APPENDIX X

SOME KANURI DERIVATIONS (MOSTLY PROPER NAMES)

About half of these derivations were given me by the late Major A. M^cClintock, D.S.O., Acting Resident, Bornu, with a request that I would revise them. I have added a few notes in square brackets [ ] and some derivations of other proper names, also in square brackets. Some of the derivations are obviously ‘aetiological’, but others are, I think, correct. Major M^cClintock heads his collection—‘Lies and Otherwise’.

P. A. B.

[Afuno (the Kanuri name for the Hausas). King Iderisa Aloma of Bornu went to war with Kano and found all the people there wearing nothing but arse-cloths (‘funo’). He therefore called them ‘am-funo’ = arse-cloth people. Cf. Benton, Kanuri Readings, p. 19. For other derivations vid. Merrick, Hausa Proverbs, p. 92.]

[Allanjurori = the place of Lowan Allanjuro.]

Alo. Mai Iderisa, a Bornu king, was at war in Bagirmi; during a fight he was standing under a tree; up in the tree hidden by the branches was one of the enemy, who threw his knife at the king and wounded him very badly. The Bornu army returned by easy stages with their sick king via Dikoa to the lake now known as Alo. Here the king died from his wounds and was buried. After his death there was much lamentation, until the king’s son said, ‘It is the work of Allah’ [‘Allah kido’ = God did it]. All the people then chanted the word Allah and the lake has since been called Alo.

[Another explanation suggests that the word is derived from the Tubu ‘alo’, meaning a water-melon. When Mai Iderisa died, the melons with which the place was covered burst asunder from grief and formed a lake.]

[Ardimini. A town in Margawa District. This word means in the Koiyam language the same as the Kanuri ‘arditsani’ (3rd pers. plur. negative indefinite from ‘ardingin’) = they do not agree. The Koiyams are a pastoral people who do not care to settle down.]

Argum = millet. Birds were responsible for carrying this seed and dropping it in Kanem, at Birnin N’gebe, where the Bornu kings lived prior to their coming to Gashergomo. The seed these birds brought was taken to the king, who ordered horsemen to follow their flight and find out where it grew. It was found in the Gongola valley, and they brought some back to the king, who had it prepared and ate it. He then said, ‘Hold this safe and plant it.’

The word ‘argum’ or ‘arkum’ is a corruption of the Kanuri ‘arre ke̥mne’ = come, hold it fast. [‘Arre’ is imperative from ‘iseskin’, and ‘ke̥mne’ or ‘kumne’ is imperative from ‘ke̥mgin’ = I close the fist.]

[Arriaskuri. Name of a village opposite the Government station at Maiduguri, said to have been founded by one Arri Yasku-ma, i.e. Arri from Yasku, a town near Lake Alo now abandoned.]

[Bonigaral. This was a slave village exempted from tax: its inhabitants could therefore take their ease. ‘Bone’ is 2nd pers. sing. imperative from ‘bongin’ = I lie down; ‘ngaral’ is an emphatic adverbial suffix, cf. Koelle, Kanuri Grammar, p. 283.]

[Bornu. Or, as the natives write and pronounce it, Barnu. The usual etymology given by the natives is that it is a corruption of the Arabic ‘Bahr Nuh’ = the water of Noah, because the ark was supposed to have rested on the rocks of Hadjer Hamis on the south bank of Chad.[546] Another is that it is derived from Kanuri ‘burum nui’ = the lake is dead, has disappeared, pointing to a shrinkage of Lake Chad; cf. Appendix XIV a.]

[Borsari = the place of Kachella Mbursa, grandfather of Kachella Mahmut, ex-Ajia of this district.]

Bussugua = the fig-trees [parasitic ficus]. There is one in Ngubala rest-camp. [This is where the Major died, June 24, 1912:

Νιγηρία γὰρ οὔποτ’ οὐδέν’ ἄνδῥ ἑκὼν

αἱρεῖ πονηρόν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς χρηστοὺς ἀεί.

P. A. B. and H. B. H.-H. with apologies to Sophocles’ Philoctetes, line 436.]

[Damasak. Short for ‘mbarena damasak’ = we are tired, worn out. ‘Mbarena’ is 1st pers. plur. present participle of ‘mbareskin’; ‘damasak’ is an intensive adverbial suffix, said to be only used with the verb ‘mbareskin’ and only with the 1st pers. plur. of that verb. The town of Damasak was founded by pilgrims returning from Mecca.]

[Debira. For ‘dabbi-ri’ = the place of the long-handled hoe. It is a blacksmith’s village.]

Dikoa (vid. Alo). When Mai Iderisa was returning to Birnin Gashermo via Dikwa he left some of his people there. The ruling potentate, an ally of Bornu, said, ‘Yes, you can stay here, but I mark a boundary for you.’ He then marked out the site of the present town of Dikwa, which in the Magari [or Mackeri] language means ‘a marked out place, a boundary’. [Another suggested explanation connects it with the Kanuri word ‘digo-wa’ = grandsons.]

