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Adamawa and Mahdism: the career of Hayatu ibn Sa'id in Adamawa, 1878–1898

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2009

Martin Z. Njeuma
Martin Z. Njeuma
Affiliation:
Federal University of Cameroon
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Extract

The overthrow of the Sokoto empire at the beginning of this century was facilitated by the interplay of three major factors—the internal political situation of the empire which allowed too much autonomy to the constituent emirates, the rise of Mahdism in the eastern emirates, and European (British, French and German) competition leading to invasion. Each factor was a potential cause of instability, making the task of the invading forces much easier. This article is an attempt to examine the efforts of Hayatu ibn Sa'id, great grandson of Uthman dan Fodio, to transform latent feelings of expectations of the Mahdi in the Sokoto empire into a positive movement linked to the Sudanese Mahdiyya in the late nineteenth century. It also looks at the impact of Hayatu's activities on Adamawa.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of African History , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , January 1971 , pp. 61 - 77
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

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References

1 For recent studies on the overthrow of Fulani hegemony in the Sokoto empire, see Anjorin, A. O., ‘The British Occupation and Development of Northern Nigeria, 1897–1914’ (Ph.D. Thesis, London, 1966);Google ScholarAdeleye, R. A., ‘The Overthrow of the Sokoto Caliphate, 1879–1903’ (Ph.D. Thesis, Ibadan, 1967).Google Scholar

2 For more details on the concepts associated with the Mahdi, see Encyclopaedia of Islam, art. al-Mahdi;Google Scholar also Holt, P. M., The Mahdist State in the Sudan (Oxford, 1958),Google Scholar Introductory chapter. For a historical survey Margoliouth, D. S., ‘Mahdi’, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, iii, 336–40.Google Scholar

3 Holt (1958), 23.

4 al-Hajj, M. A., ‘The Thirteenth Century in Muslim Eschatology: Mahdist Expectations in the Sokoto Caliphate’, Research Bulletin, Centre of Arabic Documentation, University of Ibadan, iii, no. 2 (07 1967), 100–5.Google Scholar See also al-Kati, Mahmud, Ta'rikh al-Fattash, translated and edited by Houdas, O. and Delafosse, M. (Paris, 1913),Google Scholar text 66 for the prophecy that the thirteenth century would see the appearance of the last Mujaddid and caliph of Takrur; he would be the forerunner of the Mahdi and the end of the world. Also Martin, B. G., ‘A Madhist Document from Futa Jallon’, Bulletin de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire (I.F.A.N.), xxv (ser. B), nos. 1–2 (1963), 47–57; see pp. 55–6.Google Scholar

5 However, there was considerable overlapping in the functions of the Mujaddid and the Mahdi. For some contemporary ideas on the Mahdi and a Mujaddid see, Adeleye, R. A. et al. , ‘Sifofin Shehu: The Autobiography of Uthman b.Fudi in verse’, Research Bulletin, Centre of Arabic Documentation, University of Ibadan, ii, iii, 1965.Google Scholar On the role of the Mujaddid in connexion with jihad, see Hiskett, M., ‘An Islamic Tradition of Reform in the Western Sudan from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century’, BSOAS, xxv, no. 3 (1962), 583–4;Google ScholarWillis, J. R., ‘Jihad fi sabil Allah—its doctrinal basis in Islam and some aspects of its evolution in nineteenth-century West Africa’, JAH, viii (1967), no. 3, 401–6,Google Scholar and references there. Though not denying historical connexions with the Mahdi, these leaders disclaimed popular feelings that they were themselves the expected Mahdi.

6 For another possible motive, see M. A. al-Hajj, ‘The Thirteenth Century in Muslim Eschatology:…’ Here he suggests that in the early stages of the jihad ‘the Shehu consciously emphasised the prophecies about the End of Time in order to instill into his followers the love of martyrdom and the renunciation of the transitory world.’

