: Semipresidentialism in a New Democracy with Weak
Institutions 240
United Kingdom: SMD/FPTP, Two Parties, and Pluralism 320
Germany: Two-and-a-Half-Party System and Neocorporatism under
Threat 326
Russia: Creating an Electoral Authoritarian Regime 429
Russia: Weak Opposition in an Electoral Authoritarian Regime 452
Russia: Transition to an Electoral Authoritarian Regime 503
United Kingdom: Radical Reform in a Liberal Market Economy 560
Germany: Struggling to Reform a Coordinated Market Economy 564
18
Germany: Reforming the Christian Democratic Welfare State 650
Germany: Pioneer of Modern Health Policy 666
United Kingdom: Reforming the NHS 670
MIDDLE EAST
Iran: Claiming Legitimacy via Theocracy 87
The Islamic Republic of Iran: Theocratic State, 1979– 139
Iran: Women’s Social Gains, Political and Cultural Restrictions, and
Islamic Feminism 198
Revolution: China and Iran 399
Iran: A Theocratic, Electoral Authoritarian Regime 434
Iran: From Participation and Reform to Renewed Repression 456
Iran: Struggling with the Blessings of Oil 621
19
Preface
The teaching of introductory comparative politics has long been divided,

and to some extent confounded, by the question of “country” or “concept”:
Should the course be taught, as it traditionally has been, as a series of
country studies highlighting the key similarities and differences among
political institutions around the world, or should it be focused on the
important concepts in the discipline? Throughout twenty-five years of
teaching introduction to comparative politics, we have been frustrated by
this “either/or” proposition, as well as by the textbooks that have been
built upon it. The country approach is far too descriptive, and it is not easy
to tease major concepts out of country case studies in any sustained way.
This makes it difficult for students to get to the intellectual “meat” of our
discipline. A purely conceptual approach, on the other hand, leaves
students with little concrete knowledge, even when they’re given examples
here and there. We want our students to know the difference between a
president and a prime minister. We’ve found that it is impossible for them
to assess theories in an empirical vacuum. Students need the context that
studying actual country cases provides.
We traded syllabi back and forth over the years, trying to combine the two
approaches. Our goal was to introduce a set of related concepts and then
immediately examine in some detail how they matter in the real world in a
comparative context. To do this, we started using two textbooks, one
conceptual and the other country-based, in an iterative fashion. But the
parts never fit together well, even if written by the same team. In
particular, we found that the conceptual books didn’t lend themselves well
to connecting key theoretical concepts to case study material. We also
found that the case studies in most country-based books were either too
detailed, leaving the student overwhelmed by unnecessary information, or
too simplistic, leaving the student without adequate knowledge with which
to understand the utility of the theoretical concepts.
This textbook tries to resolve this country-or-concept dilemma, using what

we’ve come to think of as a “hybrid” approach. The book is organized
conceptually, but each chapter introduces concepts and then immediately
uses them to examine a series of topical, interesting, and relevant case
studies. For instance, chapter 10, on the political economy of wealthy
countries, lays out the key concepts in political economy and major
20
economic theories and inserts case studies, where they best fit, of the U.S.
laissez-faire model, the German social market economy, and the Japanese
developmental state.
We use eleven countries throughout the book as “touchstones”

(approximately five cases in each chapter), returning to these countries to
illustrate the debates we address. The eleven countries—Brazil, China,
Germany, India, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States—span the globe, illustrate a wide array of
current and past regimes, and avoid a Eurocentrism still too common in the
field of comparative politics. Since we know, however, that not all aspects
of comparative politics can best be represented by these eleven countries
alone, we reference dozens of others as brief examples (of a paragraph or
two) throughout the text.
By the end of the book, students not only will have been introduced to a
wide array of important concepts and theoretical debates but also will have
learned a lot about each of the eleven countries. We do not and cannot
systematically examine all elements of all eleven as a standard country-by-
country book would. Instead, after a brief overview of each country in
chapter 2 to give students a basic context, we identify the most
conceptually interesting elements of each country. For instance, regarding
Japan, we cover the developmental state, the role of that state’s
bureaucracy and level of corruption, its electoral system, and the country’s
recent efforts to deal with globalization and resuscitate economic growth.
Regarding Germany, we cover the rise and structure of the Nazi regime,
Germany’s cultural nationalism and citizenship debates, its electoral
system, and its efforts to reform the social market economy and welfare
state in the face of globalization and European Union integration. The case
studies are organized and written in a way that allows students to
understand the context of the debates and concepts without having to read
an entire “country chapter” on each. And we keep the cases concise, which
leaves faculty members the option of lecturing to fill in any additional
detail that they may feel important or to provide comparisons with cases
not covered in a chapter.
Rather than using any one theoretical or methodological approach, in

chapter 1 we introduce students to the broad debates in the field to show
how comparativists have used various theories and methodologies to
understand political phenomena. We do not generally offer definitive
conclusions about which approach is best for understanding a particular
21
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make any possible sacrifice; and he sent me a bernús for fifty-two
thousand kurdí. While I was hesitating about contracting a new debt
of such magnitude (in my poor circumstances), Bel-Ghét, who
evidently feared that if I gave one large present to the governor, he
himself would get nothing, intimated to me that it would be better to
choose several small articles. El Wákhshi therefore procured a caftan
of very common velvet, a carpet, a sedríye or close waistcoat, and a
shawl, which altogether did not exceed the price of thirty-one
thousand kurdí; so that I saved more than twenty thousand. In
order, however, to give to the whole a more unpremeditated,
honorary, and professional appearance, I added to it a pencil, a little
frankincense, and two strong doses of Epsom salts.
While Bel-Ghét was engaged in negotiating peace for me with the
eccentric governor, I went with el Wákhshi and Gajére to the market,
and thence proceeded with the latter, who, stout and portly, strode
before me with his heavy spear, like a stately bodyguard or “kavás,”
to the house of Mánzo, an agent of Masáwaji, who always lives here,
and paid him our compliments. Passing then by the house of the
Sultan of Ágades (“gída-n-serkí-n-Agades”), who occasionally resides
here, we went to the “kófan Gúga” (the north-western gate of the
town), which my companion represented to me as belonging entirely
to the Ásbenáwa; for as long as Kátsena formed the great emporium
of this part of Africa the aïri used to encamp in the plain outside this
gate. The wall is here very strong and high, at least from without,
where the height is certainly not less than from five and thirty to
forty feet, while in the interior the rubbish and earth has
accumulated against it to such a degree that a man may very easily
look over it; the consequence is that during the rains a strong
torrent, formed here, rushes out of the gate. On the outside there is
also a deep, broad ditch. We returned to our lodging by way of the
“máriná” and the market, both of which places were already sunk in
the repose and silence of night.
I had scarcely re-entered my dark quarters, when Bel-Ghét
arrived, telling me that the governor did not want my property at all;
however, to do honour to my present, he would condescend to keep
the caftan and the carpet, but he sent me back the sedríye and the
shawl—of course to be given as a present to his agent and
commissioner, my noble friend from Gurára. The governor, however,
was anxious to obtain some more medicines from me. He at the
same time promised to make me a present of a horse. Although I
had but a small store of medicines with me, I chose a few powders
of quinine, of tartar-emetic, and of acetate of lead, and gave him a
small bottle with a few drops of laudanum, while it was arranged
that on the following morning I should explain to the governor
himself the proper use of these medicines.
