The Bole Fika Political Institution and Its Structure

A Study of the Traditional Titles ( Northern Nigeria ) *

By Ibrahim Maina Waziri

,

Maiduguri , and Dymitr Ibriszimow

,

Bayreuth

Summary

:

Beginning m the

15 th c .,

Bole Fika developed a strategic buffer state between Borno and

H aus

a land m the politics of Central Sudan

.

The Bole titles and titleholders form an important institutional pillar in the formation and function of the state . The historical and linguistic analysis of the titles and of the categories of social groups and titleholders as extracted mainly from oral accounts is the crux of this study

.

The results achieved will serve as

a

significant insight for better understanding of the political systems m the regional context .

1 . Introduction

This article is the result of long collaborative engagement in an interdiscipli¬

nary group research project . 1 The aim of our research team was to analyse the

emergence and the development of the complex present - day ethno - linguistic

patterns in the Lake Chad region , towards the southern and western periph¬

ery of the historical Borno Empire . Based on the collections of historical

( mainly oral traditions ) , linguistic , anthropological and musicological data ,

a model of migratory routes was put forward based on combined research

efforts of the disciplines involved in the project . 2

We are very grateful to Prof . Dr . Dierk Lange , University of Bayreuth , for his valuable observations on an early version of this article

.

A special word of thanks goes to Prof

.

Herrmann Jungraithmayr who initiated our interdisciplinary work on Bole lan¬

guage and history twenty years ago

,

and has encouraged and supported it since then

.

We also thank Prof

.

Dr

.

Samba Diop

,

University of Oslo

,

Prof

.

Achim von Oppen

,

Dr

.

Eva

Rothmaler and Mrs . Brigitte Krause , University of Bayreuth , for commenting on the

manuscript .

1 The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

(

DFG

)

, to whom we express our gratitude , funded the joint research project SFB 268

"

West African Savannah " carried out by the Universities of Frankfurt am Mam

,

Germany

,

and Maiduguri

,

Nigeria

.

The sub

-

project of our team was entitled

"

Towards a genesis of the ethno

-

linguistic situation at the southern and western fringes of the Lake Chad basin " and was carried out between 1997 and 2002 .

2 Ibriszimow / Kawka / Lohr / Mtaku / Vogels / Waziri 2001 .

The Bole , particularly the Bole of Fika , are one of the ethnic groups that

have played an important role in the history of the region . Fika is the name

of a town which is the headquarters of a Local Government with the same

name , situated in Yobe State in north - eastern Nigeria . The collection and

analysis of the oral traditions of the Bole Fika and other related groups in

the region formed an important part of a follow - up project . 3

Traditional titles are currently relevant and functional socio - political in¬

stitutions in Bole Fika society . The members of the society are very much

aware of these titles , and especially of the senior title - holders , who carry

political , social and moral responsibilities . The whole society participates

actively in their installation ceremonies . Whereas the members of the Bole

Fika society commonly know the individual titles , they are not aware of

the categories of people who may hold the respective titles , and the groups

which the title - holders form as a system . It is in this regard that our study is

significant , because for the first time a coherent analysis of the categories of

title - holders , the links between them and their hierarchical formation is pre¬

sented . Furthermore , we highlight the possibility of the existence of older

and more recent groups of titles that crisscross the present system . 4 Con¬

sequently our study provides a key for a future comparative analysis of the

roots of state formation processes within the Central Sudanic region .

2

. Geo

^-

history of the area of study

General geographic information

The main regional focus of this study is the Chad basin . The whole basin

is described as a " vast shallow depression , some 800 miles ( 1280 km ) across

with no connection to the sea as an area of inland drainage " 5 that is " bounded

by Air , Haggar , Tibesti , Ennedi , Marra , Adamawa , Mandara highlands and

1 Since 2002 , I brahim M aina Waziri has concentrated on collecting the oral tradi¬

tions of the Bole and other Chadic groups In a study ( Waziri 2004 ) he compared the

traditional written Bole history , the Girgam (cf Ibriszimow 1996 ) with other historical

evidence , including six : long oral accounts of the Bole Fika This is a critical aspect m

respect of establishing the historicity of orality in African studies , as a case of unity in di¬

versity of oral traditions of origin and written chronicles We are gratefu 1 to the Alexander

von I Iuniboldt Foundation for awarding I brahim Maina Waziri a scholarship to work

m Bay reuth , Germany ( 2004 - 2005 ) , and to the Institute of African Studies , University of Bayreuth for inviting him to come as a visiting professor in 2009

4 The present article is the result of combined efforts by a historian ( I brahim Maina W aziri ) and a linguist ( D ymitr I briszimow ) to understand the complex system of tradi¬

tional Bole Fika titles and their hierarchical structure

5 N iven 1982

NIGER

CHAD

Í Katswa

Msktugun

Jaiingo "

NIGERIA i ,

i 200 km i

oEnugu ' *

CAMER '

© Karsten Brunk 2005

Map

1 :

A regional perspective map of the area of study

the Jos plateau covering an area of about two million square kilometres " 6 .

The specific area under study consists of the southern and south - western

parts of the Chad basin , stretching southwards into the Gombe formation ,

the Gongola valley and its flood plain , and extending into the Kerri - Kerri

formation 7 as indicated in Map 1 .

General historical information

The migration of peoples into the Lake Chad basin

According to evidence from archaeology , monuments , traditions of origin

and other sources , migration into the Chad basin can tentatively be time -

framed into ancient , medieval and modern migrations , which historically af¬

fected the human setting and the political and economic culture of the region .

Ancient migration is estimated to have taken place from the 5 th century bc

to the 1 st century ad . This can be deduced from classical texts such as those

6 Connah 1983 , pp . 7 - 8 .

7 Heinrich 1994 .

by Herodotus and Ptolemy in respect of the Garamantes and Roman trade

to Fezzan and Agisymba . This was noted by Proben i us and Bau mann , and

of recent rearticulated by Lange . 8 In the face of a dearth of evidence for

linking this ancient migration directly to the Bole Fika group , it is not im¬

possible that the tradition of the Bole Fika and other Chadic groups is of

great antiquity . However , within the context of our analysis and based on

the clearly discernible evidence , the Bole Fika migration into the Chad basin

tentatively dates from the 7 th to 13 th centuries ad . This is in line with the re¬

gionally established historical pattern of the Kanuri , Bole and other groups

in the Chad basin , and is supported by both external 9 and internal 10 sources .

State formation processes in the Chad basin in the 10 th — 16 th centuries ad

The state formation process in the Chad basin was an adjunct of the regional

pattern of central Sudan . This is best exemplified by Kanem - Borno , starting

with the Kancmi state around ad 950 in the eastern parts of the Lake Chad

basin , and from ad 1310 - 1350 the Bornoan state in the western parts of

the basin , under the Duguwa , or Zaghawa , and the Sefuwa dynasty , which

was later replaced by the El - Kanemi dynasty in the 19 th century . 11 At the

sub - regional levels , for instance in H au s a land and Baghirmi , at least from

the later part of the 16 th century , the state formation process was further

replicated . 12 The 16 th century witnessed an extension of the state formation

process to the outlying parts or peripheral areas , creating the Kanem - Borno

regional pattern and Iiau s a land ' s sub - regional patterns . In this particu¬

lar example , reference is made to south - western Chadic groups such as the

Babur / Pabir of Biu , the Dera / Kanakuru of Shani , and the Bole groups of

Combe and Fika . 13

8 This renews the arguments of longue durée by Frobenius and Baumann

(

quoted m

L

ange 2008 ) as presented from an exceptional perspective by

L

ange 2004

(

especially sections two and three

) ,

2006 and 2007

.