7 al-Hajj, M. A., ‘The Thirteenth Century in Muslim Eschatology:…’, 109.Google Scholar

8 Adeleye, et al. , Sifofin Shehu.Google Scholar

9 dan Fodio, Uthman, Tahdhir al-ikhwan, quoted in al-Hajj, ‘The Thirteenth Century in Muslim Eschatology:…’, iii.Google Scholar

10 Njeuma, M. Z., ‘The Rise and Fall of Fulani Rule in Adamawa, 1809–1901’ (Ph.D. Thesis, London, 1969), 96.Google Scholar

11 Modibbo is a Fulani courtesy title for a learned man; the Hausa equivalent is malam. Adama never adopted any of the kingly titles of Sultan, Emir, or Lamido. Throughout, he was known as and called Modibbo. See Boyle, Vicars, ‘Notes on Yola Fulani’, JAS, x (1901–1911), 84 for the suggestion that this was an expression of Adama's humility.Google Scholar

12 See Bello, to Adama, in ‘Abd al-Qadir b. Gidado, Majmu al-rasa'il, National Archives, Kaduna.Google Scholar

13 Ibid.

14 Lethem, G. J. E. and Tomlinson, G. I., History of Islamic Political Propaganda in Nigeria (London, n.d.) (1927?), 31.Google Scholar No doubt the reasons for going east were often mixed and confused. Two factors however dominated: the desire to meet the Mahdi if and when he manifested himself, and the obligation of making the pilgrimage to Mecca, see El-Nagar, O., ‘West Africa and the Muslim Pilgrimage: An Historical Study with Special Reference to the Nineteenth Century’ (Ph.D. thesis, London, 1969), pp. 167 ff., 231–8;Google Scholar he discusses the attitude to Mahdism and the Hajj in the Sokoto empire, differentiating between the desire to meet the Mahdi and the desire to perform the Hajj. See also Urvoy, Y., Histoire de l'Empire de Bornou (Paris, 1949), 95 n.Google Scholar for a tradition recorded at Garua which saw the movements to the ‘East’ as inevitable: ‘toutes les tribus doivent se retrouver un jour à la Mecque et ce rassemblement sera le signe precurseur du jugement dernier.’

15 Biobaku, S. and al-Hajj, M., ‘The Sudanese Mahdiyya and the Niger-Chad Region’ in Lewis, I. M., Islam in Tropical Africa (Oxford, 1966), 429.Google Scholar

16 Oral tradition, Alhaji Junaidu, Sokoto, and Nenne Manu and Marafa, Yola. It is said that he was born after Bello died, and he came to Adamawa at the age of about 40 years.

17 Last, D. M., The Sokoto Caliphate (Ibadan, 1967), 99, 122.Google Scholar

18 Ibid. 122.

19 Ibid. 122. It is not clear whether this was on Muazu's orders or on the initiative of the people of Gandi themselves. cf. Johnston, H. A. S., The Fulani Empire of Sokoto (London, 1967), 202;Google ScholarHolt, P. M., ‘The Sudanese Mahdia and the Outside World: 1881–9’, BSOAS, xxi (1958A), 285–6.Google Scholar

20 Oral tradition, Nenne Manu and Marafa, Yola; see also Holt (1958A), 285; East, R. M., Stories of Old Adamawa, being a collection of MSS in Fulfulde, and English translations, compiled by members of the Yola school Staff (Lagos and London, 1934), iii.Google Scholar The Hausa version is found in Labarum Hausawa da Makwabtansu, ii (Zaria, 1934), 71 ff.Google Scholar

21 Strumpel, K., Die Geschichte Adamawa (Hamburg, 1952), 28Google Scholar (English translation, National Archives, Kaduna); Lemoigne, J., ‘Les Pays Conquis du Cameroun Nord’, Bulletin du Comité de l'Afrique Française (CBAF), (Renseignements Coloniaux, 1918), 139;Google Scholar Holt (1958A), 286.

22 This and other information generally on Hayatu's career is gratefully owed to Hayatu's grandson, Aihaji Garba, a widely-read scholar at present in Kaduna.

23 Aihaji Garba; another descendant of Uthman who left Sokoto with political ambitions was Umaru Nagwamatse. He founded a new dynasty in the emirate of Kontagora in 1864. See Burdon, J. A., Historical Notes on Certain Emirates and Tribes in Northern Nigeria (London, 1909),Google ScholarHogben, S. J. and Kirk-Greene, A. H. M., The Emirates of Northern Nigeria (London, 1966), 500–11.Google Scholar

24 For the bero system in the Adamawa administration, see Njeuma (1969), 233 ff. The bero was the official intermediary to the Lamido, and he catered for foreigners in Yola.