The next morning, therefore, I proceeded with Bel-Ghét, to whose
swollen eye I had successfully applied a lotion, and whose
greediness I had satisfied with another small present on the way to
the “zínsere.” He wished to show me the interior of the immense
palace, or the “fáda;” but he could not obtain access to it, and I did
not see it till on my second visit to Kátsena.
Béllo received me in his private apartment, and detained me for
full two hours while I gave him complete information about the use
of the medicines. He wanted, besides, two things from me, which I
could not favour him with—things of a very different character, and
the most desired by all the princes of Negroland. One of these was a
“mágani-n-algúwa” (a medicine to increase his conjugal vigour); the
other, some rockets, as a “mágani-n-yáki” (a medicine of war), in
order to frighten his enemies.
Not being able to comply with these two modest wishes of his, I
had great difficulty in convincing him of my goodwill; and he
remained incredulous to my protestations that we had intentionally
not taken such things as rockets with us, as we were afraid that if
we gave such a thing to one prince, his neighbour might become
fiercely hostile to us. But he remarked that he would keep such a
gift a secret. I was very glad he did not say a word more about the
pistols; but in order to give me a proof that he knew how to value
fine things, he showed me the scissors and razor which I had given
him the other day, for which he had got a sheath made, and wore
them constantly at his left side. He then told me he would make me
a present of an “abi-n-háwa” (something to mount upon), intimating
already by this expression that it would not be a first-rate horse, as I
had not complied with his heart’s desire, but that it would be
furnished with saddle and harness, and that besides he would send
me a large “hákkori-n-gíwa” (an elephant’s tooth) to Kanó. This
latter offer I declined, saying that, though my means were very
small at present, I did not like to turn merchant. He reminded me
then of my promise to return; and we parted the best of friends.
Notwithstanding the injustice of every kind which he daily commits,
he has some sentiment of honour; and feeling rather ashamed for
having given me so much trouble for nothing, as he was aware that
it would become known to all his fellow-governors, and probably
even to his liege lord, the Emír el Múmenín, he was anxious to
vindicate his reputation. It was from the same motive that he
begged me most urgently not to tell anybody that I had made him
the presents here, adding, that he would afterwards say that he had
received them from me from Kanó.
Having returned home, I thankfully received the compliments
which were made me from different quarters on account of the
fortunate issue of my affair with this “munáfekí,” or evil-doer; and
although the horse, which was not brought till next morning after we
had been waiting for it a long while, proved rather ill-looking and
poor, being scarcely worth more than ten thousand kurdí, or four
dollars, and though the saddle was broken and harness wanting
altogether, I was quite content, and exulted in my good fortune. But
before leaving this once most important place I shall try to give a
short historical sketch of its past, and an outline of its present state.
CHAPTER XXIV.
HÁUSA.—HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF
KÁTSENA.—ENTRY INTO KANÓ.
In order to render intelligible the anterior history of Kátsena, it will

be necessary to enter into some preliminary explanation respecting
the whole country of Háusa. The name Háusa was unknown, as it
seems, to Leo Africanus; else instead of saying that the inhabitants
of Zária, Kátsena, and Kanó spoke the language of Góber, he would
have said that they spoke the Háusa language. But we have no right
to conclude from this circumstance that the practice of giving the
name Háusa, not only to the widely diffused language, but also to
the countries collectively in which it prevails, is later than Leo’s time;
on the contrary, I must acknowledge the improbability of such an
assumption. It is true that, with the faint light available, we are
unable to discern quite distinctly how the Háusa nation originated;
but we may positively assert that it was not an indigenous nation, or
at least that it did not occupy its present seat from very ancient
times, but that it settled in the country at a comparatively recent
date. As to one of the associated states, and the most prominent
and noble amongst them (I mean Góber), we know positively that in
ancient times it occupied tracts situated much further north;[18] and
I have been assured that the name Háusa also proceeded from the
same quarter—an opinion which seems to be confirmed by the
affinity of that language with the Temáshight.[19] Whether the name
was originally identical with the word “Áusa,” which, as we shall see,
is used by the Western Tuarek and the people of Timbúktu to denote
the country on this the northern side of the Great River, in opposition
to “Gúrma,” the country on its southern side, I am unable to say.
Sultan Béllo’s statement that the Háusa people originated from a
Bórnu slave, deserves very little credit. It is to be considered as
merely expressive for his contempt for the effeminate manners of
the Háusa people in his time. But their language, though it has a few
words in common with the Kanúri, is evidently quite distinct from it,
as well in its vocabulary as in its grammar. What Béllo says may be
correct in a certain sense with regard to the population of Kanó,
which indeed seems to consist, for the greater part, of Bórnu
elements, though in course of time the people have adopted the
Háusa language; and this may be the case also with other provinces,
the original population having been more nearly related to the
Manga-Bórnu stock. The name “Báwu,” which occurs in the mythical
genealogy of the Háusa people as that of the ancestor of most of
the Háusa states, can hardly be supposed to be a mere
personification representing the state of slavery in which the nation
formerly existed; the name for slave in the Háusa language is báwa,
not báwu. It is, however, remarkable that this personage is said to
be the son of Karbágarí, whose name evidently implies “the taking of
a town,” and might be derived from the capture of the town of
Bíram, which is universally represented as the oldest seat of the
Háusa people, a tradition which is attested by a peculiar usage even
at the present day. This town of Bíram is situated between Kanó and
Khadéja, and is often called “Bíram-ta-ghabbes,” in order to
distinguish it from a more westerly town of the same name. Bíram,
the personification of this town, is said to have been, by his
grandson, Báwu (the son of Karbágarí), the progenitor of the six
other Háusa states (likewise personified): viz. Kátsena and Zégzeg,
who are represented as twins; Kanó and Ranó, another pair of
twins; Góber and Dáura. However, it seems almost universally
acknowledged that of all these children Dáura was the eldest.[20]
More important in a historical point of view, and confirming what
has been said above, appears to be the statement that the mother
of these children belonged to the Déggara or Díggera, a Berber tribe
at present established to the north of Múniyo, and once very
powerful. Bíram, Dáura, Góber, Kanó, Ranó, Kátsena, and Zégzeg,
are the well-known original seven Háusa states, the “Háusa bókoy”
(the seven Háusa), while seven other provinces or countries, in
which the Háusa language has spread to a great extent, although it
is not the language of the aboriginal inhabitants, are called jocosely
“bánza bókoy” (the upstart, or illegitimate); these are Zánfara,
Kébbi, Núpe or Nýffi, Gwári, Yáuri, Yóruba or Yáriba, and Korórofa.
