Gobir
 
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Relief map of Niger in its present-day borders with historical centers of Gobir |
Gobir is the northernmost of the house states located between Lake Chad and Niger. He is one of the "seven Hausa" and thus to the Orthodox Hausa Kingdoms northern nigeria and Niger .
Older story of Gobir
Origin from the north
All traditions of the Gobirawa (people of Gobir) point to an origin of the tradition bearers in the northeast, in Mesopotamia, Arabia or Egypt. Onomastic evidence suggests that their oldest ancestors, the Gobirawa, are to be found among the Mannaeans and the inhabitants of the northern Aramaean state of Sam'al or Bit Gabbar. It is said that the Gobirawa from the Middle East migrated west together with the Tuareg . Their oldest leader is referred to in the various versions of the tradition as Queen Tawa, Bawa na Turmi (Bawa on the mortar) and Muhammad Mai Gitti (Muhammad the owner of the cross). Together with the Tuareg, they would have stayed in Bornu for a long time . After that, fighting broke out between them and the Tuareg early on. They were also expelled by their opponents from the Aïr , where they subsequently settled. South of the Air they founded Birni Lallé , their first capital known by name, the ruins of which are still visible today. Further attacks by the Tuareg and the progressive desertification moved their King Ciroma to look for new homes in the savannah area further south.
Establishment in their current place of residence
When Ibn Battuta visited the oasis town of Takedda , west of the Air, in 1353 , he inquired about trade with the south. He was told that copper was brought from Takedda to the city of Gobir, to Zaghay / Katsina and to the kingdom of Bornu . From the route of the copper trade it can be seen that Gobir was already south of the Air at this time. Ibn Battuta goes on to say that Gobir had a mighty king, at whose burial an afterlife entourage would be added, consisting of his confidants, his servants and numerous children of his high dignitaries. The size of the offerings provides a clear indication of the power of the king.
Fight against neighboring states
At the beginning of the 16th century, Askiya Muhammad (1493–1528), the king of Songhay , conquered Gobir and made the country tributary. The country later recovered from this defeat. Around 1700 his king Soba undertook military campaigns against the Zarma , against Gurma , against the city of Maradi in the house state Katsina and against Agadez . In a large-scale attack against the Tuareg des Aïr (Azbin), the Maguzawa , whom he had called for support, proved to be particularly helpful. One of his successors was Babari (1742-1770). He waged war against Zamfara , Katsina , Kano and also against Shira in the western border area of Bornu . His victory over Zamfara led to the founding of the new capital Alkalawa south of the Rima River (modern day Nigeria).
Jihad and its consequences
Gobir and the jihadists
The kings of Gobir and their high officials have professed Islam since the end of the 17th century. In the eyes of the Muslim Fulani scholars, however, it was only an insufficient nominal conversion to the new religion. The preacher and scholar Usman dan Fodio proved to be particularly dangerous in his criticism of the largely continued sacred kingdom . He lived near Alkalawa, but also frequented the royal court on a regular basis. He wrested the king of Gobir Bawa (1777-1790) from some concessions in favor of the Muslims, which his brother Nafata (1796-1803) tried to undo because of their dangerous consequences for the unity of the state. In 1804, a small incident prompted the start of open fighting between Usman dan Fodio and his supporters and the King of Gobir, which the Muslims referred to as jihad . After bitter resistance, the jihadists only succeeded in taking Alkalawa in 1808 after numerous campaigns. King Yunfa was killed in the defensive battle.
Resistance to the jihadists
After the defeat of Alkalawa , the fugitive Gobirawa spread to their home areas in the north and northeast. For some time they remained without a unified political leadership. A successful resistance against the Fulani was organized first by Gwamki dan Kura Gado (1819-1820) and then by Ali dan Yakubu (1820-1838). Ali resisted his great opponent Muhammad Bello for some time, but ultimately submitted to the rule of the Fulani for eight years. Then three opponents of the Fulani forged an alliance against the jihadists: the king of Gobir, Rauda, the king of Katsina-Maradi, and Ibra, the leader of the Tuareg-Tamesgidda. However, the allies were defeated by Bello in the great battle of Dakurawa near Madaoua in 1835 , Ali and Rauda were killed in action. The surviving Gobirawa leaders found refuge in Maradi . With the help of the Katsinawa, under their new King Mayaki, they founded a new capital in Tsibiri in 1836 , 10 km north of Maradi. A little later, the Gobirawa went on the offensive and defeated the Fulani in several battles in Zamfara and north of Sokoto .
Establishment of a second Gobir state in Sabon Birni
Under Bawa dan Gwamki (1858-1883) the Gobirawa split up. A renegade cousin of the king, who himself aspired to rule, submitted to the Fulani and with their help built the city of Sabon Birni ("New Town") 70 km west of Tsibiri in present-day Nigeria. After a brief renewed submission of Gobir-Tsibiri, Mainassara Maji (1886-1894) renewed the old policy of independence towards the Fulani.