For an alternative opinion from the archaeological point of view

,

see Breunig 2004

,

Magnavita

/

Breunig 2008

,

Gronenborn 1998 .

9 This was well documented in the works of Arab geographers and historians like

Al

-

Ya

' qubi m the

9 th

century and Al

-

Bakri m the

11 th

century

;

see Levtzion

/

Hopkins

1981

, pp

. 15 ,64

.

10 Ibn Far tu

a

Diwan of the Sultan of Bornu in Palmer

1936 ;"

The Kisara Migration

"

, and

"

Kings of the Land of Fika " m

P

almer 1928 , pp

.60

-

63

,

70- 73

;

L

ange

1987

; Low

1972 , Merrick 1904 - 1905 , pp . 418 - 419 ; Lavers 1972 ; Hickey 1978 , pp . 47 - 48 .

11 Trimingham 1962 ; Smith 1971 ; L ayers 1980 ; Lange 2004 .

12

B

arth

1857

-

1859 , II ,

pp

.

584

- 583 ;

McEwan 1968

;

Smith

1987 ; L

ange 2004

, p. 151

; usman 1983 .

11 D avies 1929 ; Hogben / Kirk - Greene 1966 , pp . 359 - 576 ; Smith 1971 ; I briszimow

1996

,

Lange 2004 .

Thus , different factors influenced and affected the history of state forma™

tion processes in the central Sudan . These included the environment that shaped the area , the movements of peoples within

it

, and the peculiar insti¬

tutional structures that the different groups evolved to adapt to the political , social and economic realities of their existence

.

It is in this light that we have examined the hierarchical organisation of titles and title

-

holders in the Bole Fika traditional political system

;

our information is derived from their oral traditions

,

complemented by other historical sources in the region .

The Bole Fika group

The Bole Fika identity and the formation of a Bole

"

Chadic buffer state "

There is a major problem concerning the nomenclature and identification of the Bole Fika people and their state in historical sources . The root of this problem is to be found deep in their history , but it is most likely traceable to confusion in separating the Bole tradition of origin and migratory move¬

ment from those of other groups in the region

.

Therefore

,

we start by asking who the Bole Fika people are in the history of the Chad basin .

The Bole ethnic group inhabits the lower Congola valley in north¬

eastern Nigeria

.

The main areas inhabited by the Bole people are currently in Gombe and Yobe States of Nigeria . The Bole speak a Chadic language

(

Afroasiatic phylum ) which belongs to the Bole - Tangale group of the West Chadic branch of languages

.

14

The term

"

Bole " is not used by the people themselves and the origin of this word is unknown

.

The Iiausa

,

the Kanuri

,

and the neighbouring groups of the Bole , all commonly use Bole , plural Bolawa

/

Bolewa

.15

As the com¬

munity and all Bole groups concerned accept this term

,

we shall use it sub¬

sequently in this article .

The Bole people refer to themselves and their language according to the main settlements of their different groups . The Bole groups in Combe State

(

who are not dealt with in this paper ) are the Kalam , Bojude , Gadam , Kwami , Biri , etc . A Bole person from the settlement of Kalam calls him¬

self an Kalam , the plural form is anin Kalam

;

the Bole language variety of

14 J U N GRAIT H M A Y R / 1B RI S'/ 1 M O

\

V

1994

15

M

eek

1931 ,

p

^{288 ,}

cf also

W

ent

e - L

ukas

^{1985 ,}

pp

^{52 -}

53 There is a folk

-

etymo¬

logical explanation of the word Bole When the Bole group first reached Daniski hill , their leader said m Kanuri (sic) dane iskm

,

meaning

"

II ere

I

stop "

(

for the exact meaning , see

I bri s z i

mow

/Gi m b

a 1994 , p

95 )

, from which the name of the

h 111— D a n i s k i — c a m

e The Nganio leader or the Nganio people

,

who were living on the hill

,

replied booleewaa

"

Why

'

" From there the name Bolewa for the

"

newcomers " appeared It must have been

reanalyzed later as

a

plural form of the singular bole

Kalam is ho Kalam ; similarly for the settlement of Bojude

:

an Bojude

,

amn Bojude

,

bo Bojude , etc .

The Bole in Yobe State are those of Fika ( an / amn Pikka , bo Pikka

) .

The Bole Fika are the best

-

known group , because they have maintained their freedom and existence as an independent political group throughout their pre

-

colonial history , and because they have produced and preserved a writ¬

ten version of their history , the Girgam

.

u This chronicle contains informa¬

tion about their migratory movements

,

and a king list from the beginning of the

14 th

century

.

The Girgam version edited by Ibriszimow

(

1996

)

was most likely written between 1858 and 1868 , and later rewritten three times , the last time between September and November 1922

.

17

Merrick

,

Meek and Palmer associate the Bole with the Jukun

.

Palmer conf uses the Bole with the Jukun and the Jukun with the Kwararafa

. 18

This is also the position of Low

,

who

,

in agreement with Carlyle and Abraham , identified the Bole as the

"

one Kwararafa branch

. .

. [ which

]

founded Daniski

(

Fika )

. .

. towns on the Middle Congola

, . . " 19

In addition , the tradition of an eastern origin , which the Bole share with other Chadic and non

-

Chadic groups like the Kanuri , adds to the problem of identification in their earlier migration from

"

Yemen " to Lake Chad

(

probably from the

7

th to the

9

th century ad

) .20

According to the tradition , after a conflict with the Kanuri , a group of Chadic

-

speaking peoples such as the Babur , Tera , Dera

/

Kanak - uru and the Bole group moved away from the shores of Lake Chad to the Congola basin , where they started to separate from each other , most likely in the period between the

14 th

and the

16 lh

centuries

. 21

Finally

,

there was the split of the Bole group into the Bole Combe and Bole Fika groups , with the latter further migrating to Daniski hilltop in the

16 th

century

.

22

16 Ibriszimow 1996 .

17 Ibid , pp

. 32 - 33

, other versions of the Girgam are compared in

I

briszimow 1996 , pp

. 14 - 27.

Obviously

,

all written versions of the Girgam must have been based on an an¬

cient oral account .

18

M

errick 1904 - 1905

;M

eek

1931 ,

pp

.

288

- 291 ; P

almer 1928

, pp .60- 73

.

19 Low 1972 , pp . 82 - 84 , C arlyle . " I lis tor y of G o nib e Emirate , Central Province " ,

Abraham

: "

Ethnological Notes on the Bolewa Group

"

.

20 This is the most difficult part of the migratory process to interpret m the traditions of origin of Central Sudan

,

because of its unvenfiable and fluidic nature

.

But it is popular and believed strongly

,

and the peoples concerned claim that it is a cherished part of their

'

histories

' ,

passed to them by word of mouth from one generat ion of ancestors to another . See Meek

1931 ;

Smith

1971

,

1987 ;

Lavers 1972

, p .IV;

Abubakar 1996

, I

briszimow 1996 , and for

a

digest discussion

,

see Waziri 2006

-

2007

;

for an alternative view

,

see Lange 2007 ,

2008 .