As for the six children of Báwu, they are said to have had each his
share assigned to him by his father in the following way: Góber was
appointed the “serkí-n-yáki” (the war-chief), in order to defend his
brethren, Kanó and Ranó being made “sáraki-n-baba” (the ministers
of the “máriná,” that peculiar emblem of the industry of Háusa), and
Kátséna and Dáura “sáraki-n-káswa” (the ministers of intercourse
and commerce), while Zégzeg is said to have been obliged to
provide his brethren with those necessary instruments of social life
in these regions, namely, slaves, becoming the “serkí-n-baÿ.” Ranó,
which at present has been greatly reduced, though it is still a
considerable place, situated south-west from Kanó, was originally,
like each of the other towns, the capital of an independent territory,
though not mentioned hitherto by any traveller who has spoken of
Háusa.
If we credit Leo’s description, we must conclude that when he
visited these regions, towards the end of the fifteenth century of our
era, there was no capital in the province of Kátsena, the whole
country being inhabited in “piccoli casali fatti a guisa di capanne.”
For with respect to later events, which happened after he had left
the country, and while he was writing his description, very imperfect
information appears to have reached him. Now, the list of the kings
of Kátsena, from a remote period, is still tolerably well preserved,
together with the length of their respective reigns; and there is no
reason whatever to doubt their general accuracy, as the history of
the state has been in writing at least since the middle of the
sixteenth century of our era, and we have something to control this
list, and to connect it with facts gleaned from other quarters. This
regards the period of the reign of the king Ibrahím Máji, who, as we
know, lived in the time of the famous Tawáti Mohammed ben ʿAbd
el Kerím ben Maghíli, the friend and contemporary, as I have said
above,[21] of the great encyclopædist Abu ’l Fadhl Jelál eʾ dín ʿAbd
eʾ Rahmán el Khodairi eʾ Soyúti, commonly known under the name
of Eʾ Sheikh eʾ Soyúti; and his connection with the King of Kátsena
we are able to fix with tolerable certainty by his relation to the
Sónghay king Is-hák, who is said to have excited his severest
indignation by refusing to punish the people who had murdered his
son in Gógó.[22] And although we can scarcely believe that the ruin
of the Sónghay empire, and the rise of that of Kátsena, was the
consequence of this holy man’s curse, nevertheless we are justified
in presuming that after he had received offence from the king Is-
hák, by being refused satisfaction, he began to cultivate friendly
relations with the King of Kátsena, a country then rising into
importance.
We are therefore justified in placing Ibrahím Máji (the King of
Kátsena, whom the fanatic Moslim converted to Islám) about the
middle of the tenth century of the Hejra. Now, if we count
backwards from this period, adding together the years attributed to
each reign, to Komáyo, the man who is universally stated to have
founded Kátsena, we obtain at least three hundred and fifty years,
which would carry back the political existence of the state of Kátsena
to the beginning of the seventh century of the Hejra. In this
computation we reduce the reign of the first two kings, or chiefs (of
whom Komáyo is said to have reigned a hundred years, and his
successor ninety), to about twenty years each. Excepting this little
exaggeration, which is such as we find recurring in the early history
of almost every nation, I do not see any reason for rejecting the list
of the kings of this country, as it is preserved not only in the memory
of the people, but even in written documents, though, indeed, it is
to be lamented that the books containing a comprehensive history of
this nation have been destroyed intentionally by the Fúlbe, or
Féllani, since the conquest of the country, in order to annihilate, as
far as possible, the national records.
The dynasty founded by Komáyo comprised four kings in
succession, besides its founder, namely, Rámba, Téryau, Jerinnáta,
and Sanáwu. Sanáwu, after a reign of thirty years, is said to have
been killed by Koráwu, who came from a place named Yendútu, and
founded a new dynasty (if we count backwards from the time of
Ibrahím Máji) about the year 722 of the Hejra; but, of course, I do
not pretend to any exactness in these dates. Whether Ibrahím Máji
belonged to the same dynasty which Koráwu had founded, I am not
able to say. About thirty years before the time of Ibrahím Máji, in the
year 919 a.h., or 1513 a.d., occurred that eventful expedition of the
great Sónghay king Háj Mohammed Áskiá which threw all these
countries into the greatest confusion. According to Leo, at that time
Kátsena acknowledged the supremacy of Kanó, having been
subjected for only a short time to the sway of the King of Sónghay,
and afterwards most probably to that of the energetic and successful
King of Kébbi, who repulsed the great Áskiá. Kátsena must have
fallen very soon under the supremacy of the empire of Bórnu. About
fifty years after the beginning of the reign of the first Moslim king, a
new dynasty commenced, that of the Hábe,[23] which, as it is
unanimously stated to have ruled for a hundred and sixty-nine years,
and as it was driven out by the Fúlbe in the year of the Hejra 1222,
must have commenced about the year 1053 (a.d. 1643). In this
latter dynasty, however, there seem to have been two factions (or
families), which are noticed already in the preceding dynasty, one of
which was called Chagarána, and the other Káryaghíwá.[24] But
before speaking of the struggle between the Fúlbe and the Hábe, I
shall say a few words about the town of Kátsena.
The town, probably, did not receive the name of the province till it
had become large and predominant; which event, if Leo be correct,
we must conclude did not happen much before the middle of the
sixteenth century of our era, while in early times some separate
villages probably occupied the site where, at a later period, the
immense town spread out. The oldest of these villages is said to
have been Ambutéy or Mbutéy, where we must presume Komáyo
and his successors to have resided. After Gógó had been conquered
by Muláy Hámed, the Emperor of Morocco, and, from a large and
industrious capital, had become a provincial town, great part of the
commerce which formerly centred there must have been transferred
to Kátsena, although this latter place seems never to have had any
considerable trade in gold, which formed the staple of the market of
Gógó. Thus the town went on increasing to that enormous size, the
vestiges of which still exist at the present time, although the quarter
actually inhabited, comprises but a small part of its extent.
The town, if only half of its immense area were ever tolerably well
inhabited, must certainly have had a population of at least a
hundred thousand souls; for its circuit is between thirteen and
fourteen English miles. At present, when the inhabited quarter is
reduced to the north-western part, and when even this is mostly
deserted, there are scarcely seven or eight thousand people living in
it. In former times it was the residence of a prince, who, though he
seems never to have attained to any remarkable degree of power,
and was indeed almost always in some degree dependent on, or a
vassal of, the King of Bórnu, nevertheless was one of the most
wealthy and conspicuous rulers of Negroland.[25] Every prince at his
accession to the throne had to forward a sort of tribute or present to
Birni Ghasréggomo, the capital of the Bórnu empire, consisting of
one hundred slaves, as a token of his obedience; but this being
done, it does not appear that his sovereign rights were in any way
interfered with. In fact Kátsena, during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries of our era, seems to have been the chief city of
this part of Negroland, as well in commercial and political importance
as in other respects; for here that state of civilization which had
been called forth by contact with the Arabs seems to have reached
its highest degree, and as the Háusa language here attained the
greatest richness of form and the most refined pronunciation, so
also the manners of Kátsena were distinguished by superior
politeness from those of the other towns of Háusa.