Colonial and post-colonial times
The French expedition Voulet-Chanoine reached Tsibiri in 1899, but the effective occupation by the French and the subordination of Gobir to French suzerainty did not take place until a few years later. The British captured Sokoto in 1903 and shortly afterwards proclaimed their protectorate over northern Nigeria. The division of gobirs into two was thus firmly established. While the King of Tsibiri received the same rank as the King of Katsina-Maradi as "Chef de Canton" in Niger, France, the King of Sabon Birni was not recognized by the British as an emir , but only as a local minor king. In the post-colonial period, the status of traditional rulers did not change significantly. The Niger government made Gobir-Tsibiri a sultanate in 2010 .
Important traditional kings were Agada Nagogo (1964–1997) in Tsibiri and Muhammadu Bawa (1975–2004) in Sabon Birni.
Sacred royalty of Gobir
King and Second King
The position of Gobir within the society of Hausaland is characterized by belonging to the "seven Hausa" ( Hausa bakwai ). Accordingly, here we find a king who considers himself a descendant of the Queen of Daura and Bayajidda . Opposite him is a formally equal “King of Azna ”, who claims a descent from Karbagari and thus from Bagwariya, the concubine of the founding hero Bayajidda. There was a similar situation of a formal double kingship in other states of the "seven Hausa", especially in Katsina and Daura .
King and priestess Inna
In contrast to the other "seven Hausa", the priestess Inna and not the Magajiya dominates in Gobir . The Inna is considered to be the leader of the adepts of the Bori possession cult and the priestess of the black state goddess Takurabow, the "black Inna". As such, she was probably originally a priestess of the “black” or “ Azna deities” and not the “white” or “Hausa deities”.
Role of the king and Inna in the festive cult drama
The cult-dramatic acts of the sacred kingship continued under Islam during the great annual festivals are more pronounced in Gobir than in all other Hausa kings. The most important acts are the passage of the king and his high dignitaries to the supreme blacksmith on the eve of the festival , where the king solemnly beats the state drums. The next day there is a great festival procession from the palace to the prayer area on the outskirts of the city. In the square, at the end of the prayer, the king changes his clothes in a stall in the middle of the congregation. In the wake of the Bori adepts, he then circled the city in procession and finally returned to the palace. During his absence, Inna and some female Bori adepts took over the regiment there.
Interpretation of the festivities as a Canaanite cult drama
The most important elements of the cult drama of Gobir show clear parallels to the Canaanite cult mythology and in particular to the Baal cycle of Ugarit . Going to the blacksmith and beating the drums provide information on preparation for a battle. The king's dressing action originally indicated a return from the underworld . The ritual takeover of power by the Inna during this time is reminiscent of the cult acts mentioned in the Baal cycle by the Anat during her companion Baal's stay under the world. The following joyful procession around the city carries features of a resurrection procession . Both this parallelism of the cultural traits and the similarity of the deities and the offices provide important indications of a Canaanite origin of the state of Gobir.
literature
- Boubou Hama : Histoire du Gobir et de Sokoto. Paris 1967, OCLC 869575 .
- SJ Hogben, Anthony Kirk-Greene: The Emirates of Northern Nigeria. London 1966, OCLC 414074 .
- Walter Kühme: The kingdom of Gobir: gods, priests, festivals of a sacred society. Kovač, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-8300-0932-1 .
- Moise-Auguste Landeroin: Notice historique. In: Jean Tilho (ed.): Documents scientifiques de la Mission Tilho (1906–1909). Vol. 2, Paris 1911, OCLC 611931752 , pp. 469-482.
- Dierk Lange: Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa. Dettelbach 2004, ISBN 3-89754-115-7 , pp. 224-233.
- Dierk Lange: The Bayajidda legend and Hausa history. (PDF file; 730 kB) In: E. Bruder, T. Parfitt (Ed.): Studies in Black Judaism. Cambridge 2012, ISBN 978-1-443-83802-3 , pp. 138-174.
- Guy Nicolas: Dynamique sociale au sein d'une société hausa. Paris 1975, OCLC 1986863 .
- Gerd Spittler : rule over peasants. The spread of state rule and an Islamic urban culture in Gobir (Niger) . Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 1978, ISBN 978-3-593-32287-2 (original title: Rule over farmers. The spread of state rule and an Islamic-urban culture in Gobir (Niger). Habilitation thesis . Freiburg im Breisgau 1975. ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Hogben, Kirk-Greene: Emirates. Pp. 367-379.
- ↑ Lange: Bayajidda legend. (PDF file; 730 kB) pp. 159–160.
- ^ Hogben, Kirk-Greene: Emirates. Pp. 370-376.
- ↑ Abdourahmane Idrissa, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Niger . 4th edition. Scarecrow, Plymouth 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-6094-0 , pp. 118 .
- ↑ Kühme: Kingship. Pp. 202-203.
- ↑ Lange: Kingdoms. Pp. 226-233.