invention of tradition as response to threat

7/24/2019 Invention of Tradition as Response to Threat

1/17

The Kisra Legend and the Distortion of Historical TraditionAuthor(s): Phillips Stevens Jr.Reviewed work(s):Source: The Journal of African History, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1975), pp. 185-200Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/180811.

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2/17

Journal of

African History,

XVI, 2

(I975),

pp.

i85-200

I85

Printed in

Great

Britain

THE

KISRA LEGEND AND THE

DISTORTION OF

HISTORICAL TRADITION*

BY

PHILLIPS STEVENS,

JR.

STUDENTS of folklore

and

ethnohistory have consistently

addressed

them-

selves

to the

problem

of the

historical

veracity

of

oral

tradition.'

Some

scholars have

recognized

the

possibility

that a

society,

or

a

group

within

a

society,

can distort its historical

traditions

in

response

to the felt need

to assert

equality with,

if

not

superiority over, a

neighbouring or threaten-

ing group.2 This paper focuses

on

the legends of Kisra,

widespread in the

western

Sudan,

and

aims to

demonstrate certain

societal mechanisms

which

can allow for the

introduction and

maintenance of such

distortion,

in

response to what

is herein

referred

to as the 'Kisra

effect'.3

Variations on the

legend of Kisra have

been recorded among

riverine

peoples

in the

western

Sudan from the Jukun on

the

middle

Benue

to

Borgu

and other areas under the

former

Songhai kingdom

along

the

middle and

upper Niger. The stories

generally tell of a

great

ruler

who

fled from Arabia during the time of Muhammad and led a migration

across the

Sahara.

In

some

places where

the

legend

has

existed,

Kisra

is

regarded as

having been

merely a visitor;

in

others

he, or his

descendants,

are

positively regarded

as founders of

the

state. 'Kisra relics' have been

recorded

in certain

villages

where

they are

acknowledged

as the

original,

hence

sacred, articles of kingship.

In all areas

where the legend of

Kisra

exists,

it and

the

associated relics are held as

evidence of the

people's

claimed

Eastern

ancestry,

or

at least, Eastern

connexions.

Some

speculation has been

offered as to the

origins of the Kisra

legends

*

Fieldwork

on which

Section

II

of

this

paper

is based was

conducted in

Adamawa

from

September

I969 through March

I97',

and was

supported by

a

Field Grant

and

Fellowship from

the

Cultural

Anthropology

section of

the

National

Institute

of

Mental

Health, and

by assistance from

the

Program of African

Studies, Northwestern

University.

The

idea of the

'Kisra effect'

was born

after a

discussion with

Professor R.

J. Gavin

of

the

Department of

History,

Ahmadu

Bello

University. The

original draft

of this

paper

was

presented

at the I972

meetings

of the

African

Studies

Association in

Philadelphia.

Subsequent

revisions have

benefited from

critical

comments offered

by

Dan

Ben-Amos,

James W.

Fernandez, A.

H.

M.

Kirk-Greene, Daniel

F.

McCall, Nicholas

Pweddon,

Karl

Reisman,

and Vito

Signorile. The

map was

drawn

by Gordon J. Schmahl.

Additional

acknowledgements will

be made in

subsequent

notes.

1

For

recent

assays and

overviews see

especially

Philip

D.

Curtin, 'Oral

Traditions

and

African

History', J.

Folklore Institute,

VI,

2/3

(I969), I37-155; Richard M.

Dorson,

'The

Debate over the

Trustworthiness

of Oral

Traditional

History',

in

R.

M.

Dorson,

ed.,

Folklore: Selected Essays (Bloomington, Indiana,

1972);

and Jan Vansina, Oral Tradition,

H. M.

Wright, trans.

(Chicago,

I965).

2

Vito

Signorile

has

suggested

that

a

similar

process might occur

to

explain the

felt

inferiority of one

society

or

group to

another.

3

It must be

stated at

the

outset that this

term is coined for the

purposes

of

this

paper

only;

I

do not

presume that

it will

come into

general

usage.


3/17

i86

PHILLIPS STEVENS, JR.

and the significance of their

distribution. In

this paper I shall offer a

simple re-examination of the legend and suggest what seems to be a

more plausible

explanation for its origin than

those previously offered;

moreover,

I

hope to show

that the Kisra legends

are but one mani-

festation

of

a

possibly widespread

phenomenon: the selective altering

of

historical

tradition

in

response to a real or felt

threat from an

external

influence.