21 Ibriszimow 1996

,

pp

. 37-41

,

146

;

L

avers 1972

, p .

VII ; oral account by

A

bubakar maina bata .

22

I

briszimow 1996

,

pp

. 41 - 53 ;

Low 1972

, p . 82

.

Bole Fika established an independent centralised state m the 16 th century ,

which maintained close relations with Borno and preserved its territory

from occupation by Misau and Gombe emirates m the 19 th century This

was consequent to the rise of Bole Fika political power over other ethnic

groups mentioned m the accounts , which also brought the emergence of vis¬

ible changes in the Bole socio

-

political and economic organisation This is apparent with the emergence of Damski as a strong hilltop fortress

,

and later Fika as a walled town on the plains Both settlements became formidable

bases for a recognisable territoriality of the Bole group against the Ngamo group and other inhabitants of the surrounding areas The Bole Fika area of

influence extended from the border with Bura / Pabir land in the south - east ,

and from the banks of the Congola River , which formed a natural border with Gombe Emirate in the south

-

west

,

to Potiskum in the north

,

and from the border with Misau Emirate in the west

,

to the border with Borno in the east

Hence , this tremendous change in the fortunes of the Bole group must have triggered socio

-

political changes , such as the concrétisation of central¬

ised rule and stabilisation of the Bole Fika as the ruling group

According to

L

avers ,

"

Fika Emirate forms part of the chain of small states stretching m an arc from Bedde m the northwest of Borau to Biu and Mandara in the south

,

a buffer region between metropolitan Bornu and the surrounding areas

"23

The geopolitical location of Bole Fika state made it a buffer state between the plains of Borno in the east and

I

Iausa land to the west Additionally

,

the lucrative commercial relationship that linked the long

-

distant east

-

west trade between H au

s

a land and Borno was intercon¬

nected with another north

-

east trade route from the Sahara to the south¬

west into the Gongola

-

Benue valley through Damski and later Fika These trading links strengthened the strategic socio

-

economic positioning of Bole Fika from the

16 th

century onwards 24

This leads to another aspect of Bole Fika history with regard to the two subsequent phases in the growth and development of the Bole state under the Mot as their king the period at Damski hilltop

(

mid

16

th century to

1804

/

1805 ) and the period at Fika on the plains

(

1804

/

1805 - 1924

)

, these be¬

ing the first and second seats of the Mot in permanent walled capitals The available information about the two historical capitals of Bole Fika is m fa¬

vour of Fika rather than Damski However , tradition and the Girgam are very particular about the pivotal role of Damski m providing the base for the settlement , security and development of Bole Fika state from the

16

th

23 Lavers 1972 , p IV

24 Low 1972 , p 61 fn 9

century to the shift of the capital to Fika m the early 19 th century 25 Fika

must have been already an established settlement long before it actually be™

came the new capital This position corresponds with the tradition , which

refers to the beginning of the settlement at Fika as a farm settlement on the

plains 26 The famous Mai Idris Aloma , the king of Borno m the second half

of the 16 th century , passed through Fika on his military expedition to the

lower Gongola valley The visit to Fika is reported m the Diwan of Borno at

a period when Damski was still the capital and the seat of the Moi , the name

Damski was not mentioned at all 27

There are two critical periods in the history of the Bole state To Lavers

and Low the most important one was in the 17 th century , when Kona or Kwa -

rarafa raids into Borno became prevalent 28 The other significant period for

Bole Fika history was that of the Sokoto Jihad 29 when the jihadist incursion

led to the unceremonious replacing of Damski as the political and economic

centre by the beginning of the 19 th century 30 The Sokoto Jihad created new

challenges in the political struggle between Borno and the Sokoto Caliphate ,

with the formation of the emirates of Gombe and Misau in the Gongola river

valley on the eastern border of the Caliphate The small city - state of Bole

Fika found itself m the delicate position of balancing its political relations

between Gombe and Misau emirates m the west and Borno in the east 31

Bole Fika state played an important role in the politics between Borno

and the Sokoto Caliphate up to the period of the colonial conquest in the

20 th century Subsequently it was transformed into a Native Authority and

is currently a Local Government Area m modern Nigeria

It is of fundamental importance to clearly pinpoint the crucial signifi

cance of Damski in the establishment , growth and development of the Bole

Fika state system The traditions and the Girgam speak of 24 Mois who

25 Ibid

,L

avers 1972

,

p V

26 Fika is also known as Lafiya Moi

(

peace

/

health for the Moi ) Moi Bu raima Zara was historically credited with being the first Moi who made Fika / Lafiya Moi his capital

(

Ibriszimow 1996 , p

63

, oral accounts by Mai Unguwa Dauda

(

assisted by Liman M Mamman

)

and

I )

adin Hi ra

27

L

ange 1987

,

p 126

28

L

ayers 1972

,

p

V ,

Low 1972

,

p 81

29 Low 1972

,

pp

82 , 95

,

154

-

155 , L

ayers 1972

,

p

V I I , A

liyu 1996

30 As the new capital and the seat of the Mot

,

Fika grew to become a new market centre with Koran ward built to accommodate traders and as a place for trading In addition , the houses of many important personalities were used as hostels for the Manga , Ngizim and lia usa traders of salt , slaves and cloth , among other products For details , see Da din II ira

,

oral account

, I

bri

s

zimow

/ G i m

ba 1994

,

p 96

(

no 75 gaawuna katcaaciya and no 76

ko or o

on

),

Waziri 2006

31

L

ayers 1972

,

p VII

,

Low 1972

,

p

34 ,A

liyu 1996

,

pp

187 -

194

reigned at Daniski , and twelve at Fika 32 There were eighteen Tin ] as and

Ciromas recorded as having served at Daniski and nine at Fika

,33

the two

M agar as mentioned by name reigned at Daniski

In general , some of the most important dates deduced from the traditions

and the history of the Bole Fika are as follows

- By the middle of the 14 d century , probably all Bole groups , as well as

some other closely related groups , had left the eastern shores of Lake

Chad , moving to the south and later to the west

- By the middle of the 16 th century , one of the Bole groups , which became

later the Bole Fika group , had reached the Daniski plateau , 34 where they

settled on the top of the plateau

- In the mid 16 th century , the period of dynastic rule began among the Bole

Fika

- 1804 - 1805 the town of Fika m the plain south west of Daniski replaced

Daniski as headquarters , and became a central place m Bole history The

change was connected with the Sokoto Jihad , which affected the whole

region

- In 1903 the British imposed colonial rule on Fika

- In 1924 the British colonial administration moved the seat of the Emir of

Fika from Fika to the town of Potiskum , as a more central place of the

new colonial administration 35

The emergence of titles and title holders as an important political

institution in the formation and function of the Bole Fika state

Let us now highlight some aspects of Bole Fika history , based on their oral

traditions and written sources This will help us to pinpoint those important

stages m the history of Bole Fika which may throw more light on the sigmfi

cance of titles as keys to the Bole Fika political system The final settlement

at Daniski was obviously an event that began a whole chain of changes m the

Bole Fika group This includes their transformation from drifting wander™

ers to sedentary settlers , and the beginning of a more centralised political

32 Ibriszimow 1996 , pp 53 - 63 , 63 - 67 , 136 - 139 , 139 - 140 , cf Waziri 2004 , pp 139 - 146

33 In the cases of the Tinja and Cirorna see Ibriszimow 1996

,

pp

147

-

151 ,

cf Waziri 2006

34 Ibriszimow 1996 , pp 82 - 83 , 101 - 103 , Merrick 1904 - 1905 , pp 420 - 423 On the

last page , note

23

, Merrick wrote Daniski , a town still inhabited , it is 12 miles north wards from Fika This was the headquarters of the Fika people till they were driven out by the Fulani and built Fika

,

see also Seidensticker 1987

,

p 25

35 Layers 1972 , p XI , Aliyu 1996 , p 211 , Wen te Lukas 1985 , p 53

structure leading to the emergence of the Moi ( see below , p . 27f .) as the cen¬

tral figure and authority in affairs of the Bole state .