But this state of things was wholly changed, when, in the very
beginning of the present century, in the year 1222 of the Hejra, or
1807 of our era, the Fúlbe, called Féllani by the Háusa, and Felláta
by the Bórnu people, raised to the highest pitch of fanaticism by the
preaching of the Reformer or Jihádi ʿOthmán dan Fódiye, and
formed into the religious and political association of the Jemmáʿa,
or, as they pronounce it, Jemmára, succeeded in possessing
themselves of this town. However, while Kanó fell ingloriously, and
almost without resistance, into the hands of Slimán (the Háusa king
el Wáli having escaped to Zária), the struggle for Kátsena was
protracted and sanguinary. Indeed Mʿallem Ghomáro had carried on
unrelenting war against the town for seven years, before he at
length reduced it by famine; and the distress in the town is said to
have been so great that a dead “ángulú” or vulture (impure food
which nobody would touch in time of peace) sold for five hundred
kurdí, and a kadángeré or lizard for fifty. But the struggle did not
cease here; for the “Hábe” succeeded once more in expelling the
conquerors from the town, without, however, being able to maintain
their position, when Mʿallem Ghomáro returned with a fresh army.
Five princes of Kátsena, one after the other, fell in this struggle for
religious and national independence; and the Púllo general was not
quite secure of his conquest till after the total destruction of the
town of Dánkama, when Mágajin Háddedu was slain only four
months after his predecessor Mahamúdu had succumbed in
Sabóngarí. Even then the new Háusa prince Benóni, who still bore
the title of “serkí-n-Kátsena,” did not lay down his arms, but
maintained the contest till he likewise was conquered and slain in
Túntuma.
1, House where I was lodged during my first stay in Kátsena in 1851; 2, House
belonging to the quarter Dóka where I was lodged in 1853; 3, The Zénsere; 4,
Palace of the governor; 5, Market-place; 6, Old mosque; 7, Kofa-n-Gúga; 8, Kofa-
n-Yendúkki; 9, Kofa-n-Koya; 10, Kofa-n-Gazúbi; 11, Kofa-n-Káura; 12, Kofa-n-
Marúsa; 13, Kofa-n-Dúrdu; 14, Kofa-n-Samrí; 15, A brook formed by a spring; 16,
Former place of encampment of salt caravan.
From this time the town declined rapidly, and all the principal
foreign merchants migrated to Kanó, where they were beyond the
reach of this constant struggle; and even the Ásbenáwa transferred
their salt-market to the latter place, which now became the
emporium of this part of Negroland, while Kátsena retained but
secondary importance as the seat of a governor. This is indeed to be
lamented, as the situation of the town is excellent, and, both on
account of its position to the various routes and of its greater
salubrity, is far preferable to Kanó. However, as matters stand,
unless either the Fúlbe succeed in crushing entirely the independent
provinces to the north and north-west (which, in the present weak
state of the empire of Sókoto, is far from probable), or till the
Goberáwa and Mariadáwa, whose king still bears the title of serkí-n-
Kátsena, reconquer this town, it will continue to decline and become
more desolate every year. In fact Mohammed Béllo, the present
governor, had conceived the design of giving up this immense town
altogether, and of founding a new residence of smaller compass in
its neighbourhood; but his liege lord, Alíyu, the Emír el Múmenín,
would not allow him to do so.
The only inhabited part of the town at present is the north-west
quarter, although any one who should omit to take into account the
population scattered over the other parts, principally round about
the residence of the governor, and the people settled in the hamlets
near the gates, would make a great mistake. Here it may be added,
that most of the importance which Kátsena has still preserved, in a
commercial aspect, is due to its position with respect to Núpe, with
which it keeps up a tolerably lively intercourse, the route from it to
that industrious but most unfortunate country being practicable even
for camels, while the road from Kanó can only be travelled with
horses and asses. Almost all the more considerable native merchants
in Kátsena are Wangaráwa (Eastern Mandingoes).
The province of Kátsena was formerly far more extensive than it is
at present, but it has been curtailed, in order not to leave its
governor too much inducement to make himself independent.
Besides, many parts of it, being much exposed to the continual
incursions of the independent Háusáwa, have greatly suffered, so
that probably the population of the whole province does not now
exceed three hundred thousand souls, of whom only about one-half
seem to pay tribute. Every head of a family has to pay here two
thousand five hundred kurdí-n-kassa, or ground-rent, and the whole
of the kurdí-n-kassa of the province is estimated by those best
acquainted with the affairs of the country at from twenty to thirty
millions; a tax of five hundred kurdí is levied also on every slave.
The military force of the province consists of two thousand
horsemen, and about eight thousand men on foot, most of them
archers. Altogether the province of Kátsena is one of the finest parts
of Negroland, and being situated just at the water-parting between
the basin of the Tsád and that of the Kwára, at a general elevation of
from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred feet, it enjoys the advantage
of being at once well watered and well drained, the chains of hills
which diversify its surface sending down numerous rapid streams, so
that it is less insalubrious than other regions of this continent. Its
productions are varied and rich, though its elevated situation seems
unfavourable to the growth of cotton. But, on the other side, useful
trees seem to be more numerous in this district than in any other
under the same latitude; and the áyaba or banana, and the gónda or
papaya, are found in many favoured spots, while the dorówa or
Parkia, the tsámia or tamarind, and the kadeña, or the Shea butter-
tree (Bassia Parkii), are the most common trees everywhere, and
very often form thick clusters.
Thursday, Jan. 30.—I was extremely glad when, after a long delay
—for we had been obliged to wait more than an hour for the poor
nag presented to me by the governor,—we reached the south-
eastern gate of the town, the “kófa-n-Káura.” It was as if I had just
escaped from a prison, and I drew my breath deeply as I inhaled the
fresh air outside the wall. I should have carried with me a very
unfavourable impression of Kátsena, if it had not been my destiny to
visit this place again under more favourable circumstances; and I
should have obtained a very false idea of the character of the Fúlbe,
if, from the little experience which I had acquired in this place, I had
formed a definitive judgment of them.
On the southern side of the town there is at present no cultivated
ground; but the whole country is in a wild state, covered with
brushwood. What we saw also of the traffic on the path seemed to
be not of a very peaceable kind; for we met nothing but armed foot
and horsemen hastening to Kátsena on the news of the expedition in
course of preparation by the people of Marádi. But further on, the
aspect of the country became a little more peaceful; and after a
march of three miles we passed a well, where the women from a
neighbouring village were offering for sale the common vegetables
of the country, such as gowáza or yams, dánkali or sweet potatoes,
kúka, the leaves of the monkey bread-tree, dodówa or the vegetable
cakes mentioned above, ground nuts, beans, and sour milk.
Nevertheless the whole country, with its few fortified villages, its
little cultivation, and the thick forests which separated the villages
one from another, left the impression of a very unsettled and
precarious existence. I observed that brushwood, where it is not
interrupted by larger trees, is always a proof of cultivation having
been carried on at no distant period. In the midst of a wild thicket,
which deranged all my things, we met a long warlike-train of several
hundred horsemen, who perhaps might have incommoded us on the
narrow path, if the strange appearance of my luggage had not so
frightened the horses, that they rather chose to carry their riders
through the very thickest of the covert than to fall in with us. Dúm-
palms now began to appear; and beyond the considerable village
Bay, cultivation became more extensive. Besides the fan-palm, the
dumma and kaña, and the immense monkey bread-tree, with its
colossal (now leafless) branches, from which the long heavy “kauchi”
were hanging down on slender mouse-tail stalks, were the prevalent
trees.