Galadima, from ‘galti’, meaning to finish his job properly, i.e. if in war a man was told to capture a village and did so properly the verb ‘galti’ applies.

Hence Galadima, the man who does things properly, who can be trusted to carry out affairs.

[For another derivation vid. Benton, Kanuri Readings, p. 25.]

[Gazerregomo (Kasr Kumo). Vid. note in Appendix III, p. 248.]

[Geidam. A certain man came and sat down by the river. People asked him, ‘Why do you sit down here all alone?’ He replied, ‘Ngai-dam namgin,’ literally, ‘thus exactly I am going to sit down.’ ‘Dam’ appears to be a semi-enclitic specific adverb of the kind described by Koelle, Kanuri Grammar, p. 283. An American might translate it ‘right here’.]

Grema. From Kanuri [root ‘gere’] = to eat. The story is that one of the old kings of Bornu insisted when riding about the country on tasting all wild fruits and everything that could be eaten. He had one ‘boy’, who was particularly good at bringing him these things. This boy died, the king felt his loss, he therefore appointed a man who was to do this work. Hence the name ‘Grema’.

[Gujiba. A certain king’s son went and sat down on this site. The king summoned him but he refused to come. The king said, ‘Nguji-ba?’ = has he rebelled?

‘Guji’ or ‘nguji’ is an impersonal verb meaning he rebels, he is obstinate; ‘-ba’ is the interrogative particle.]

[Gusamalla. At the time of the capture of Gazerregomo by the Fulani, a ‘mairam’ (princess) came and sat down where Gusamalla now is. Fugitives (‘nguzama’ from ‘nguzaniskin’) joined her and formed a town. The ‘-la’ is for the postpositive ‘-lan’, which is here to be translated as a genitive, cf. Koelle, Kanuri Grammar, p. 300. The name therefore means ‘(the town) of the fugitives’.]

Hausa, from the Hausa word ‘haushi’: change the h to f you get ‘fushi’, which means to be angry; vid. Robinson’s Dictionary, p. 88, ‘He feels angry’ = ‘yana yin haushi’.

The story is that on the first invasion of this country by the Hausas they met with opposition they did not expect, and were naturally angry about it. They said, ‘These people (original inhabitants) make me angry’ = ‘Ba-Fushi’. F comes roughly off the tongue, H is the accepted difference. ‘Haushi,’ between the f and the u a vowel must come or no black man could say the word.

I now say further that the much disputed derivation of this word Hausa is now solved for any one who knows anything about the matter. [!]

[The Major was always very hot on this being the correct derivation. For other explanations of Hausa vid. Merrick, Hausa Proverbs, pp. 91-3, and Robinson’s Hausa Dictionary, second edition, p. 88 a, and Tremearne, Niger and West Sudan, pp. 51-64.]

[Kaba. A Marghi town, said to have been founded by a brother of the Marghi king, Mai Ibrahim, who broke away from him and founded a town of his own. ‘Ka-ba’ = no stick, i.e. without proper authority.]

Kachella, from Katsaga = a spear [and ‘-la’ or ‘-lan’ = on. ‘Kachella’ is a military title, they are those who sleep on their spears.]

Kagaburi, the name of the country between Mobber and Geidam, i.e. between Dutchi and Geidam. ‘The country of the fools’. ‘Kagabu’ in Kanuri meaning a fool.

[Kaiuri, the place of the ‘Kayo’ (Hausa, ‘tumfafia’ = Asclepias gigantea).]

[Kanembu, the people of Kanem, ‘-bu’ being the plural form of the adjective in Kanuri; cf. Koelle, Kanuri Grammar, p. 34.[547]]

[Kano. The Sau who marked out Kano said to the people, ‘Is it enough for you?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Well then,’ said he, ‘pass along (“Konogo”) and enter in.’ Cf. Benton, Kanuri Readings, p. 26.]

Kanuri, made from the old Sau, now Beri-Beri [Kanuri] words, ‘Kam’ = a man, ‘nur’ = light-coloured, ‘-ri’ = place of or possession of. This was the name given by the Saus to the first arrivals from the North, meaning literally, ‘the light-coloured men.’ These men, the first Mohammedans in Bornu, were called Beri-Beri owing to their long sojourn in Berber before crossing the desert to the fertile Chad and its neighbouring rivers. The language of these people was the language of Berber and Arabia. On obtaining possession and settling down to Islamize the country, they adopted the language of the Saus, the now more or less Kanuri language.