25 East, 111–13; Kirk-Greene, A. H. M., Adamawa Past and Present (London, 1958, [re-issued 1969]), 142.Google Scholar

26 al-Hajj, ‘The Thirteenth Century in Muslim Eschatology:…’

27 East, 111, does not provide any date but states that it was after a long stay at Yola. A script on ‘Amoa Ahijo’ in History of Yola Notable Families (file in Yola Provincial Secondary School containing unpublished MSS collected with those published in R. M. East, 1934), states that Hayatu stayed in Yola in all four and a half years. Oral tradition, Marua, confirms that Hayatu reached Marua one year after the Mahdi's appearace.

28 El-Nagar (1969), 251; Njeuma (1969), 257–9.

29 Strumpel, 39. The account of Hayatu at Balda is largely based on oral tradition I recorded at Balda, Bogo and Mania. Some of my informants were eyewitnesses to the events; my principal informant was Lamdo Bogo, malam Usumanu, whose grandfather, Lamdo Garei, was one of those actively involved in shaping the events.

30 Alis, H., Nos Africains (Paris, 1894), 307.Google Scholar Mizon estimates that Hayatu had as many as 700 guns by 1891. These were however not taken as the principal weapons during the war with Zubeiru which was chiefly fought on horseback.

31 Strumpel, 38–41; Lemoigne, 138–9; Beyries, Gouverneur, ‘Islam au Cameroun’, CHEAM, no. 2946 (Paris, 1958), 6–8.Google Scholar

32 For the most part the ideas were spread by word of mouth and very little by correspondence. Lack of papers, where available the high cost, probably reduced writing to the barest minimum.

33 Oral Tradition, Marua and Bogo.

34 Lethem and Tomlinson, 1, 8; Prestat, , ‘Marua, Vile d'Islam’, CHEAM no. 2176 (Paris, 1953), 14.Google Scholar

35 MS Nujumi, 58–9, quoted by Holt (1958A), 286; Lethem and Tomlinson, 1, 8.

36 Holt (1958A), 267–90.

37 Mahdi to Hayatu—MS, Sudan Government Archives, Khartoum, trans. as appendix by al-Hajj in ‘Hayatu b. Sa'id: a Mahdist revolutionary agent in the Western Sudan’(paper presented to the international conference ‘the Sudan in Africa’, University of Khartoum, February 1968).

38 Strumpel, 38–41; Lemoigne, 138–9.

39 Njeuma (1969), 225.

40 East, 113; Lemoigne, 139.

41 Njeuma (1969), 238.

42 Ibid. 271–3.

43 East, 113; oral tradition Yola and Marua.

44 The kingdom of Mandara in the north-west of Adamawa lay outside the Fulani and Bornu empires. Although Mandara became a Muslim state in the early eighteenth century, the tixe or emai of Mandara maintained only a precarious independence from Bornu and Adamawa aggression. In our period the precise relation between Hayatu and the mai of Mandara is not clear. However, according to oral tradition, not yet checked against a possible Mandaran point of view, the mai of Mandara came under Hayatu's Mahdism soon after Hayatu established himself at Balda. For further details on Mandara, see Njeuma (1969), 97–111.

45 Lethem and Tomlinson, 8, 69; Mizon, L., ‘Les Royaumes Foulbes du Soudan Central, Annales de Géographie, iv (1895), 358–9.Google Scholar

46 Oral tradition, Bogo, Balda.

47 There was regular contact between Hayatu and the Mahdi and his Khalifa Abdullah in the Sudan. Often on their return Hayatu's messengers brought back much Mahdist literature. cf. Lethem and Tomlinson, 69. For some evidence of the correspondence between Hayatu and the Mahdist regime see Holt (1958A), 285 ff.; al-Hajj, ‘Hayatu b.Sa'id …’

48 The attribution of the Mahdist doctrine to the Prophet is a controversial issue and all the Muslim traditions are not in agreement as to its authenticity, cf. Ency. of Islam art, al-Mahdi.

49 File, S.N.P. 17/1, 715, Mahdism … etc., 1919–29, National Archives, Kaduna, MS in Arabic with English translation by Palmer.