By degrees the country became more beautiful and cheerful,
exhibiting a character of repose and ease which is entirely wanting
in the northern parts of the province; separate comfortable dwellings
of cattle-breeding Féllani were spread about, and the cornfields were
carefully fenced and well kept. I was greatly astonished when Gajére
with a certain feeling of national pride, pointed out to me here the
extensive property of Sídi Ghálli el Háj Ánnur, the man whom I had
occasion, in my description of Agades, to mention amongst the most
respectable people of that town. It is astonishing how much property
is held in these fertile regions by the Tuarek of Asben; and to what
consequences this may eventually lead, everybody will easily
conjecture.
A little before four o’clock in the afternoon we encamped close to
a village called Shibdáwa, the celebrated town of Dáura being
distant two days’ march.
Friday, Jan. 31.—It was a most beautiful morning; and I indulged
in the feeling of unbounded liberty, and in the tranquil enjoyment of
the beautiful aspect of God’s creation. The country through which
we passed on leaving Shibdáwa, formed one of the finest landscapes
I ever saw in my life. The ground was pleasantly undulating, covered
with a profusion of herbage not yet entirely dried up by the sun’s
power; the trees, belonging to a great variety of species, were not
thrown together into an impenetrable thicket of the forest, but
formed into beautiful groups, exhibiting all the advantage of light
and shade. There was the kaña, with its rich dark-tinged foliage; the
kadeña, or butter-tree, which I here saw for the first time, exhibiting
the freshest and most beautiful green; then the marké, more airy,
and sending out its branches in more irregular shape, with light
groups of foliage; young tamarind-trees rounding off their thick
crown of foliage till it resembled an artificial canopy spread out for
the traveller to repose in its shade, besides the gámji, the shéria, the
sokútso, the turáwa, and many other species of trees unknown to
me; while above them all, tall and slender górebas unfolded their
fan-crowns, just as if to protect the eye of the delighted wanderer
from the rays of the morning sun, and to allow him to gaze
undisturbed on the enchanting scenery around. Near the village
Káshi even the gónda-tree, or Carica Papaya, which is so rarely seen
in these quarters, enlivened the scenery. The densely luxuriant
groves seemed to be the abode only of the feathered tribe, birds of
numberless variety playing and warbling about in the full enjoyment
of their liberty, while the “serdi,” a large bird with beautiful plumage
of a light-blue colour, especially attracted my attention. Now and
then a herd of cattle was seen dispersed over the rich pasturage
grounds, all of white colour, and the bulls provided with a large fat
hump or “tózo” hanging down on one side. But in this delightful
spectacle objects of destruction also were not wanting, the
poisonous plant “túmnia” starting forth everywhere. Cotton and
karásia fields interrupted the parklike scenery; and near Kámri, a
small place surrounded with a low clay wall, we were delighted with
the view of a green patch of low ground laid out into beds, and with
the help of a number of drawbeams, “khattatír,” or “lámbuna,”
producing wheat and onions. This ground too is only worked with
the gélma and the fertáña or small hoe.
Granite rock was protruding in several places; and a little after
midday we had a detached range of hills on our right stretching east
and west. Soon afterwards, near the village Temma, we passed a
small market-place consisting of about eight sheds, and shaded by a
number of wide-spreading tamarind-trees, where I was astonished
at the number of cattle and horses assembled, but heard on inquiry
that they were not intended for sale. Further on, after we had
passed the fields of Gógó, plenty of cattle and goats were seen
browsing everywhere about. All the cattle were of a white, and all
the goats of a coffee-brown colour. Having passed the encampment
of the Tin-néggaru or Kél-néggaru, and crossed a dale fringed with
small fresh patches of wheat, which were watered by way of the
said “lámbuna” from wells in the hollow, we encamped a quarter
before four o’clock close to the fence of the village Bógo; for the
whole country swarms with thieves, and great caution is necessary
at night: the Tin-néggaru last night killed a thief who was attempting
to carry off a loaf of salt.
Saturday, Feb. 1.—After a march of about two miles and a half
over clayey ground greatly broken up by the rains, we reached the
north-west corner of the considerable town Kusáda, and continued
along its western wall, where a group of very tall and majestic rimis
(Bombax or Eriodendron Guineense), though at present leafless,
formed a most conspicuous object. It is very singular and highly
characteristic, that this tree (the bentang-tree of Mungo Park)
generally grows near the principal gate of the large towns in Háusa,
while otherwise it is not frequent, at least not the large full-grown
specimens; and it is not improbable that the natives purposely
planted them in those places as a kind of waymark—or perhaps it
may be a remnant of their pagan customs, this tree being deemed
holy by several pagan tribes. It is almost incredible at what an
immense distance these stupendous trees, the tallest of the
vegetable kingdom, may be seen.
Kusáda is a town of importance, and is very little less than
Gazáwa, though not so thickly inhabited; the wall of the town is in
tolerably good repair, and the interior is rich in trees, making it look
very cheerful and comfortable. Most of the huts consist of clay walls,
with a thatched roof, which is certainly the mode of architecture best
adapted to the climate and the whole nature of the country.
When leaving the south side of this town we were joined by a
troop of women very heavily laden, each carrying upon the head
from six to ten enormous calabashes filled with various articles: but
they did not prove to be agreeable company; for not being able to
walk steadily for any length of time with their loads, they stopped
every few minutes, and then went on at a running pace, till they
were obliged again to halt, so that they came frequently into
collision either with my camel or with the bullock. It is really
incredible what loads the native women of Negroland can carry on
their heads, but I think no other tribe is equal in this respect to the
Tápua or Nyffáwa. The country through which we had to pass along
for the first two miles was overgrown with underwood, and much
broken up by the rains, till we reached the stubble-fields of Kaférda,
where my attention was attracted again by a few scattered
specimens of the gigiña, or deléb-palm, which, in these districts,
seems to be extremely rare. Descending then a little, the country
assumed once more that delightful parklike appearance which had
so charmed me the previous day; and the variety of the vegetation
was extraordinary,—góreba, jéja, gámji, rími, and dóka being the
principal trees.
The industry of the natives was also well represented; for soon
after we had met a troop of men carrying home loads of indigo-
plants, in order to prepare them in their simple way, we passed over
extensive tobacco-fields, which had very nearly reached maturity.
Rich aromatic bushes were growing everywhere in the fields,
affording most nourishing food for bees, for which purpose hives,
formed of thick hollow logs, were fastened to the branches of the
colossal kúka-trees. We here passed a most curious specimen of
vegetable intercourse in the thorough intermixture of a gigiña with
another tree. In the course of my travels my attention was drawn to
the interesting attraction which exists between the tamarind-tree
and the kúka, both of which trees I very often found linked together
in the closest embraces. This district was greatly enlivened also by a
rich variety of the feathered tribe, but the beautiful serdi was not
seen; the káló and the tsírna now taking its place.