Thus , according to an oral account there were " seven councillors and the

leader " 36 ( cf . below , p . 36f .) when the Bole started their migration from the

shores of Lake Chad . This is an indication of a nascent process of centralisa™

tion , which dates from the 14 th century according to the Girgam .

This was followed by the emergence of identifiable named historical per¬

sonalities as leaders . According to the oral tradition , by the end of the 15 th

and the beginning of the 16 th century the Bole had reached the area close to

Daniski , where their leader Mot Melshi died . This area bears the name Kushi

Gogo

(

lit

.

baobab of Gogo ^ a female name

37 )

.

According to the tradition , a baobab tree grew over Moi Melshi s grave .

It is said in the accounts that this baobab tree played a special role at the

time when the Mois were reigning in Fika ( from the beginning of the 19 th

century ) : that whenever the Mot or any " senior title - holder with a drum " ( cf . below , p . 35f .) died , the new title - holder ( s ) had to climb it . 38 Meek reported

another ritual after the death of a Moi at Kushi Gogo , which was " the site of

a sacred baobab and tamarind tree " . 39 Therefore , it is reasonable to infer that

this was the echo of a ritual most likely dating to the period after the death

of Moi Melshi . This ritual seems to be in veneration of the Moi , who might

earlier have been divine or sacred , and was certainly highly regarded .

In another development , Moi Idris , the first son of Moi Melshi later be¬

came the Mot at Daniski . 40 Mot Idris was the first ruler of the Bole to settle

at Daniski and to establish a chain of father - to - son successions , which lasted

for four generations up to Moi Gandawu , a teenager who died without off¬

spring and whose uncle Moi Langawa succeeded him . 41 This succession took

place at the end of 16 th century or the beginning of the 17 th century .

This is a change which obviously affected the nature of the earlier central¬

ised rule based on a kind of divine or semi - divine kingship . Possibly , it also

led to the emergence of new ruling family / ies or house ( s ) : it was from the

reign of Moi Langawa onwards that a new line of succession started , which

took over from the old lineage and brought in new reforms .

The other evidence for the reforms is based on the mentioning in the ac¬

counts of Fika ( see below , p . 3 Of .) of important titles such as the Ciroma ,

36 Maina Ibrahim , oral account .

37 See Ibriszimow / Gimba 1994 , p . 92 . 38 D a din H ira , oral account .

39 Meek 1931 , p . 303 .

40 Mai U nguwa Dauda , oral account .

41 W aziri 2004 , p . 1 39f .

Dala , and Baa Janga ( see below , p . 27 f .) in connection with the Tin ] a *s role

in the appointment of the new Moi . 41

Also , from Moi Mama Kayi ( or Muhammad Kayyi ) and Mot Bawa Kayi

( or Kayyi ) , the two sons of Moi Langawa , emerged the dual ruling houses of

Bole Fika known as the Mama and Bawa ruling houses ( probably around the

mid 17 th century ) . 43 For that time , the accounts mention Leno Kayi and Ada

Baara Kayi , the daughters of Moi Langawa and bosom sisters to Moi Mama

and Moi Bawa , as Magaras ( see below , p . 27f .) . 44 Whether this was the time

when the title Magara was introduced into the hierarchical system of Bole

Fika , is not quite clear . It is , however , important to note that the Magara , as

the highest female title among the Bole Fika , is a form of gender counterbal¬

ancing in the Bole Fika state administration .

The two titles of Liman and Alkali ( see below , p . 33 f .) were institutional¬

ised under the reign of Moi Mama . He attempted to visit Egypt for a " sec¬

ond time to acquire knowledge " but was " stopped " by Borno . The Bor no

rulers were very much aware of the strategic importance in the region of a

neighbouring buffer state like Fika . That is why they intervened to influ¬

ence Fika through a binding religious relationship in which they provided

M oi Mama with one of their learned Islamic scholars , Malum Muhammadu

( Mama ) Shuwa . He became the first Liman and Alkali of Bole at Daniski ,

and his progeny became the subsequent Imams and Alkalis right up to the

present day at Fika .

It is notable that Moi Mama was a reformer whose administration pur¬

sued a reformist Islamic agenda , to improve and strengthen the practice of

Islam among the Bole people . This could have been the time when the new

and old systems of titles and title - holders among the Bole at Daniski , such

as hereditary and non - hereditary titles , and " titles with drum " , were amal¬

gamated as an internal arrangement to accommodate the rising influence of

Borno under Moi Mama Kayi , in contrast to the older tradition of kingship .

Subsequently , there was a period of stable statehood until the 19 th century ,

when the impact of the Jihad led to the final shift of the capital from Daniski

to Fika . In the 20 th century , the British effected another change that main¬

tained Bole rule in only one of the ruling houses , the Bawa house .

Thus , the political culture of centralisation was apparently subject to

Bornoan influence up to the reign of Moi Sule ( Sulayman , 1886 - 1903 ) , the

40 th M oi at Fika during whose reign the British colonial occupation took

place .

42 Abubakar Maina Bata , oral account ,I )a din II ira , oral account 43 Ibriszimow 1996 , pp 130 - 146

44 Da din H ira , oral account

3 .

The titles and title

-

holders of the Bole Fika traditional political system

The main problem connected with analysing the Bole titles is understand™

ing the terminology used by the Informants and In the written sources . It Is

Important to note that an understanding of this terminology Is essential to

the correct grouping of the titles and their Interwoven categories within the

social divisions of Bole Fika society

In order to cope with this problem , we applied methods known from lexi¬

cal semantics . 45 We analysed the lexical relations among the respective terms ,

as well as the lexical configurations ( i . c . the hierarchies ) they create . Thanks

to this approach , we were able to resolve ambiguity in the meaning of the

terms . Our analysis shows that the word mmda has five different mean¬

ings in its different uses , 46 1 . e . we are dealing with five different terms . Some

of them stand in a ( lexical ) relation of i nc o mp a t i b i 1i ty 47 with the remaining

meanings or with other terms ; some of the five different meanings are in¬

cluded in the others , thus creating a taxonomic hierarchy . 48

The analysis presented is divided into three sub - sections as follows : First ,

the categories of social groups and groups of title - holders analysed from a

semantic point of view are dealt with , followed by an examination of the

individual titles according to the four main categories of titles . Finally we

offer a hierarchical structure of these titles .