I

shall then demonstrate,

using data from a small upper

Benue

chiefdom which has no knowledge of the Kisra

legends, specific societal

mechanisms

which

can allow for the introduction

and maintenance

of such

distortions of

traditional history.

I

The Legends

of

Kisra

Fairly

detailed accounts of the coming of

Kisra (Kisira, Kisara,

Kishara)

and

his

role

in

establishing

the original chieftaincy

have been recorded in

Karissen,4

I110,5

and

Bussa,

to which we shall presently

return.

In

other

areas

it is not certain whether Kisra was

the

founder of the

state or

merely

a

visitor.

An

account of the

coming

of the

'Kisara'

people

to

Wukari,

the

modern Jukun

capital,

is

contained

in

a document

secured

in

Argungu and

translated by Palmer.6 Meek7

states, 'The Jukun though they

state that

they

have

been told

that

their

forefathers came

from the

East,

from

Birnin

Masr

[Egypt],

from

Mecca,

or

East

of Mecca,

have no

knowledge of

the

Kisira tradition.

But in

districts where

the

tradition

exists

or is

recorded

in

writing,

Kororofa

[the

seat

of

the once

mighty Jukun

empire]

and

Wukari

are

usually mentioned as having been

founded by

descendants of

Kisira.'

But Mathews8 describes a

sword and

spear

which are

part

of the

chief's

regalia

at Wukari and which are

believed

to

have been

left

there

by

Kisra.

Discussing

the

history of

the

Songhai

kingdom,

which

during

its

height in the sixteenth century included, with the exception of Wukari and

Kororofa,

all

the

above-named

towns,

as

well as all

of

the

original

Hausa

states, Hogben

and Kirk-Greene9

write,

'According

to one

tradition,

the

Songhai migrated

out

of

Egypt

some

time

during

the seventh

century

when

the

town

was overrun

by

Arab

conquerors.

Their

coming

to

Dandi

(Songhai)

is

thought

to fit

in

with

the well-known

Hausa

legend

of

the

4West

African

villages, areas,

and societies

mentioned

in the text

are indicated

on the

map. I have

been unable to

locate

Karissen; it

is an Achifawa town.

The Kisra legend

in

Karissen is recounted

in 0.

and C. L. Temple,

Notes on the

Tribes,

Provinces,

Emirates

and

States of

the Northern

Provinces of

Nigeria (Cape Town, I9I9),

30.

An account

of

the

'Kisra relics'

at Karissen

is given by A. B.

Mathews,

in 'The Kisra Legend', African

Studies,

Ix, 3 (I950),

I44-7.

5

S.

J.

Hogben and A. H.

M. Kirk-Greene,

The Emirates of

Northern Nigeria (London,

I966),

419,

577ff.

6

H. R.

Palmer,

Sudanese

Memoirs, II (Lagos 1928), 61-3.

7C.

K. Meek,

A Sudanese Kingdom (London

I93I),

22.

8

'The Kisra

Legend',

I47.

9 Emirates,

68.


4/17

THE KISRA LEGEND

187

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5/17

i88 PHILLIPS STEVENS, JR.

Kisra

migration which is held responsible for the founding of Illo, Bussa,

and also Kwararafa.'

Reports of the Kisra legend have been recorded

in other areas. Fro-

benius,10

for

example, presents several versions of

Kisra's alleged sojourns

in the area of the Gwari and Dakakari, and at Kontagora-these reports

are the results of a 'Kisra Commission' called together by him, and most

can probably be dismissed as unverifiable. He includes an account of

Kisra's sixteen-and-one-half-year reign in Bussa, and of his death and

burial

in

that

city

in

the

year

A.D.

650.

All other

accounts, including those

collected

in

Bussa, assert that

Kisra himself never reached that city.

Of all

the

recorded

variations,

the

versions

recounted by the Borgu

people of Bussa are perhaps the most detailed, certainly the most strongly

held.

A

good summary version of

the

Bussa accounts

is that given by

Hogben and Kirk-Greene. 1 It is similar in most respects to the accounts

collected

in

Illo,

and

contains

nearly

all the elements

found elsewhere:

Kisra was the

head

of a small

lineage

or clan

in

Mecca,

or

somewhere in

Arabia. He refused to accept

Muhammad's

plans for reform, and stoutly

resisted

conversion to Islam. In the face of defeat

by

the forces of the

Prophet,

he fled with

his people to Africa

and

across

the

Sahara, coming

eventually

to

the Niger.12

His three sons reached

Illo,

where

they

crossed

the Niger. The river was then miraculously widened to its present size,

apparently

to foil the

pursuing

Muslims.