[Another derivation connects Kanuri with Kanem, the country via which the Kanuri entered Bornu. Neither derivation explains why a tribal name has the place termination ‘-ri’ in it. I do not know what authority the Major had for saying that ‘-ri’[547] could imply ‘possession of’.[547]]

[Karaguaro. This district is ‘bush’. ‘Karaga’ = bush, ‘Karaga-wa’ = belonging to bush, ‘Karaga-wa-ro’ = to the bush (place).]

Karda, people living in small hamlets outside proper Kanuri villages, so called from the Kanuri word ‘Karta’ [‘Karngin’] = to separate. They were originally goat and sheep-herds, and therefore of necessity lived in the ‘bush’.

Konduga. There is close to Konduga a village named Salalari. In this village lived a hunter and his son. The son, knowing that the marsh close to our present Konduga was a good place for game, told his father that he wanted to go and live there and hunt. At this the father was angry and told the boy, ‘If you do, you don’t come back.’ That is the meaning of the name. ‘Kondi’ or ‘Qwondi’ in Kanuri meaning ‘to sit apart’ or ‘sit down by yourself or on your own’.

[Konduga or Kondega is short for ‘ke̥la-ne̥m kong dega’, literally, ‘by yourself abide.’ ‘Kong’ is an emphatic suffix or specific adverb; cf. Koelle, Kanuri Grammar, p. 283; ‘dega’ is imperative from ‘degaskin’ = to enter in, to abide.]

[Kwalme Shuwas. Vid. Appendix XIV.]

[Lagarete. Lagari are a Koiyam tribe, ‘-te’ is the demonstrative pronoun used as a definite article; vid. Koelle, Kanuri Grammar, p. 185.]

[Luskuri. ‘Lasku’ or ‘lusku’ means in Kanuri the hole made by a ‘bush-cat’ or fox; ‘-ri’ = the place of.]

Magumeri. ‘Magume’ is the old tribal Kanuri mark, that is, the two long marks down the arm and leg supposed to be made by a sword; two is for princes, &c., three marks any Kanuri. ‘-ri’ = place of. Therefore, Magumeri means the place of the Kanuri princes or chiefs—or a properly bred old stock Kanuri.

[Magumi is the name of one of the chief Kanuri clans.]

Maiduguri. ‘Mai’ = a king, ‘dugu’ a corruption of ‘dugo’, which means ‘presently’. Maidugu means the son of a [‘maina’] prince or the grandson of a king (really ‘presently a king’). ‘-ri’ = the place of. Hence Maiduguri means ‘the dwelling place of a king’s grandson’.

[Cf. ‘madugu’ in Hausa = headman of a caravan. The place is frequently misspelt Maidugari, because people think it has something to do with the Hausa word ‘gari’ = a town.]

Maifoni. ‘Mai’ = a king, ‘foni’ [or ‘funi’] = a turban. A slave of a Bornu king introduced this place to his master’s notice on account of its running water and pleasant site. The king rewarded the slave by giving him a turban, which is a sign of office; hence the name.

[There is an ancient connexion between Maifoni and the kings of Marghi. According to one account the Marghi town of Kaba (q.v.) was originally also called Maifoni, a corruption of Mafundi, which means ‘a tall, stout man, a man in his prime’, because it was founded by a powerful man, who broke away from the authority of the Marghi king, Mai Ibrahim. A later Marghi king, Mai Jalo, complained to Shehu Lamino, that in paying his annual visit of homage to Kukawa, he found the journey a fatiguing one, as it was all ‘bush’ between Kaba and the centre of Uje. Lamino therefore gave him permission to select a site as a ‘rest-camp’, and he chose Maifoni (now Maiduguri station) as his half-way house. The following is a list of the Marghi kings of Maifoni.

Connexion between Maifoni and Marghi.

The founder of Maifoni was a man called Mele Gumsumi, and his title was Kaloma. He left Birni and sat down at Kasachiya (near Kaba) to farm. He was succeeded by Kaloma Umar Kumaisimi, he by Mai Isa Mairemmi. Mai Isa reigned for forty years.

He was succeeded by Mai Momodu Mairemmi.

„ „ Mai Duguribe Gumsumi (he belonged to the ruling family of Birni).

„ „ Zuri Gumsumi.

„ „ Mai Nassar.

„ „ Mele Nassarmi.

„ „ Usuman Kumaisimi.

„ „ Usuman Gumtimi (he went and made war with the Sau town of Almis).

„ „ Mai Mele Hawami.

„ „ Mai Momodu Panami.

„ „ Mai Jalo Bawomi.

„ „ Mai Tahir.

„ „ Mai Jalo Aisami.

„ „ Mai Momodu Maungusuma.

„ „ Mai Dalla.

„ „ Mai Momodu Kowas.

„ „ Mai Mallam Gorumba.

„ „ Mai Zogoma.

„ „ Mai Mele Balumi.

„ „ Mai Sunoma.

„ „ Mai Momodu Kabumi (son of Sunoma).

„ „ Mai Budum.