50 See Lavers, J. E., ‘Jibril Gaini: a preliminary account of the career of a Mahdist leader in Northeastern Nigeria’, Research Bulletin, Centre of Arabic Documentation, Ibadan, iii (1967), 16–39.Google Scholar

51 See El-Nagar (1969), 195–7; also letter from Mariam, daughter of Uthman dan Fodio to the Emir of Kano quoted in Aihaji Junaidu, Is'af al-za'irin concerning the route the Muslims of the Sokoto empire were to follow to meet the Mahdi. The position of the Mahdi (Muhammad Ahmad) fell outside this route.

52 For an account on Jibril's career as a Mahdist agent see Lavers, 1967.

53 MS Muhammad Manga to Amir al-mu'minin, Umaru, Sokprof, iv, 24 (National Archives, Kaduna).

54 Njeuma (1969), 263 ff.

55 East, 113.

56 Njeuma (1969), 287 ff., e.g. Zubeiru forced his councillors to answer court summons, even sanctioning the death penalty of his cousin for highway robbery. He also took steps to check laxity in the observances of the hours of prayer.

57 East, 113; Lemoigne, 139.

58 Oral tradition, Yola, and Garua. Mizon, ‘Les Royaumes Foulbes’, 358–9.

59 Oral tradition, Yola. The oral tradition on the steps which Zubeiru took against Hayatu is very well known at Yola because in most cases they were discussed in the open at public conferences in the mosque.

60 See Lethem and Tomlinson, 1, 7; also Lavers (1967), 28, n. 1 for a tradition at Fika that during the reign of Mai Sulayman (1885–1903) Hayatu visited Fika on his way to Balda presumably from Bornu.

61 Strumpel, 40, corroborates oral tradition, Yola which maintains that Zubeiru attacked Hayatu only after several attempts at conciliation had failed.

62 See al-Hajj, ‘Hayatu b. Sa'id…’ Hayatu and Rabeh were in contact as early as 1887. For one of the most authoritative accounts of Rabeh's activities from Sudan to Bornu, see C.O.537/11, ‘A short history of Rabih Zubir’ (Secret) by William Everret 19 Dec. 1899. The record was compiled from official correspondence on Rabeh in the F.O. 101 series (correspondence of the British Consul at Tripoli). See also Gentil, E., La Chute de l'Empire de Rabeh, Paris, 1902.CrossRefGoogle Scholar In addition to Everret 1899 see Lemoigne, 108 for the suggestion that Hayatu was in touch with Rabeh before the fall of Mandjaffa, the capital of Baghirmi in 1892; also Lavers (1967), 28, n. 1, that Hayatu joined Rabeh in the siege of Mandjaffa.

63 Oral tradition Yola, confirmed by Alhaji Junaidu, Sokoto. There was a deliberate attempt, chiefly fostered by Zubeiru and the Yola diplomats, to present the fight against Hayatu as a fight against the spread of a politically disruptive sect. cf. Mizon, ‘Les Royaumes Foulbes’. 358–9, for an account based on the Yola viewpoint; similarly, Cardaìre, 68–9 (though his account is based on the Ngaundere point of view). ‘Ayatu avait positivement le diable au corps. Ecarté, par la force de lois, de la succession de son père, il passa le plus clair de sa vie à monter des intrigues pour se tailler un Empire…’

64 Kirk-Greene (1958), 142; ‘History of Lamdo Katsena’, in History of Yola Notable Families; Lamdo Katsena consistently maintained this stand from Sanda's reign until his death on the eve of the battle against Hayatu.

65 For details, see Njeuma (1969), 384 ff. During the battle a section of Zubeiru's forces entered Balda and ravished the town, thus giving rise to an elusive popular view that Zubeiru won the battle. See Alexandre, P., ‘Islam in Cameroun’ in Kritzeck, and Lewis, , Islam in Africa (London, 1969), 275.Google Scholar

66 A remarkable part of Hayatu's diplomacy consisted in constantly referring to the ‘Uthman legend’, his miracles, works and prophecies all of which had a special appeal throughout the length and breadth of the Sokoto empire.

67 Oral tradition, Bogo and Balda. The initiative to form an alliance is said to have come from Rabeh. See also Schulze, A. and Benton, P. A., The Sultanate of Bornu (London, 1968), 297;Google Scholar Gentil, 249, though his account puts the initiative after the conquest of Bornu.