Kisra's

death or

disappearance

remains

a

mystery;

some

say it

was

at

Koko.

In

any case,

his

directives were

laid down to his

followers,

who

dispersed,

and his three

sons founded

Bussa,

Nikki,

and

Illo. Subsequent

rulers

of

these

places

claim

direct descent from

Kisra,

and

among

their

royal paraphernalia

are certain relics

said to have

been

bequeathed

to the

chieftaincy by

him. The Bussa relics are described

in

detail

by

Heath13

and

mentioned

by

Mathews.14 The

origins

of certain modern customs

are

traced

to activities

and

dictates

of Kisra

and

his

followers.

The Emir

of

Bussa, for example, can never cross the Niger from his town on the south-

ern

bank,

in

recognition

of

the founder's

refusal to do

so.

And

when

the

Sallah

moon

appears

the Emir

twice refuses

to

acknowledge it, symbolic

of

Kisra's

reluctant token

acceptance

of

Islam as a

result

of

pressing requests

by

the

Prophet,

who still

highly respected

him.

Analysis of

the

Legend

There

seems to

be

general agreement today

that

some

sort

of

migration

took

place during

the

seventh

century.

The account recorded

by

Palmer

10

Leo Frobenius, The

Voice

of Africa,

Rudolf

Blind,

trans.,

II

(London,

I9I3), 617.

11

Emirates,

5

I

7

ff.

12

In describing

the

progress

of

this

migration

the

name 'Kisra' is

variously applied

to

the

man

himself,

or

to

his followers. Palmer's

account,

for

example,

states that the

migra-

tion took

at least

300 years, during

which

time 'the Kisara' had broken

up

into

several

different

branches.

13 D.

F.

Heath,

'Bussa

Regalia', Man,

xci

(1937),

77-80.

14

'The Kisra Legend',

I47.


6/17

THE

KISRA LEGEND

I89

traces the

Kisra migration

from Darfur to Balda

Mountain,

north-east of

Marua, thence through Adamawa, 'through the Bashima and other similar

tribes

to Muri.'15 The

group

then

split up,

some went to

Zaria,

others

to

Wukari,

others settled at

Gwana,

and still others moved further west and

founded Wawa and

Baku

(which

towns,

Palmer

points out,

were

established

long before Bussa).

Some versions

of

the

legend

assert that

many

of the

arts

and

crafts practised by

the

people

of central

Nigeria today

were

introduced

by Kisra; Jeffreys16

demonstrates that

the

distribution

of

the

cire perdue

method of

brass-casting

coincides almost

precisely

with the

alleged path

of the Kisra

migration.

Frobenius and

others

have

suggested

that the Yoruba tradition

of

Lamurudu

shows similarities

to

elements of the Kisra

legend,

and

may be

an extension

of the same.

Jeffreys

concurs, 7

and

in a

study

of elements

of

divine kingship

he seconds some earlier conclusions

arrived

at

by Meek,18

pointing out

'the

essential

uniformity

of culture

among

the

Bini,

the

Yoruba,

the

Igala,

the

Igbo

and the

Jukun,

with

the

inevitable conclusion

that

it

has

a

common source.'19

In

all areas where

it

exists,

the

legend

of

Kisra

is

placed

in

the realm

of

the mythological,

in

the times

of the

'beginnings'.

Even in the

traditional

history

of

Bussa, Hogben

and Kirk-Greene

point

out that

'from

the

death

of Kisra

until

the middle

of the

eighteenth century

a

gap

exists.'20 The

character of

Kisra has

everywhere

assumed

magical qualities; many of

his exploits, such as the parting of

river

waters to allow

his men

to cross,

and

the

subsequent widening

of the river

to

thwart

his

pursuers, up to his

final 'disappearance' after having

given

directions for the

smooth running

of the

state,

are similar to those activities

ascribed to culture

heroes

elsewhere.

Around

the

turn

of

this

century

two ideas

became popular among

scholars

concerned

with

the

early history

of

the

western Sudan: (i)

the

notion of Egyptian or other Eastern origins of many of the Sudan states,

and

(2)

the ascription of certain apparently foreign elements to an early

infusion of

Christianity, particularly

of the

Coptic variety. The first idea

received strength from the fact

that

so

many West African societies place

their

origins

to the east

or

north-east;

but

the

attempts

of

many to extend

these to

Egypt

or even

further

on the

basis of certain

assumed cultural and

linguistic similarities have been fairly thoroughly discredited.21 The second

idea has been

shown to

have

been based on

entirely circumstantial evidence

and the wishful or

merely

fanciful

thinking

of its

proponents. But elements

15

Sudanese Memoirs,

ii, 62.