A quarter of an hour after noon we passed the considerable place
Dan-Sábua, defended only by a stockade, and, with the exception of
a small market-place, giving very little proof of any kind of industry
existing among its inhabitants. When I passed the place three years
later, it even seemed almost deserted. About two miles further on
we passed a small round hill covered with underwood up to its very
summit, and remarkable enough for being taken as a boundary mark
between the provinces of Kátsena and Kanó; in 1854, however, the
frontier was carried further north-west, near Kaférda. We encamped
early in the afternoon near the village Gúrzo, separated from it only
by a dell laid out in small garden-fields with wheat and onions, and
obtained a good supply of the latter, but nothing else. In the night a
thief almost succeeded in carrying off some of our luggage, but had
to run very hard for his life.
Early the next morning we started with an enthusiastic impulse, in
order to reach before night the celebrated emporium of Central
Negroland. Kanó, indeed, is a name which excites enthusiasm in
every traveller in these regions, from whatever quarter he may
come, but principally if he arrives from the north. We thus started in
the twilight, passing in the bush some herds of cattle remaining out
in the pasture-grounds, and meeting several troops of travellers,
which made us fancy the capital to be nearer than it really was. We
listened to the tales of our comely and cheerful companion, the
“babá-n-báwa” of Tágelel, who detailed to us the wonders of this
African London, Birmingham, and Manchester—the vastness of the
town, the palace and retinue of the governor, the immense
multitudes assembled every day in its marketplace, the splendour
and richness of the merchandise exposed there for sale, the various
delicacies of the table, the beauty and gracefulness of its ladies. At
times my fiery Tunisian mulatto shouted out from mere anticipation
of the pleasures which awaited him.
Keeping steadily along, we reached, after about five miles, the
very considerable town of Béchi, the well-kept high clay walls of
which started forth suddenly from a most luxuriant mass of
vegetation, where we saw again the beautifully feathered serdi
fluttering about from branch to branch.
The town is very remarkable, as exhibiting the peculiar
circumstances of the social state in this country; for it belongs partly
to the Tuarek tribe of the Itísan, whose búgaje or serfs—properly
half-castes, born of free mothers, but slaves from the father’s side—
live here, cultivating for their lords the fields around the town. Thus
we see Tuarek everywhere, not only as occasional merchants, but
even as settlers and proprietors. The town has but one gate; and a
great many of the houses are of the kind described above. Beyond
the town the country becomes less cultivated, and is mostly covered
with the wild gónda-bush, which bears a most delicious fruit, richly
deserving to be called the cream-apple. I suspected it for some time
to be identical with the custard-apple; but I afterwards assured
myself that it is not. I call the attention of every African traveller to
this fruit, which affords the greatest relief after a long day’s journey;
but it does not grow on the flat clayey plains of Bórnu proper.
Beyond the little market-place of Budúmme we met the first
strings of empty camels belonging to the aïri with which we had
been travelling. They were returning from Kanó, where they had
carried the salt, in order to retrace their steps to good pasture-
grounds, while their masters remained in the capital to sell their
merchandise. The drivers confirmed the information we had already
received, that our protector Elaíji had not as yet arrived in the town.
For he likewise possesses a large property near Kazáure, whither he
had gone after parting from me at Kátsena. The country again
assumed a more cheerful character; we passed several villages, and
even a máriná, or dyeing-place, and the path was well frequented.
Almost all the people who met us saluted us most kindly and
cheerfully; and I was particularly amused by the following form of
salutation: “Bárka, sanú sanú; hm! hm!” “God bless you, gently,
gently; how strange!” Only a few proud Féllani, very unlike their
brethren in the west, passed us without a salute. The villages are
here scattered about in the most agreeable and convenient way, as
farming villages ought always to be, but which is practicable only in
a country in a state of considerable security and tranquillity. All their
names, therefore, are in the plural form, as Tarauráwa, Jimbedáwa,
Bagadáwa. The idea of a great degree of industry was inspired by
the sight of a máriná near Jimbedáwa, comprising as many as
twenty dyeing-pots; and here also a little market was held by the
women of the district. About half-past one in the afternoon we
entered the rich district of Dáwano, which almost exclusively belongs
to the wealthy Dan Mália, and is chiefly inhabited by Féllani. There
was here a large market-place, consisting of several rows of well-
built sheds, and frequented by numbers of people. A few market-
women attached themselves to our little troop, giving us assurance
that we should be able to reach the “bírni” to-day, but then added
that we ought to arrive at the outer gate before sunset, as it is shut
at that time.
We accordingly pressed on with our varied little caravan,
consisting of a very lean black horse, covered with coarse wool-like
hair, worth four dollars, or perhaps less; a mare, scarcely worth
more in its present condition; a camel, my faithful Bú-Séfi, evidently
the most respectable four-footed member of the troop, carrying a
very awkward load, representing my whole travelling household,
with writing-table and bedding-boards; a sumpter-ox, heavily laden;
then the four human bipeds to match, viz. one half-barbarized
European, one half-civilized Góberáwi Tunisian mulatto, a young lean
Tébu lad, and my stout, sturdy, and grave overseer from Tágelel. As
we then entered some fields of sesamum, or “nóme” (quite a new
sight for me in this country, but which was soon to become of very
common occurrence), Gajére descried in the distance between the
trees the top of the hill Dála, and we all strained our eyes to get a
first glimpse of this hill, which is the real landmark of Kanó.
The country hereabouts exhibited a new feature, some of the
fields being enclosed with a bush which I had not seen before, and
which was called by my intelligent guide “fidde serewukka.” In
Múniyo, where I afterwards saw it used for the same purpose, it is
called “mágara.” It is a kind of broom, growing to the height of ten
or twelve feet, and has a milky juice, which is slightly poisonous, but
by some people is employed as a cure for wounds caused by thorns.
A little while afterwards we saw the first single date-palm, a tree
also most characteristic of Kanó; and now, the country becoming
clear, we obtained a full sight of both the hills, Dalá and Kógo-n-
dútsi, which rise from the flat level of the plain; but nothing was as
yet visible of the town, and we had but faint hopes of reaching it
before sunset. However, we went on, though a little disheartened, as
we had some foreboding that we should incur the displeasure of the
governor; and passing through the gate, in front of which part of the
aïri were encamped, without stopping, as if we were natives of the
country, went on across open fields. It took us forty minutes to
reach the house of Báwu from the gate, though this lies near the
very outskirts of Dalá, the northernmost quarter of the town. It was
quite dark, and we had some trouble in taking possession of the
quarters assigned to us by our host.
Kanó had been sounding in my ears now for more than a year; it
had been one of the great objects of our journey as the central point
of commerce, as a great storehouse of information, and as the point
whence more distant regions might be most successfully attempted.
At length, after nearly a year’s exertions, I had reached it.
CHAPTER XXV.
RESIDENCE IN KANÓ.—VIEW OF ITS
INTERIOR.—ITS HISTORY AND PRESENT
STATE.—COMMERCE.