Categories of social groups and groups of title - holders

In this study , the term ' title ' refers to distinctive personal appellations , both

hereditary and acquired through social mobility , which usually denote or

imply an office , particularly in the case of a major traditional title - holder .

The titles of Fika basically represent the political offices and administrative

45 For more details on lexical semantics

,

see for instance Cruse 1986 .

46 Usually one thinks of words like the English word

'

bank ' as being ambiguous , the sense distinction is

"

financial institution

"

/

"

side of river

" (

ibid

. , p . 51 f .) .

There are also other cases , for example

'

dog

'.

The difference m meaning can be seen when we create a seman¬

tic proportional series

(

ibid ,

p

.

118 ft .

)

'

horse '

.'

mare '

: '

stallion '

.. '

dogl '

. '

bitch '

.'

dog2

'

,

'

horse '

. '

dogl '

. . '

mare '

: '

bitch '

. . '

stallion '

. '

dog2

' ,etc

.

47 Two animal word s may serve as a

si

mple example of incompatibility , the sentence

" It 's

a cat " entails

" It '

s not

a

dog "

(

ibid

., p .

93f

.) ,

therefore

'

cat ' and

'

dog ' are incompatible .

48 Without going into details , and still keeping to the field of

'

animals

'

, the relation

between the words

'

spaniel

'

,

'

dog ' and

'

animal ' may serve as an example for a taxonomic

hierarchy

(cf .

ibid

.

,

p.

136ff

.) :

compare the sentences

"

A spaniel is a kind of dog " and

"

A

dog is a kind of animal

"

.

functions of the state , under the central control of the Mot

(

moi

i9

) as the

'

king

'

, supported by officials organised in a complex system in which the Moi appoints all title

-

holders anin yele (anin yèlè

)

, who may come from all

social classes . Of course , there are some restrictions to these appointments which are mentioned below .

The basic social distinction in Bole society is between the ruling class anin mene (anïn mènè

) J

literally

'

those who have the rulership ' or the

'

rulers ' and the talakawa (tâlâkâawâa

) J i . e .

the

'

commoners ' ( the word talakawa is a loanword from Hausa

) .

50 However , commoners who have become title - holders automatically become part of the ruling class .

Fig .

1

:

anin mene vs .51 talakawa

( ruling class ) ( commoners )

The most prominent political group among the ruling class is that of the mmda (rriindâ

)

. According to our semantic analysis , this term has one gen™

eral and four specific meanings

.

The first and the most general one may be translated here as

"

royals

" .

Linguistically

,

mmda is

a

plural form of the word mama (mdinà ) prince

' .52

In the context of the ruling class , the term mmda covers the descendants of the first generation

( i . e

. sons and daughters

)

, the second generation

( i . e.

grandsons and granddaughters ) and probably also of the third generation

( i . e .

great grandsons and great granddaughters

)

of

a

Moi . A male member of the mmda is called mama

'

prince '

(

from Kanuri mama

)

;

a female member is called maryam

( ;

mâryam

53

)

'

princess '

(

or bdttd

—

this is an old Bole word , not commonly in use today , and not used by any of our informants on Bole history

54 ) .

In other words

,

all mamas and maryams with or without titles are mmda

.

The mmda is the only group that has the heredi¬

tary right to produce the Moi

.

In addition

,

members of this group have other

49 See also Ibriszimow 1996 , pp . 134 - 140 and Waziri 2004 , p . 138f . When a Bole term is first mentioned , it is followed by a notation of tone and vowel length in brackets : ' = high tone , v = low tone , double vowel = long vowel , e . g . aa = long a . All subsequent mentions of

the term are without tone and length .

50 On the Hausa term talakawa , see Smith 1987 , pp . 100 - 103 .

51 From a semantic point of view , the two terms are incompatible . For reasons of clarity

we use a minimum of technical linguistic terms m this paper .

52 For more information about this Kanuri title , see Alkali 1983 , pp . 106 - 108 , 125 - 126 . For Mama and the reference to Maman , see also Kawka 1994 , pp . 72 - 74 , and Ibriszimow / Gimba 1994 , p . 88 .

51 Abubakar Maina Bata , oral account ; Da din Hira , oral account . For more infor¬

mation on this female royal title among the Kanuri , see Alkali 1983 , pp . 106 - 126 ; Cohen 1971 ; Brenner 1973 ; Platte 2005 , p . 265 .

54 The information comes from our field research on the Bole language .

titles exclusively reserved for them , as discussed below

.

In this sense

,

minda stands in contrast to padawa ( pàdàawda

)

,

i . e

.

'

courtiers

'

. For easier refer¬

ence

,

we shall label this meaning of minda as minda

( 1 )

.

Fig

. 2

:

minda

( 1

)

vs

. padawa

(

royals )

(

courtiers )

Padawa is a Hausa loan word (fadaawaa ) in Bole

.

The word padawa refers to the complete civil and paramilitary workforce that serves the palace and state institutions

.

To the padawa belong :

a ) kokinawa (kokinawa

) ,

who head the padawa ,

b

) slaves owned by the Moi ,

c

) commoners who serve in state institutions

,

including the palace .

Groups

b

) and

c

) are not distinguished by special terms . They are known simply as padawa .

Fig

. 3

:

padawa

(

courtiers )

j j . ! r i

,

, . commoners in the

kokinawa slaves oi the Moi service oi the Moi . r ,

,

, .

The kokinawa are title

-

holders from among the padawa

(

courtiers

)

. This word is a Kanuri loan word , singular kógdna , kówúna , plural kogdnàwâ

55

. This group , together with minda

( 1 )

, form the category anin mene ,

i . e

. the

'

ruling class '

(

see Fig .

1

, above , for the two other groups belonging to this category

,

and see Schematic diagram 2 below

)

.

Fig

. 4

:

anin mene

(

ruling class )

minda

( 1

) kokinawa

(

royals )

(

title

-

holders among the courtiers )

The category kokinawa stands in contrast to the category of title

-

holders from among the minda

( 1

)

'

royals ' who are also called minda . For the pur¬

pose of this analysis

,

we label the latter category minda (

2 )

.

55 On the use of the term kokina in Borno

,

see Alkali

1983 , p . 113

.

Fig . 5 :

minda

( 2

)

vs

. kokinawa

(

title

-

holders among the royals )

(

title

-

holders among the courtiers )

Both minda ( 2 ) and kokinawa belong to the category aninyele ' title - holders ' .

Fig . 6 :

anin

y

ele

(

title

-

holders )

minda

( 2

) kokinawa

(

title

-

holders among the royals )

(

title

-

holders among the courtiers )

In the category of minda ( 2 ) , there are two identifiable sub - categories of

' royals ' with titles . These are on the one hand all persons from within the

royal title - holders eligible to succeed to the throne , i . e . all sons or grandsons

( but only sons of sons ! ) of a Moi . This sub - category will be labelled as minda

( 3 ) . On the other hand , there is the sub - category which includes all persons

within the royal title - holders who are not eligible to succeed to the throne .

This sub - category we will call minda ( 4 ) .

Fig . 7 :

minda

( 2

)

(

title

-

holders among the royals )

minda

( 3

) minda

( 4

)

(

eligible to succeed to the throne )

(

not eligible to succeed to the throne )

Of course , not all ' royals ' are title - holders . All members of minda ( 1 ) who do

not hold a title belong to the sub - category which we label minda ( 5 ) .