16

M. D. W.

Jeffreys,

'The

Origins

of the Benin

Bronzes', African

Studies, x,

2

(I951),

87-92.

17

Ibid. 90-I.

18 Sudanese Kingdom,

23.

19

'The

Divine

Umundri

King',

Africa,

VIII

(I

935),

346-54.

20 Emirates,

579.

21

See R. W.

Westcott,

'Ancient

Egypt

and Modern

Africa',

J.

Afr. Hist.,

ii,

2

(I96I),

3II-I2, 3I14-I 6, 320-I;

and

Merrick

Posnansky,

'Kingship,

Archaeology,

and

Historical

Myth',

The

Uganda

yournal,

I

(I966),

I-I2.


7/17

I90


in

the

Kisra traditions have been variously

cited as proof of both

possibil-

ities.

Frobenius, through

an analysis of various legends that can

only be

described as ingenious,

concludes that the story of the Kisra migration

from Egypt 'can be completely and without

the least violence

brought

into accord with the

events chronicled in history'.22 Moreover, he

associates

the arrival of the

Kisra peoples with the introduction of Coptic

Chris-

tianity into the southern Sudan; Kisra

and his progeny were Christian,

and it was only

when his descendants stopped observing his

directive to

send tribute to Egypt, that they succumbed

to Islamic proselytizers.23

Daniel F. McCall's I968

review article,24to date the most thorough

review

of the Kisra problem, presents in detail the evidence against Frobenius's

sweeping

claims.

The Persian Connexion

Frobenius, however,

as McCall indicates, should be credited

for his

recognition of the possibility of the name

'Kisra' having been derived

from the popular

name of an ancient Persian ruler. There were,

in fact,

two Sassanid kings

of the sixth and seventh centuries who were

known as

'Khosrau' (in

Greek, Chosroes): Anushirwan

(Khosrau I, d. 579) and

Khusru Parviz (Khosrau II, d. 628). Frobenius links 'Kisra' with the

latter,

as does Meek.25 Palmer favours the former.26

The name Kisra is, in fact, the Arabic

(Kasra or Kesra) form

of Khos-

rau,27

and both

kings were well known throughout

the

Arab world.

Anushirwan ascended to

the

throne

in

53I

and

immediately

established

a

reputation

as

a strong but fair

ruler. Sir Percy Sykes writes,

'Noshirwan

the

Just

is

undoubtedly

the

most

illustrious

figure

in the

history

of

Iran,

so far as it

is known to the Persians'.28 And A.

D.

H.

Bivar

notes,

'.

his

justice

and

magnificence

became

proverbial

in

the

East'.29

Though

a

staunch Zoroastrian,

he

was

highly respected

by

Muslims

and

Christians

alike. He was mercurial in his attitude toward Christianity, but the

Nestorian

church flourished under

his

reign,

and an

intense

missionary

zeal

developed,

a

proselytizing

ambition

so

strong

that

it has been credited

with

giving

rise

to the

legend

of Prester

John.30

Anushirwan's military exploits were

extensive.

But it should

be

noted

22

Voice of Africa, ii, 623.

23

Meek also argues

for an Egyptian origin

of the

nobler aspects of

West African

culture,

but takes

an etymological tack to

suggest that the

name

'Kisra'

derives

from a

corruption

of

certain

Egyptian

words denoting royalty

and divinity,

Ki and Se Ra.

These were twisted

to form

the Hausa word

for

chief, sarki,

which

was itself twisted

to form

'Kisra'.

24

'Kisra, Chosroes,

Christ, Etc.',

Afr. Historical

Studies, s, 2 (I968),

255-77.

25

The Northern Tribes of Nigeria,

I

(London,

I925), 72.

26

In Temple and Temple,

Notes, 495.

27

Alef Shah

Zadran and Soraya

Noland, personal

communication, 1972.

28 A

History

of Persia, 2nd. ed., I

(London

I921),

458.

29

'Khosrau',

in Encyclopedia

Britannica,

xiII

(i968), 334.

3

0History

of Persia, 1,

458.


8/17

THE

KISRA LEGEND

I9I

that the closest

he ever came

to the African continent was in

575

when

his

troops assisted in freeing the Yemen from what Hitti calls 'the hated

African rule'.3'

Through

these

conquests

Anushirwan

assumed

overlord-

ship of the

Yemen, and

an

obvious

implication

of this

must have

been

a

considerable extension of his

reputation,

even to the

coast

of Africa.