68 Gentil, 75, 234–8; Everret (1899); Hanotaux, G. and Martineau, A., L'Histoire des Colonies Françaises et de l'expansion de la France dans le monde, vi (Paris, 1931), 448–54;Google Scholar Urvoy, 127–30.

69 Everret, 1899.

70 The relation between Rabeh and the Mahdist authority in the Sudan is far from being clear. The Mahdi and his successor wrote several letters seeking Rabeh's alliance and inviting Rabeh to visit them, but though replying once (see El-Nagar, O. A., ‘A note on source material for the study of Rabeh&s career’, Bull. African Studies Association, no. 6 1965, 20–3),Google Scholar also Gentil, 235; al-Hajj, ‘Hayatu b. Sa'id…’), Rabeh never visited the Mahdi's capital. When he conquered Bornu, he imposed many of the characteristics of the Sudanese Mahdist State (see F.O. 2/118 R.N.C. to F.O. 11 April 1896 enc. ‘Account of Sherif Hassan’; Everret, 1899; also Lethem and Tomlinson, 5–7). It is of interest that at the French conquest of Rabeh, the two abandoned banners—‘el-Mahdia’ and ’Haoua Mekka’—were said to have been sent to Rabeh by the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad (Gentil, 219, 303). My overall impression is that Rabeh sympathized with the military objectives of the Mahdi against the British and Turks (see the letter of the Khalifa to Rabeh, Aug. 1886 quoted in Holt [1958A], 285) but as to his adherence to Mahdism his main interest was in using other people's adherence to it as a tactical weapon to advance his military ambitions in the Central and Western Sudan.

71 Freemantle, J. M., ‘A History of the Region Comprising the Katagum Division of Kano Province’, J. Afr. Soc., xi (1911–1912), 64;Google Scholar see also Babikir, A. D., L'Empire de Rabeh (Paris, 1950), 63–4;Google Scholar Lethem and Tomlinson, 1, 69; Everret (1899).

72 Gentil, 235–8. There has been uncertainty about the precise date of Rabeh's conquest of Bornu. All the sources however agree that it took place in 1893. Hallam, W. K. R., ‘Rabeh the tyrant of Bornu’, Nigeria no. 86 (1965), 163–73,Google Scholar suggests that the advance party of Rabeh's forces had started the invasion as early as April 1893. Everret (1899), gives Nov.-Dec. 1893, which agrees with the date in the Encyclopaedia of Islam (first edition), art. ‘Bornu’. Bivar, A. D., ‘“Rabih ibn Fadl-ullah”—The Autograph of a Despot’, Nigeria, no. 68 (1961), 83–8,Google Scholar judging from an annotation on a MS (Kitab al-Shifa') recovered at Maiduguri in and attributed to Rabeh, argues for a possibility that the conquest occurred on 10 Oct. 1893, the date on the M.S. Alis (1894), 489, reports the arrival of messengers at Yola from Lamdo Bindir on 15 Sept. bearing news that Rabeh had passed by on his way to conquer Bornu. It appears that a comparison of Bivar's and Mizon's accounts strongly suggests October as the month of the invasion, since a month was sufficient time for Rabeh's troops to have made the journey from Baghirmi, assembled and recuperated at Dikwa, Rabeh's advance base, and to have carried out the invasion.

73 Gentil, 249. See also MS by Yusuf Babikir, Kadcap Box 38, item 10 (National Archives, Kaduna), a brief history of what happened between the writer and his leader, Hayatu on the one hand and Rabeh on the other hand, up to the death of Hayatu.

74 See MS Zubeiru to amir al-muminin, Sokprof Box 11, 4, National Archives, Kaduna. English translation published in Blaclcwell, H. F., The Occupation of Hausaland 1900–1904, (Lagos, 1927) letter no. 112.Google Scholar

75 Adeleye, R. A., ‘The Dilemma of the Wazir: the place of the Risalat al-Wazir ‘ila ahi al-'ilm wa'l-tadabbur in the history of the Sokoto Caliphate’ in Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, iv, no. 2 (06, 1968),Google Scholar also his ‘Overthrow of the Sokoto Caliphate, 1879–1903’ (Ph.D. Thesis, Ibadan, 1967).Google Scholar