Kanó for us was a station of importance not only from a scientific,

but also from an economical point of view. Instead of being provided
with ready cash, we had received in Múrzuk, on account of the
British Government, merchandise which, we had been assured,
would not only be safer than money, but would also prove more
advantageous for us. In consequence of the heavy extortions to
which we were subjected on the road to Aír, and of our long delay in
that country, we had been deprived of the small articles which we
carried for barter, so that we were entirely thrown upon the
merchandise which we had forwarded in advance from Tintéggana;
and I for my part, on my arrival in Kanó, had to liquidate a debt of
not less than 112,300 kurdí: viz. 55,000 for the carriage of this very
merchandise from Tintéggana to Kanó; 8,300 as my share of the
presents or passage-money given on the road; 18,000 to Gajére, as
hire for the mare and bullock; and 31,000 to a man of the name of
Háj el Dáwaki, on account of Abú-Bakr el Wákhshi, for the articles
bought from him in Kátsena, in order to satisfy the governor of that
place. Besides, I was aware that I had to make a considerable
present to the governor of Kanó; and I was most desirous to
discharge Mohammed eʾ Túnsi, whom I had discovered to be utterly
useless in these countries, and who, besides his insupportable
insolence, might bring me into trouble by his inconsiderate and
frivolous conduct.
These were material calls upon my encumbered property. On my
mind, too, there were claims of a not less serious character; for from
my very outset from Europe, I had steadily fixed my eyes upon that
eastern branch of the Kwára, or so-called Niger, which Laird, Allen,
and Oldfield had navigated for the distance of some eighty miles,
and which the former (although he himself did not penetrate further
than Fánda) had, with reasons decisive in my eyes, and which could
not be overthrown in my opinion by Captain William Allen’s ingenious
but fanciful hypothesis, concluded to have no communication
whatever with Lake Tsád, but to proceed from another and very
different quarter.[26]
I had therefore cherished the hope, that I should be capable of
penetrating from Kanó in the direction of Ádamáwa, a country
wherein I was sure that the question respecting the course of the
river would be decided; but obviously such an undertaking could not
be engaged in without pecuniary means, and all therefore depended
on my success in selling advantageously the merchandise with which
I was provided.
For all these reasons, nothing could be more disagreeable and
disheartening to me, though I was not quite unprepared for it, than
the information which I received the very evening of my arrival in
Kanó, that the price of merchandise such as I had was very low. In
the next place, I soon found that Báwu, Mr. Gagliuffi’s agent, whom
in compliance with his recommendation we had made also our
commissioner, was not to be implicitly relied on. He was the second
son of Háj Hát Sáleh, the man so well known from the narrative of
Captain Clapperton, towards whom he seems to have behaved with
honesty and fairness, and by this means perhaps he had
recommended himself to Mr. Gagliuffi; but Báwu was not the right
man to be entrusted with discretionary power over the property of a
foreign merchant residing at a great distance, and belonging even to
another religion, or to be the commissioner for European travellers.
Young and ambitious as he was, he had no other object but to
insinuate himself into the good graces of the governor at the
expense of those who had been foolish enough to trust themselves
into his hands. Besides, he had upon his hand a host of younger
brothers, who all wanted to “eat.” Though Háj Hát Sáleh seems to
have been a respectable man, he must have paid very little attention
to the education of his children.
It will scarcely be believed that this man, although he had two
camel-loads of goods of mine in his hands, yet left me without a
single shell, “ko urí gudá,” for a whole fortnight, so that I was glad
to borrow two thousand kurdí—less than an Austrian dollar, from
Mohammed eʾ Sfáksi, in order to defray the most necessary
expenses of my household.
Besides, this agent urged the absolute necessity of making a
considerable present not only to the governor, which I was quite
prepared to do, but another of nearly the same value to the
ghaladíma or first minister, who happened to be the governor’s
brother, and enjoyed quite as much authority and influence. The
consequence was that I was obliged to give away the few articles of
value in my possession merely for being tolerated and protected.
The second day after my arrival, the governor received a message
from Mr. Richardson, forwarded from Zínder, intimating that, after he
should have received new supplies from the coast, he would not fail
to come to Kanó; whereupon he sent me word that I had done very
wrong to enter his town without giving him previous information,
whereas my countryman had already forwarded a notice that at
some future period he was likely to pay him a visit. Besides
concluding, from the fact that I was not mentioned at all in that
letter, that I was travelling on my own account, he made also greater
pretensions with regard to a present.
Being lodged in dark, uncomfortable, and cheerless quarters,
which I was forbidden to leave before the governor had seen me,
destitute of a single farthing in cash, while I was daily called upon
and pestered by my numerous creditors, and laughed at on account
of my poverty by an insolent servant, my readers may fancy that my
situation in the great far-famed entrepôt of Central Africa, the name
of which had excited my imagination for so long a time, was far from
agreeable. Partly from anxiety, partly from want of exercise, in the
course of a few days I had a very severe attack of fever, which
reduced me to a state of great weakness. Fortunately, however, I
mustered sufficient strength to avail myself of a summons which
called me at length into the presence of the governor, on the 18th of
February; and by sacrificing what few things remained to me, I
paved the road for my further proceedings, while the degree of
exertion which was necessary to undergo the fatigue of the visit
carried me over my weakness, and restored me gradually to health.
The distances in Kanó, though less than those of London, are very
great; and the ceremonies to be gone through are scarcely less
tedious than those at any European court.
KANÓ, FROM MOUNT DALÁ.
Clothing myself as warmly as possible in my Tunisian dress, and

wearing over it a white tobe and a white bernús, I mounted my poor
black nag, and followed my three mediators and advocates. These
were Báwu, Elaíji, and Sídi ʿAlí. Elaíji had arrived three days after
me from his estate, and had continued to show me the same
disinterested friendship which I had experienced from him before.
Sídi ʿAlí was the son of Mohammed, the former Sultan of Fezzán,
and last of the Welád Mohammed, who was killed by Mukni, the
father of Yusuf, Mr. Richardson’s interpreter.
This man, whom it would have been far better for us to have
employed as our agent from the beginning, had testified his interest
in my welfare by sending me a fat ram as a present, and now
accompanied me most kindly, in order to exert his influence in my
behalf with the governor. On my second visit to Kanó, on my return
from Timbúktu in the latter part of 1854, when I was still more
destitute than in 1851, I placed myself directly under his protection,
and made him my agent at the moment when the state of my affairs
rendered considerable credit desirable.
It was a very fine morning; and the whole scenery of the town in
its great variety of clay houses, huts, sheds, green open places
affording pasture for oxen, horses, camels, donkeys, and goats, in
motley confusion, deep hollows containing ponds overgrown with
the water-plant the Pistia stratiotes, or pits freshly dug up in order to
form the material for some new buildings, various and most beautiful
specimens of the vegetable kingdom, particularly the fine symmetric
gónda or papaya, the slender date-palm, the spreading alléluba, and
the majestic rími or silk cotton-tree (Bombax)—the people in all
varieties of costume, from the naked slave up to the most gaudily
dressed Arab,—all formed a most animated and exciting scene. As
far as the market-place I had already proceeded on foot; but Báwu,
as soon as he saw me, had hurried me back to my lodgings, as
having not yet been formally received by the governor. But no one
on foot can get a correct idea of an African town, confined as he is
on every side by the fences and walls, while on horseback he obtains
an insight into all the courtyards, becomes an eye-witness of scenes
of private life, and often with one glance surveys a whole town.