Fig . 8 :

minda

( 1

)

(

royals )

minda

( 2

) minda

( 5

)

(

title

-

holders among the royals )

(

royals without a title )

minda

( 3

) minda

( 4

)

(

eligible to succeed to the throne )

(

not eligible to succeed to the throne )

Schematic diagram 1 is a graphic summary of what has been said above

( without the details of Fig

. 7 )

:

talakawa anin mene

minda ( 5 ) minda ( 2 ) kokinawa Moi ' s

slaves

commoners m

Moi s service i yele

Schematic diagram 1

commoners m the society The next step in understanding the nature and the hierarchical structure of the categories in the Bole Fika traditional political system

,

is to make explicit the difference between anin mene

'

ruling class ' and anin yele

'

title

-

holders

'

.

As can be seen from Schematic diagram

1,

all anin yele

i . e . '

title

-

holders ' be¬

long to anin mene ,

i . e .

the

'

ruling class

'

, but of course , not all members of the ruling class belong to the group of title

-

holders

.

The

'

title

-

holders

'

anin yele are : a ) minda

( 2

)

'

title

-

holders among the royals

'

,

( cf .

Figs

.

5 and

7 )

.

b

) kokinawa

'

title

-

holders among the courtiers

'

,

( cf .

Fig

. 5 )

.

c

) the wives of the Moi (mondé Mói ) with titles , called descriptively monde Moi anin yele

(

see below

, p . 32

)

d

) the members of the learned Islamic scholars (màlhwa ) with titles ,

i . e

. maluwa anin yele

(

see below

, p . 33 )

.

The persons who belong to the ruling class without titles are :

e

) the members of minda

( 5 ) , i . e .

royals without a title ,

(cf .

Fig .

8

) and

f

) all wives of the Moi

(

monde Moi ) who do not have titles . Schematic diagram 2 summarizes what has been said above :

anin mene

tin yele

minda ( 2 ) kokinawa monde Moi maluwa

with titles with titles

without titles

minda ( 5 ) monde Moi

without

titles

Schematic diagram 2

Individual titles according to semantic categories and social grouping Now we turn to the presentation and analysis of the individual titles accord™

ing to the four groups within anin yele as shown above . For easier orienta™

tion , we will label them with capital letters : A

—

minda ( we shall be deal¬

ing henceforth only with minda (

2

) and its sub

-

categories

)

,

B —

kokinawa ,

C

— '

wives of the Moi with titles

,

and D

—

learned Islamic scholars with titles . We do not have all details about every title and the functions of the respec¬

tive title

-

holders . The information presented below is what we have been able to extract and interpret from the available sources .

Titles within category A

,

minda

( 2

)

The Moi

,

as the head of the Fika political system

,

is the central figure respon¬

sible for the appointment and function of all the title

-

holders of Fika . He must be a member of the categor y minda

( 3 )

to which only male descendants of a Moi in the first generation or their descendants in the second generation belong . Under normal circumstances there can only be one Mot at a time . The succession of a Moi is characterised by a complex competitive struggle , on the one hand among the minda , and particularly between minda

( 3

) and minda

( 4 ) ;

even though the members of minda (

4

) are not eligible to succeed to the throne , some of the most influential and powerful title

-

holders be¬

long to this group

;

and on the other hand

,

between these two minda groups

(

groups 3 and

4)

and the kokinawa

,

as the Tin

]

a

(

see below

)

controls the final selection of a Moi .

The evolution of the institution of the Moi is intricately intertwined with the history of Bole migration from

"

Yemen

" .

However

,

the emergence of the Mot as the head of a complex centralised , institutionalised and structured

state machinery was a political development that probably started with the settlement on Daniski hilltop in the

16

th century . The position of the Moi became stabilized with the expansion of Bole political and economic power . This was followed by the emergence of more settlements , with Fika as the

main settlement that became the headquarters of the Moi in place of Dani¬

ski , either in the later part of the

18

th century or in the early

19

th century . As we have mentioned , the oral accounts name 24 Mois at Daniski and 12

at Fika

.

56

The main symbol of office and authority of the Moi is the small royal silver drum (tambal ) handed over by the Tin

]

a after a proper selection and installation ceremony known as deena ko kara

(

lit .

"

climbing the elephant

56 See W aziri 2004 , pp 139 - 146

grass mat

" ) . 57

The ceremony sanctions the entrance of the Moi into the offi¬

cial residence

, "

the palace " (ga boni Moi

) .

A Mois tenure of office is for life

.

58 It is important to note that appointments to all titles are the sole preroga¬

tive of the Mot and that all title

-

holders are responsible to him .

In the case of minor

,

less prominent titles than the ones considered as be¬

ing

"

senior titles with a drum "

(

see below

, p .

34f

.)

, he may delegate appoint¬

ment to the Tin

] a

.

The use of the word Moi to designate the leaders of artisan groups in Bole Fika is common

, e . g .

moi dawun ( the head of the mat weavers

) 59

or moi guwa

( the head of the blacksmiths

)

.

The remaining titles in the minda (

2

) category are

(

in hierarchical order , for details see below

)

: Ciroomà , Dala

(

or Mâgaajn

)

, Mâkïdibùj Ydrdmà y Tîidd

j

Kàlôomà , and Bâa Jangá

.

There are two more titles , Tin

]

à Púuya and Boyómá

, 60

whose exact hierarchical position cannot be ascertained ; for the moment they have tentatively been located within the bounds of their rela¬

tive positions in the category minda

( 2

)

(

see Tables

1

, 2 and

3

; for the title of Tm

] a y

see below

)

. Three of the titles , namely Ciroma , Tin

]

a Puya and Boyoma , are given to grandsons of a Moi , whose fathers have never been Moi

; 61

therefore these titles belong to the category minda (

4 )

.

The most senior title

-

holder among all the minda (

2

) is the Ciroma

,

who is also the head of all the minda

( 1 )

! He is called

"

the elder brother of the minda \ With regard to the title of Ciroma , it can be said :

"

No matter how much the Moi likes you , in the past it was impossible [ to have the title of Ciroma ] unless you were the grandson of a Moi whose father was a prince

"

. The title Ciroma is reserved for the

"

grandsons of the Moi to console them , because they can never be Moi \ The house of the Ciroma used to be the place to which the minda retired on Fridays , after paying their homage to the Moi and eating the palace meal .

The senior among the minda

( 3)

is the Dala

.

This is the title of the succes¬

sor

(

Hausa Magaji

)

,

"

highly placed

,

from a renowned household

" .

The Dala heads

"

all those who could succeed to the throne as Moi

Baa Janga is the lowest in the hierarchy of titles among the minda (

2 )

, given only to a prince whose father is reigning

.

Therefore

,

this title belongs to the category minda

( 3 )

. The title of Baa Janga is connected with the re¬

ceipt of special meat dues from the J an

]

a market at Damski . One side of

57

A

li

i

ají Ají

L

aya

,

oral account

58

M

aina

I

brahim

,

oral account

, A

lhaji Ají

L

aya

,

oral account 59

I )

adin

11

ira

,

oral account

60 This information is mainly derived from

D

adin

H

ira

,

oral account

61 The following information and quotations are from

D

adin

H

ira

,

oral account

every head of cattle slaughtered at the market was taken to the house of Baa

Janga . This was the side on which the animal was laid for slaughtering , i . e .

the side " which touched the ground " .