The

second

candidate for the

referent

of 'Kisra' is

Parviz, Khosrau

II,

whose armies

conquered Alexandria

and

occupied

most of

Egypt

for ten

or

twelve

years

until

they

were driven out

by

the Roman

emperor

Heraclius.

It is to this Persian

occupation of

Egypt

that Frobenius refers in

his

discussion of

the

origins

of

the

'Kisra

migrations'.32

Most

probably,

he

argues, not

all

the Persians fled eastward

from

Egypt;

some moved

west

and south and later carried Coptic Christianity to the Sudan. Frobenius

points to certain cross-like motifs

in

Sudanic

art,

and other

scholars

have

noted certain Christian-like

aspects

of sub-Saharan belief

systems,

as

proof of

an

ancient Christian

presence.

Indeed,

some have

argued

for

a

derivation of

'Kisra' from

'Christ'.33

Like

Anushirwan, Parviz was a devoted

Zoroastrian,

and his

attitude

toward

Christianity

was

paradoxical. Abroad

he was

dedicated to

its

eradication; at home

he was tolerant.

In

any

case,

it

is

certain

that he

himself

never entered

Africa,

neither

he

nor his

followers led

any

migration,

and

there is no evidence

whatsoever for either a

Persian

or

a

Christian

migration across

the Sahara.

Parviz

is

an

unpopular historical

figure.

According to

Bivar, 'during

his

reign Khosrau

had amassed

fabulous

treasures but his

ferocity

and

avarice

alienated

his

supporters'34;

in

628 he

was

deposed

and

murdered

in

prison.

The

fame of his

predecessor

had

by

then

already

been

established

throughout

the Arab

world.

There

is

a Persian

tradition

which

alleges

that

Muhammad

acknowledged

his

ascendance to the

status

of

Prophet

as

having

been

due

in

large

part

to his

having

been

'born

during the

reign

of

a

just King'.35

For the purpose of this paper it is probably unimportant which Khosrau

is

meant. The fact

remains that Kisra

in

Arabic refers

to Khosrau,

means

'the

famous', and

denotes

royalty.

Von

Grunebaum, writing of

the

Sassanid

period, notes,

'On

the

whole, then, Persian

prestige

fared fairly well.

Kisrawi ,

Khosroan, came to be used to

indicate

a

truly

royal style of

life.'36

31Philip

K.

Hitti,

History

of

the

Arabs,

gth

ed.

(London

1967),

65.

But

Sykes

(History

of

Persia,

I,

455) suggests that Anushirwan's

expulsion

of

the

Abyssinians

from

the

Yemen

was

incidental to his

desire

to

expand

his

realm.

32

Voice

of Africa,

ii,

623

ff.

33

Mathews terms such an

argument

'an

ingenious

blending

of

metathesis

and

inductive

reasoning to fit the

premises

which

their

author

essays

to

prove':

in

'The

Kisra

Legend',

I44.

34

'Khosrau',

334.

35

This

sentiment

was

conveyed

to

me

by

Soraya

Noland

(cf.

n.

27,

above),

and

is ex-

tracted

from

a

publication

used

in schools

in

Teheran:

Zein-al-Abedeen

Rahnama,

Payambar: A

Biography of Mohammad

(Beirut,

I935).

36

G. E. von

Grunebaum,

'The

Beginnings

of

Culture

Consciousness in

Islam',

in

Islam: Essays on the

Nature and

Growth

of

a

Cultural

Tradition,

American

Anthropological

Association

Memoir No.

8i

(57,

2,

Pt.

2, Apr

I955), 36.


9/17

192 PHILLIPS

STEVENS,

JR.

Mathews

refers to Palmer's

and Meek's accounts

to agree

that 'there is

considerable support for the view that Kisra may be identified with

Chosroes'.3

Investigations

into accounts

of Persian and

Arab history

and

tradition

have added to the

supportive evidence.

But Mathews sees

'many

difficulties

in

identifying

Kisra with

Chosroes. Of them, the

primary

one

is that Chosroes led

no migration, and

that the

migration from Arabia

was

caused by

Chosroes,

not led by him.'38 Frobenius

had long before

ad-

dressed

himself to this

objection:

'It

goes without saying

that Kisra, i.e.