Passing through the market-place, which had only begun to collect
its crowds, and crossing the narrow neck of land which divides the
characteristic pool “Jákara,” we entered the quarters of the ruling
race, the Fúlbe or Féllani, where conical huts of thatchwork, and the
gónda-tree, are prevalent, and where most beautiful and lively
pictures of nature meet the eye on all sides. Thus we proceeded,
first to the house of the gadó (the Lord of the Treasury), who had
already called several times at my house, and acted as the mediator
between me and the governor.
His house was a most interesting specimen of the domestic
arrangements of the Fúlbe, who, however civilized they may have
become, do not disown their original character as “berroróji,” or
nomadic cattle-breeders. His courtyard, though in the middle of the
town, looked like a farmyard, and could not be conscientiously
commended for its cleanliness. Having with difficulty found a small
spot to sit down upon without much danger of soiling our clothes,
we had to wait patiently till his Excellency had examined and
approved of the presents. Having manifested his satisfaction with
them by appropriating to himself a very handsome large gilt cup,
which with great risk I had carried safely through the desert, he
accompanied us on horseback to the “fáda,” “lamórde,” or palace,
which forms a real labyrinth of courtyards, provided with spacious
round huts of audience, built of clay, with a door on each side, and
connected together by narrow intricate passages. Hundreds of lazy,
arrogant courtiers, freemen and slaves, were lounging and idling
here, killing time with trivial and saucy jokes.
We were first conducted to the audience-hall of the ghaladíma,
who, while living in a separate palace, visits the “fáda” almost every
day, in order to act in his important and influential office as vizier;
for he is far more intelligent, and also somewhat more energetic,
than his lazy and indolent brother ʿOthmán, who allows this
excessively wealthy and most beautiful province, “the garden of
Central Africa,” to be ransacked with impunity by the predatory
incursions of the serkí Ibrám of Zínder, and other petty chiefs. Both
are sons of Dábo and Shékara—the latter one of the celebrated
ladies of Háusa, a native of Dáura, who is still living, and has three
other children, viz. a son (Makhmúd) and two daughters, one of
them named Fátima Záhar, and the other Sáretu. The governor was
then eight and thirty, the ghaladíma seven and thirty years of age.
They were both stout and handsome men, the governor rather too
stout and clumsy. Their apartments were so excessively dark that,
coming from a sunny place, it was some time before I could
distinguish anybody. The governor’s hall was very handsome, and
even stately for this country, and was the more imposing as the
rafters supporting the very elevated ceiling were concealed, two lofty
arches of clay, very neatly polished and ornamented, appearing to
support the whole. At the bottom of the apartment were two
spacious and highly decorated niches, in one of which the governor
was reposing on a “gadó,” spread with a carpet. His dress was not
that of a simple Púllo, but consisted of all the mixed finery of Háusa
and Barbary; he allowed his face to be seen, the white shawl
hanging down far below his mouth over his breast.
In both audiences (as well that with the ghaladíma as with the
governor) old Elaíji was the speaker, beginning his speech with a
captatio benevolentiæ, founded on the heavy and numerous losses
sustained on the road by me and my companions. Altogether he
performed his office very well, with the exception that he dwelt
longer than was necessary on Overweg’s journey to Marádi, which
certainly could not be a very agreeable topic to a ba-Féllanchi. Sídi
ʿAlí also displayed his eloquence in a very fair way. The ghaladíma
made some intelligent observations, while the governor only
observed that, though I had suffered so severely from extortion, yet
I seemed to have still ample presents for him. Nor was he far wrong;
for the black “kabá” (a sort of bernús, with silk and gold lace, which
I gave him) was a very handsome garment, and here worth sixty
thousand kurdí: besides, he got a red cap, a white shawl with red
border, a piece of white muslin, rose oil, one pound of cloves, and
another of jáwi or benzoin, razor, scissors, an English clasp-knife,
and a large mirror of German silver. The ghaladíma got the same
presents, except that, instead of the kabá, I gave him a piece of
French striped silk worth fifty thousand kurdí.
However, our audience did not go off so fast as I relate it, for,
after being dismissed by the ghaladíma, we were obliged to wait full
two hours before we could see the governor; yet although we
returned to our quarters during the very hottest hour of the day, I
felt much better, and in the evening was able to finish a whole
chicken, and to enjoy a cup of Cyprian wine, for which I felt very
grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Crowe, who had supplied me with this
cheering luxury.
Having now at length made my peace with the governor, and
seeing that exercise of body and recreation of mind were the best
medicines I could resort to, I mounted on horseback the next day
again, and, guided by a lad well acquainted with the topography of
the town, rode for several hours round all the inhabited quarters,
enjoying at my leisure, from the saddle, the manifold scenes of
public and private life, of comfort and happiness, of luxury and
misery, of activity and laziness, of industry and indolence, which
were exhibited in the streets, the market-places, and in the interior
of the courtyards. It was the most animated picture of a little world
in itself, so different in external form from all that is seen in
European towns, yet so similar in its internal principles.
Here a row of shops filled with articles of native and foreign
produce, with buyers and sellers in every variety of figure,
complexion, and dress, yet all intent upon their little gain,
endeavouring to cheat each other; there a large shed, like a hurdle,
full of half-naked, half-starved slaves torn from their native homes,
from their wives or husbands, from their children or parents,
arranged in rows like cattle, and staring desperately upon the
buyers, anxiously watching into whose hands it should be their
destiny to fall. In another part were to be seen all the necessaries of
life, the wealthy buying the most palatable things for his table, the
poor stopping and looking greedily upon a handful of grain; here a
rich governor dressed in silk and gaudy clothes, mounted upon a
spirited and richly caparisoned horse, and followed by a host of idle,
insolent slaves; there a poor blind man groping his way through the
multitude, and fearing at every step to be trodden down; here a
yard neatly fenced with mats of reed, and provided with all the
comforts which the country affords—a clean, snug-looking cottage,
the clay walls nicely polished, a shutter of reeds placed against the
low, well-rounded door, and forbidding intrusion on the privacy of
life, a cool shed for the daily household work,—a fine spreading
alléluba-tree, affording a pleasant shade during the hottest hours of
the day, or a beautiful gónda or papaya unfolding its large feather-
like leaves above a slender, smooth, and undivided stem, or the tall
date-tree, waving over the whole scene; the matron in a clean black
cotton gown wound round her waist, her hair neatly dressed in
“chókoli” or bejáji, busy preparing the meal for her absent husband,
or spinning cotton, and at the same time urging the female slaves to
pound the corn; the children naked and merry, playing about in the
sand at the “urgi-n-dáwaki” or the “da-n-chácha,” or chasing a
straggling stubborn goat; earthenware pots and wooden bowls, all
cleanly washed, standing in order. Further on a dashing Cyprian,
homeless, comfortless, and childless, but affecting merriment or
forcing a wanton laugh, gaudily ornamented with numerous strings
of beads around her neck, her hair fancifully dressed and bound with
a diadem, her gown of various colours loosely fastened under her
luxuriant breast, and trailing behind in the sand; near her a diseased
wretch covered with ulcers, or with elephantiasis.

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KANÓ, FROM MOUNT DALÁ.

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