The role of the Tin ] a Puya was very important in controlling the visits

of other padawa to the Mot . Other functions are not quite clear from the

accounts . However , a further analysis of the title gives us a hint : ga puya

means " the part of the courtyard of a compound that is used to keep ani¬

mals , especially horses " . Thus , the Tin ] a Puya may have been in charge of

the horses of the Moi of Fika , or possibly even of the whole cavalry . Recent

information confirms the first suggestion : the Tin ] a Puya was responsible

for the purchasing of horses for the Moi , for breaking them in and preparing

them to be ridden by the Moi , as well as for making gifts of horses in the

name of the Moi . 62

The female titles within minda ( 2 ) are Mâgarâ and Gâafiyà . As female

titles , they can only belong to the category minda ( 4 ) . There are only two

M agar as mentioned personally throughout the entire oral accounts , namely

Niagara Ada Baara Kayi and Magara Leno Kayi . 63 The Niagara being the

senior of the female title - holders is comparable to a " Queen Mother " . She

was the leader of all the female title - holders , as well as of the wives of the

Moi , as a gender counter - balance in the nexus of Bole Fika state administra¬

tive structure . It is the highest title that a princess could reach . The Magara

must have been much more powerful in the past , when her appointment

could drastically affect the selection and appointment of other senior title -

holders , including the Moi and the Tinja , as recounted in the case of Gajiya

Marko 64 ( see the restriction below regarding the choice of Magara ) . That

is the reason why this title is bracketed in Tables 1 - 3 at the second highest

hierarchical level .

The Gajiya is the title of the eldest daughter of the Moi ; it is a title for life .

There may be several living Gajiyas , and the senior of them is usually ap¬

pointed Magara . 65

62 A iimadi A ccama , oral account .

63 Ibid .

64 D a din H i ra , oral account , reported the following incident connected with Gajiya

Marko

,

her brother Us ma my a and her son Malum Gana

.

Gajiya Marko

,

the eldest daugh¬

ter of Mot Bu raima

,

was supposed to be given the title of Magara

.

She refused it

i

n order to allow her brother to succeed to the throne

—

he indeed became Moi Us ma my

a —

and for her son to later become the Tin

]

a Malum Gana

.

For information on the title of Magara and its likely origin m the Lake Chad basin region

,

see

P

latte 2005 ,

p .

265

; S

eidensticker -

B

rikay 1990

,pp . 11- 12

.

65

D a

din II

i

ra

,

oral account

; A

bubakar

M

aina

B

ata

,

oral account .

Titles within category B , kokmawa

The titles among the kokmawa 66 are ( in hierarchical order , for details see

below ) : Tin ] à y Dàlàtij Gàlàdiimàj Kdigdmdj M á sdyà , Tdmàanà , Mâtkutà ,

Shèttiimàj Moi Lumpùti , Moi Sóoró , Bàrdè , Jâafi and Bâawushi . It is impor¬

tant to point that in the past even a slave could become a kokma .

The most senior title - holder among the kokinawa is the Tin ] a . He is also

the head of thepadawa . The Tin ] a has the final say in the appointment of the

Moi , and may be compared to a " chief king maker " . He plays the principal

role in the process of succession and installation of a new Moi . That is the

reason for the exclusion of all Fika princes of the category mmda ( 3 ) , i . e .

those eligible to the throne , from the possibility of appointment as a Tin ] a .

The title may be given either to a ' royal ' who is not eligible to succeed to the

throne , or to a ' commoner ' . In any case , the Tin ] a belongs automatically to

the category kokmawa .

There is an added institutional safeguard in that the Tin ] a is obliged to

secure the small silver royal drum after the death of a Moi , because it is

the insignia of office of the Moi . Thus , after the death of a Moi , the drum

automatically passes into the custody of the Tin ] a until a new Moi is rightly

appointed . 67 This is to prevent any of the princes or their offspring from il™

legally ascending the throne .

The Tin ] a also plays an important role in advising the Moi regarding the

selection and appointment of other title - holders . He makes sure that the

right candidate for the time is chosen , that the required selection procedures

are judiciously adhered to , and that the installation ceremony is correctly

carried out . 68

Making the final choice in appointing the Tin ] a is the sole prerogative of

the reigning Moi .

The Dalati is next in rank to the Tin ] a and his assistant . 69 The Galadima

is hierarchically below the Dalati .

The Masaya is the only title that was mentioned as having a room in the

palace specifically allocated to the title - holder , both at Daniski and at Fika ;

this was because he was the royal messenger 70 who had always to be close

to the Moi . He was in charge of exchanging confidential verbal messages be¬

tween the Moi and the Tin ] a . Furthermore , he delivered messages and gifts

to other addressees . When the Moi offered meals and / or gifts to the padawa ,

66 As reported by informants Dadin Hira , oral account , Alhaji Ají Laya , oral ac¬

count

,

Maina Ibrahim

,

oral account

67 Dadin Hira , oral account

68 Ibid , Alhaji Ají Laya , oral account 69 Dadin Hira , oral account

70 Ibid

the Masaya was in charge of sharing out the food and the gifts to the senior

kokinawa , leaving the task of sharing out the food and the gifts among the

remaining padawa to his assistants . 71

Only one informant mentioned the titles Kaigama and Mot Lumputi .

Kaigama was described as being ' next to the Galadima 9. Mot Lumputi was

mentioned in connection with ' Moi Lumputi M am :m an ' , the husband of

Maryam Guyu the daughter of Moi Su le . 72 Regarding the title Kaigama ,

Meek states that the Kaigama at Fika is

"

one of immediate associates of the

Ting ] a of slave origin " . 73

Moi Soto literally means the ' leader ( moi ) of the rectangular mud room

( soro ) \ As a title , it belongs to the ranks of the kokinawa , and its function is

that of a " protocol officer " of the Moi in the palace and in other important

engagements with dignitaries or royals . 74

The Barde is the courageous leader of all equestrians , who acquired the

title because of his courage . 75 During war , the warriors were organised in

rows behind the Jaji ( in command of the foot soldiers ) and the Barde ( com¬

manding the equestrians ) . It was possible that the Moi could promote a

Barde to the rank of Galadima . 76

The J a ] i was the Commander of " the foot - fighters without a title " who in

war were organised in rows behind him . Jaji and Barde were always in the

front row during war . 77

The female titles among the kokinawa are Motónkó and ÀIkâamàP These

are the executive assistants to each of the senior title - holders , appointed

from among the married and unmarried women , in the latter case preferably

widows , who are members of the families close to the respective title - holder .

The Motonko then chooses her Alkama from among the Bole Fika women

as her deputy .

In the past , the Motonko was a close age - mate of the title - holder she rep¬

resented , and it is certain that the woman chosen must have had a good re¬

lationship with the title - holder . 79 The Motonko and her Alkama help the

respective title - holder in socio - political matters , and in ceremonies con¬

nected with marriage , naming of children , death , etc . She also helps during

71

A

hmadi

A

ccama

,

oral account

; A

lhaji

I

brahim

K

utiti

,

oral account .

72 D a din FI i ra , oral account .

73

M

eek

1931 , p .

290 .

74

D a

din

11

ira

,

oral accou

nt

.