Khosrau,

the Persian

king,

did not initiate the

civilizing movement

in

person,

but

that

the term Kisra may be regarded

as some form of generali-

zation,

such

as Lord of the Persians .'39

Mathews argues further against a 'Kisra migration': 'It was a migration

of Abyssinians from

Yemen, and there

was no

migration of Beduin

tribes

until the conquest

of

Egypt

and the advance of Islam along the north

of the

African

continent

in

639,

A.D.'40

If

the reputation of 'Kisra'

was as

wide-

spread

and

highly regarded

as the histories assert,

it

could easily have

been

extended

by

the

very

'Beduin' migration

to which Mathews

refers,

or

in

fact

by

any

other

wave of influence.

Any history

of West Africa will

show

that

there were

many.

The

history

of

both

Islamic

and

non-Islamic

Arab

influence

on

the Sudan

is

well-established,

and its

significant

role

in

the

development

of the

early

Sudanic states

is

recognized.

McCall indicates

evidence

in favour

of the 'Kisra

-

Chosroes

hypothesis'

but notes

that,

if

it

is

to

be

accepted,

'allowance must be

made for the

possibility

of

an

interpolation, perhaps

from

an

Islamic

source';

however, he adds,

'such

a

corruption

would make the tradition seem older

than

it

actually

is.'4'

It

should

be noted

that north-south

channels had

been

opened

and were

flowing smoothly

even before the

rise and

spread

of Islam.

Northern

factors

in

the

rise of the

empire

of

Songhai

are also

well-documented,42

and

it

is

significant

that Islam

did

not take root

there until

ioo0;

the

kingdom

was

by

then several

hundred

years

old.

It is my contention, then, that it is very likely that the notion of 'Kisra'

as the

embodiment of noble

values had

accompanied

earlier

migrants,

and that

it

is

equally

likely

that

bearers of

Islam, being

also

bearers of

Arab

influence, conveyed

the notion as

well.

I

think

that the

route of

any

particular

'Kisra

migration'

cannot

be

delineated,

nor

do

I

think it

would

be fruitful

to

try.

It

is

true that

many Niger

and

Benue

peoples

have

a

tradition

of

having

come

from the

East,

and

that in

many

of their

traditions

the

precise

steps

of their

forebears,

and

their

alleged

relationships

with

other

peoples along

the

route,

are noted.

Moreover,

it

is

true that

many

of the

historical traditions

of some

peoples

coincide well with those

of

others, and when these similarities are considered together with modern

37

'The Kisra

Legend',

I44.

38

Ibid.

I45.

39

The Voice

of Africa,

II, 625.

40 'The

Kisra Legend',

I54.

41

'Kisra,

Chosroes,

Christ', 275.

42

See E.

W. Bovill,

The Golden

Trade

of the Moors

(London I958),

iooff.;

and

Hogben

and Kirk-Greene,

Emirates, 67ff.


10/17

THE

KISRA

LEGEND

I93

cultural

similarities,

a

'uniformity

of

culture',

as

Jeffreys suggests,

appears

which may often suggest 'a common source'. But as regards the alleged

westward migration down

the

Benue

and

into

the

areas

of

the

Niger and

into central

and south-western

Nigeria,

which 'route'

is

most

tangibly

marked

by the presence

of the cire perdue

method of

brass-casting

at

various

points, there

is

little evidence

to

suggest

that

the idea

of Kisra

followed this

way. The only evidence of a

Kisra

element

in

the

entire

Benue region

is in

the form

of the relics

kept

by

the

chief

at

Wukari,

and

these are

not

accompanied

by any well-developed

legend

of

migration;

it

is

simply stated that

they

'were

left by

Kisra'.43

When it is

recognized

that

the

Jukun kingdom

of Kororofa

had, by

the end of the

seventeenth

century, extended as far as Kano, Katsina, and Zaria,44it can easily be

supposed that

these relics, or their association with

'Kisra',

were

acquired

during

the

process

of

expansion.

It is

in Borgu that we find

the

most

fully developed

versions

of the

legend,

and

the most

definite

association of Kisra with the

establishment

of

chieftaincy.

The land of

Borgu

bordered on

Songhai,

but it

is

significant

that it

was always able to resist incursions

from

all

outside

forces,

and

it

was only with

Lugard's

treaty

of

I894

that

Borgu recognized any

foreign

power.45

Songhai,

it

has

been

noted,

succeeded

in

conquering

all of

the

original

Hausa

states;

this success came under the

Muslim

leader

Askia

in

the years

I5I2-I7,

'after an inconclusive struggle with the redoubtable

Borgu'.46

It is

also

significant that detailed and

strongly-held versions of the

Kisra

legend obtain

in

Illo,

then

part

of

Kebbi,

on

the

very

border of

Songhai's

easternmost

province

of Dandi. Kebbi

shared

with

Borgu

the

distinction

of

successfully

maintaining independence

from

all

outside threats.