„ „ Mai Ibram (contemporary of Shehu Lamino).

„ „ Mai Jalo.

„ „ Mai Momodu Gajimi.

„ „ Mai Arri.

„ „ Mai Mele.

„ „ Mai Momodu Biyemi.

„ „ Mai Dogum.

„ „ Mai Yagudima.

„ „ Mai Mele.

„ „ Mai Arri (now Lowan of Kaba in West Marghi, Kaba and Maifoni having been separated under the British administration).]

[Margawa, the ‘marga’ trees. The pounded wood of this tree is boiled and used to sweeten certain native dishes.]

[Marte, said to be a Sau word meaning a blanket or thick cloth.]

Masagua or Masakwa, the dry-season corn. The first of this grain was found in elephants’ droppings. The King of Kasa (now in German territory) was the first man who noticed this grain in elephant-droppings. He picked it out and planted it. When he watered it, it grew freely and was the beginning of the seed afterwards sown widely in waterlogged ground, and bearing a grain similar to guinea-corn. The idea is that the elephant ate guinea-corn at some distant place and brought it as described to Chad shore. ‘Musu’ in Kanuri is anything rotten [from ‘me̥se̥ngin’]. ‘Musukwa’ = something that comes from a rotten thing.

[Masu. A certain man came and sat down here and said, ‘If they want me, let them seek me’ (‘matsa’, 3rd pers. plural, 2nd indefinite, from ‘mangin’).]

Mbarma or Mbaruma, the man in a village who collects from the villagers any money due by them. ‘Mbaro’ meaning in Kanuri ‘to pay rent, to pay on behalf of ——’.

[‘Barungin’ = to redeem from slavery, to pay ‘pansa’, so ‘mbaru-ma’ is the man who is responsible for some one else. ‘Mbarma’ is a small village or hamlet headman, as opposed to ‘bullama’ or ‘be̥la-ma’, headman of a large village.]

[Mongonu. The King of Bornu, at that time settled at Kabela, sent his brother to sit down on this site. When the people saw that the country was fertile, they said, ‘Mai (shiga) ngurno gono’ = the king has shown him kindness. This became corrupted into Mongonu or Maungono.]

[Ngomati. Nguma is the name of a Kanuri tribe, ‘-ti’ is the demonstrative pronoun used as a definite article; vid. Koelle, Kanuri Grammar, p. 185.]

Ngunse [Nganzei], which in Kanuri means ‘to milk’. This used to be a rich district and a source of wealth to the fiefholders, who made the most of it and milked it of its wealth.

[‘Ngangin’ = to milk; ‘nganzei’, 3rd pers. plural, 1st indefinite or perfect. The district is very rich in cattle.]

[Nguru. Some hunters killed an hippopotamus (‘ngurutu’) and made bracelets out of the skin. Such bracelets are called ‘nguru’.]

Shetima, from the word ‘sheida’ = a witness. ‘Shetima’ means ‘the tried man, the proved man’.

Shuwa. The word ‘ashe’ in Kanembu and Kanuri means ‘the strong-headed man, wilful or disobedient man’ [‘ashi’ = obstinacy], ‘-wa’ = the people of. Hence the word ‘ashiwa’, now ‘Shuwa’.

They are originally supposed to have been so perverse that they would not follow the Prophet, thence they became a wandering tribe. [Cf. p. 328.]

[Uje, said to be a corruption of the Shuwa-Arabic word ‘waje̥hu’ = a face. Koelle, in the Polyglotta Africana, gives the form ‘wush’ = face, in the Arabic dialect of Beran. The district known as Uje occupies a central position in Bornu, and was therefore called the ‘face’ of the country.]

[Yajua. A Fulani ‘ardo’ called Yaji settled at this spot. The Kanuri, therefore, called it ‘be̥la Yaji-wa’ = Yaji’s town, ‘-wa’ being the adjectival termination.]

Yarima, from ‘ya’ = mother, ‘yari’ = the mother’s place, ‘yarima’ = he who is in the mother’s house. Hence in a king’s family the son who takes charge of the mother’s compound is called the Yarima. This title seems to go from father to son, not through sons of the ruling house. Thus now in Bornu, Yarima Kassim [ex-Ajia of Mufio] has the appointment, Bukar Yarimami [now Ajia of Gusamalla-Ngunse] refusing it on his father’s death; both these men are descendants of old Bornu ‘Yarimas’.

[Yedseram, or Yadseram. The river forming the Anglo-German boundary. A small girl called Yachua was bathing in it and was drowned. The people said, ‘Komadugu Yachua tshetshina’ = the river has killed Yachua, so the river was named ‘Yachua tshetshina-ram’ = the river which killed Yachua (‘-ram’ is an adjectival suffix); this became corrupted into Yadseram. Another suggested derivation connects it with the village of Yadza near Issege.]