75 Ibid . 76 Ibid . 77 Ibid .

78 Fieldnotes , Potiskum 2002 and 2006 .

79

A

lhaji

I

brahim

K

utiti

,

oral account .

celebrations or on other occasions associated with the Moi , Tin

]

a and other title

-

holders .

The status of the title

-

holder represented by the Motonko and her Alkama determines their own social position , so that the Motonko and Alkama of the Moi are much more highly respected then the Motonko and Alkama of the Ttnja .

Summary of the restrictions connected with the choice of title

-

holders , categories A and B

There are certain restrictions regarding the choice of person to whom cer¬

tain titles may be given

.

The most important restrictions are as follows

(

for more details

,

see the respective titles

)

:

a

) Tin

]

a is the only title given either to a commoner or to a male member of the mmda . In the latter case , the appointee must not be a member of

mmda

( 3 )

. Usually the Moi chooses a son of a princess , in most cases

of the Gajiya

(

on the reasons for this , see (

d

) below

)

. Irrespective of the origin of the Tin

] a ,

he belongs only to the group of kokmawa

.

The Tinja ^ Dalati and Galadima are the senior titles among the kokmawa

.

In princi¬

ple

,

it is the prerogative of the Moi to appoint anybody among his subjects as a title

-

holder

.

80

b

) Ciroma , Tin

]

a Puya and Boyoma are titles given to male members of the mmda (

4)

whose fathers have not been Moi .

c

) Dala is a title given only to a senior member of the mmda

( 3 )

.

d

) In the past , the titles of Magara and Moi were not given to a sister and her direct brother or his sons ,

i . e

. to an aunt and her nephews , at the same time

.

This is an important restriction , which influences the choice of the Moi

:

the acceptance of the title of Magara by a Gajiya destroyed the chances of her direct brothers or

—

as was more often the case

—

of their sons to succeed to the throne within the same period of succession .

e

) A son of a reigning Magara could not be appointed Tin

]

a during her life¬

time .

Titles within category C

,

monde Moi

All wives of the Mot form the group of monde Moi

(

lit . wives of the Moi \ who belong neither to the mmda

( 1

) nor to the kokmawa or the padawa . Monde Moi belong to the ruling class

(

amn mene , see Schematic diagram 2

above ) and , as usually happens in centres of power , the women behind the

80 According to Dadin Hira

,

oral account

"

strong man

" ,

in our case the Moi

,

play an important social role in the palace and in consequence often on the backstage of politics .

The Moi can have wives who were previously slaves , and their social sta¬

tus is definitely not the same as that of the freeborn wives of the Mot How™

ever

,

the details of their status are yet not completely clear from the accounts , which indicate that

"

there are six titles for the wives of the Moi beside those without titles

" ,

with the titled ones being Gîmshi

,

Màadiyà

,

Biyè

; "

there are four positions of i

?

ryes

" .

81

If the eldest wife of the Moi does not give birth to a child , or gives birth only to female children

,

the Moi gives her the title of Gimshi

.

The first wife of the Moi who gives birth to a male child is given the title Madiy

a .

The Moi usually gives both titles to freeborn wives .

The role of the Biye is undefined , and it is not clear whether etymologi¬

cal ly this title has something to do with the Bole word biyè

'

sauce

'

. If this were the case

,

then the four Biye s might have been responsible for preparing the palace meals .

Titles within category D

,

maluwa

Maluwa

*2 , '

scholars ' and

4

learned persons

(

especially in Islam

)'

belong to still another social group . Maluwa is the plural form of malum , a word which came into the Bole language from Arabic

{

mualhm ,

'

teacher

'

) via Kanuri

( ;

mahm , plural mahmma from the earlier form maldm

-

wa

)

, and which is widespread in the languages of the whole region . In the Bole oral accounts ,

malum refers to Islamic scholars who played the role of adviser to individu¬

als in the society . Among the maluwa two titles must be mentioned : the Lïmân

(

a loanword originally also from Arabic , al

-

imaam ) is the leader of

the maluwa and of the congregational prayers , representing the religious and spiritual sphere of Bole Fika society The Liman is highly esteemed as an adviser to the state and the final intervener of admonishment to the Moi and appeal for intervention when there is a social crisis in the society .

The Alkali

(

also a loanword originally from Arabic , al

-

qaadii ) was the state scribe and adviser to the Moi on legal and religious matters , particu¬

larly in settling legal matters among people in the society .

In the past

,

the Alkali and the Liman were titles usually given to the same person . This tradition probably dates back to Daniski in the

16

th century ,

when M oi Mama

,

the

17 th

Moi

,

appointed Malum Mama Shuwa as the Liman

81 Ibid

82 For details of the role of scholars m the history of West Africa as

a

region influenced by Islam

,

see for instance Levtzion

/

Hopkins

1981 ,

Smith 1987

,

pp

22 —41,

Lange

1987

,

Bobboy 1 1993

and the Alkali after bringing him as a scholarly aide from Kukawa

,

from the Kanuri rulers of Borno .

The titles of Liman and Alkali became the hereditary right of Liman Mama Shuwa

'

s offspring

,

with the two roles usually being bestowed on the

same person , up to the current Chief Liman of Fika

, 83

who , however , only conducts the Friday and Eid prayers

,

without being the Alkah

.

M

A position of high social standing can be acquired by the Maluwa , for instance as Malum Moi

,

who is the personal adviser to the Moi on religious

and spiritual matters . There are also other positions that can be acquired ,

such as maluwa anin mene

,

who are learned advisers to the members of the ruling class , and maluwan asse

(

lit . big [ or senior ] scholars

)

, who are senior learned advisers in the community .

The hierarchy of titles Joint hierarchy of titles categories A and B

Table 1 below presents the joint hierarchy of titles among the minda

( 2

) and kokmawa . In this presentation , we cannot include the titles of the maluwa and monde Moi because of the difficulty of finding a suitable hierarchical relationship between them and the other title

-

holders .

The titles of Fika are organised in a hierarchical order with the Moi at the top , followed by the Tinja ^ who is the second most important title - holder in Fika . The exact place of the Magara is difficult to determine , but is hierarchically placed between the position of the Tin

]

a and the role of the Moi . Next is the Ciroma who is considered symbolically to be

"

the elder brother of the minda

" .

The Dala is the senior minda

( 3

) and heir apparent .

The capital letters in brackets in the table indicate the respective catego¬

ries A and B as presented above

.

The number after the capital letter

A .

indi¬

cates the category of minda to which the title belongs ,

i . e

. A3 = minda

( 3 )

, A4 = minda

( 4 ) , cf .

Fig

.

7 above

,

and in only one case in the Table

(

no

.26 )

Al

= minda

( 1 )

.

81 Mai Unguwa

I )

au da

,

oral account

84 The current Liman of Fika

,

Alhaji Muhammad Alkali

,

though having enjoyed both

a

Western and an Islamic education

,

did not follow

a

legal career like his father and broth¬

ers whom he succeeded as Liman He became a civil servant and retired as a Permanent

Secretary in the service of the Borno State Government of Nigeria in 1989 For details of

references and an analysis of the role of Mot Mania and Liman Mama Shuwa

,

see Ibriszi -

mow

1996

, Mai Unguwa Dauda

,

oral account

,

Waziri 2004