Hogben

and Kirk-Greene note that from

the

time of

Askia's

campaigns,

'Though

uncomfortably sandwiched

between

Borgu

to

the east and

Songhai

to

the

west,

Kebbi

maintained

her

vigorous

independence and remained

a stout

bulwark

for the Hausa states

in

the three centuries

that

were to

follow.'47

And later she equally successfully resisted the advances of the Fulani

7ihad,

as

did

Borgu.

The 'Kisra

Effect'

So we

find

the Kisra

legend

in its most

detailed

form

and with

its

most

tenacious

hold on

historical tradition

in

two

constantly

threatened but

continuously

independent

states, Borgu

and Kebbi.

And we

find

variations

of

it

existing

in

a

powerful

neighbouring expansionist

state, Songhai.

Some

aspects

of

what

I

propose,

for

the

purposes

of

this

paper, to term

the 'Kisra effect' on


have

already

become

apparent

in

43

Mathews, 'The

Kisra

Legend',

I47.

44

Introduction

by

Palmer,

in

Meek,

A

Sudanese

Kingdom,

xii

ff.

45

Hogben

and

Kirk-Greene,

Emirates, 582.

46

Ibid.

82.

4

Ibid.

239.

13

AH

XVI


11/17

194 PHILLIPS

STEVENS, JR.

the above backgound

investigations.

The

theory

can

now

be formulated

and discussed. The 'Kisra effect' refers to more than simply the adoption

of the notion

of a founder-hero

endowed

with superhuman powers

who

established

himself

and

his line

through a

series of

tribulations, taught

his

followers

much of what constitutes

their culture (resulting

in a great

measure of ethnocentrism),

then

departed his earthly life when he saw

that

things were running smoothly.

Rather,

the

concept refers

to the

distortion

of historical tradition in response

to an external

threat, whether real or

imagined.

Suggestions of the factor have been

offered by some of the

scholars already

cited. Mathews,

for example, in speaking of accounts

of a

relationship

between Kisra and Muhammad, suggests that

'these

may

be

later accretions added by peoples who inherited the Kisra legend and

wished

to

give

it

the

cachet which Islam has

won for

itself,

even

among

pagans

in

the

Western

Sudan'.48 And

Jeffreys points

out that 'all the

evidence

is traditionary

and is thus

subject, (a)

to

distortion; (b)

to

appro-

priation by peoples

who

wish

to shine by

reflected glory,

as

it

were'.49

Meek,

referring

to documents

collected

by

Palmer

and

others,

states the

idea

in

the

extreme:

'Some

of these written

records

may embody genuine

tradition

and be based

on

historical

facts, but

it

is obvious that

no reliance

can

be

placed

on the details

given. Any imaginative

Muslim who

can

write is

capable

of

manufacturing history

for

the

unlettered.'50

While

it is

certainly possible

that such

conscious, planned

distortion,

even

'manufacturing' of history,

can

occur,

the 'Kisra effect' refers to

nothing quite

so drastic.

The

process

of distortion need not reflect con-

scious,

intended

corruption

of established

tradition; rather,

it

may

imply

a selective

searching

of oral

records

and the

synthesizing

of some

details

with

certain

foreign elements,

with

the

concomitant

emphasis

of

some

and

de-emphasis

and eventual

disappearance

of

others.

It is thus

not

an

instan-

taneous reaction,

but a

gradual

one.

It

implies

the

establishing

of

popular

grounds on

which one society,

or

group

within

a

society, may (i) assert its

equality with, if not superiority over, another, and

(2)

thereby formulate

the bases

of a new

societal

bond.

I think

that the existence of full-blown

Kisra

legends

in

Borgu

and

Kebbi can be

explained

in

this

way.

These

states

had

militarily

maintained

their

independence

from

Songhai,

and later

from

Fulani incursions.

But

in

the process they

had been

isolated from

their

neighbours

and

allies.

Popular

attachment

to

the

Kisra

legend,

with

the

recognition

that similar

traditions existed

among

their

foes,

not

only justified

the

maintenance of

independence,

but

also raised

a

new banner of

social

identity

and

unity.

These are,

of

course, speculations.

But

I think

they

will

appear

as

at

least feasible, when considered in the light of the particular case study

which follows.

48

'The

Kisra Legend',

145.

49

'Origins

of

the

Benin

Bronzes', 91.

50

A

Sudanese

Kingdom,

24.


12/17

THE

KISRA LEGEND

195

II

Bachama

Historical

Tradition

The general

idea of ethnohistorical

distortion

as

implied by

the 'Kisra

effect' s not a new one. We may

have heard,

such-and-suchhad no

history

until they came into contact

with

so-and-so

. .'.

But it seems that certain

societalmechanisms

which can allow

for the

development

and maintenance

of such distortion

have not been adequately

demonstrated. n this section I

will suggest how among

one

Sudanicpeople,

the Bachamaof Adamawa

Province,

North-eastern Nigeria, historical

traditions may have been

subject

o

distortion

n

response

o a

threatening

utside

power,

namely he

Muslim Fulani.Although he Bachamathe'Bashima' f Palmer'saccount)

are situated

in

the

path

of the

alleged

Kisra

migrations,

and they claim

historical

affinity with some

Jukun and other groups

among

whom

re-

collectionsof Kisrahave

been

recorded, hey

have

no traditional

nowledge

of

Kisra (nor

do any other

peoples

in

Adamawa,

o

far

as I have been able

to

discover).

The Bachama,

hough relatively mall

in

number (perhaps

2I,ooo)

and

occupying

a territoryof only

about I,200 square miles,

are

quite

hetero-

geneous

in

composition.

Their largest traditional

units

appear

to have

been three

chiefdoms

over

which

one,?Bachama,

ominated

and had been

accepted

as

paramount

at least by

the time

of the

Muslim

Fulani

presence

in

Adamawaat the beginning

of the nineteenth

century.

The socio-

politicalorganization

f

each chiefdom,

and

of

many

of the

villages

under

its authority,

s similar.

A group of fromthree to six

zomye,

he

royalclans,

provides the

chief or village head, who

is selected by titled elders

from

any number

of

non-royal

clans,

the kabe.

The kabe

are regardedas the guardians

of and servants to the

chief-

taincy,

and

among their

duties is the preservation

of

myths,

dyemshi

vurato-'songs

of the world'. Unlike the

other major

body of oraltradition,

thegbamiye,olktales, he dyemshi uratoconstitutesacred iterature.Their

recitationfollows precisely

many of the

rules describedby Vansina5l

as

controllingoral traditionelsewhere.

They are recited only during

specific

calendricalrituals, to privileged

audiences, at set times

and

places.

The

speaker

invariably

holds a

certain

object of significance

to

the

events

he

is

recounting,

and he

faces in a designateddirection.

Such speeches

are most

often made at dusk

or

after nightfall.

In

any other context

what-

soever, recitation of or

even conversational

eferenceto any portion

of

these sacredhistories is

gone, taboo, and swift spiritual

retributionwill

befall

the

transgressor r

his kin.

There aremany titledelders amongthe kabe, he title of each beingalso

the

name of his

particular

lan. To manyof these is

entrusteda portionof

the entire

body

of

sacred literature.

It may relate to the origins

of a

particular

estival, custom,

or

institution;

it may include a plea

to the

61

Oral

Tradition.


13/17

I96

PHILLIPS

STEVENS, JR.

spirits for a return to the happy

and prosperous

days of their earthly rule-

and in so doing it describes those days; it may even brazenly chastise and

harangue the

spirits, calling them by name,

for having

forsaken their

original promises

of protection and maintenance

of welfare. (This last

element ensures

that the words will fall

only upon intended ears. The

spirits assemble

quickly when

their names are called, and

to see one is to

be possessed

by one. The assembled few

have taken precautions against

such contingencies.)

Whatever the gist of

each sacred speech,

it includes

a bit

of

the history of the coming of the

'original people' of the speaker's

clan

or

the

various clans of

the chiefdom as a whole.

Taken individually,

the sacred histories

make little sense, often even to

their speakers. Much of their

content is couched in the 'old

language', the

language of

the Basa Pwa, or eastern Bata,

from whom the

Bachama are

derived. Many of the words

are unintelligible even to their

select audiences.

But considered

all together the histories reveal

detailed

accounts of the

migrations

of the founders of the original

three chiefdoms

and

of

the

founders of the separate

villages, and the people

with whom they travelled

and

those

they left behind;

the stories of the establishment

of the chiefdoms

and the

subsequent

demise of one

and decline of

another;

and

accounts of

the

lives

of the chiefs

and heroes up to the

time

when

they

laid down their

final directives for the conduct of society, and 'sank into the ground', to

become the

major spirits

worshipped

thereafter.

The kabe

are the historians of Bachama

society,

but

whereas

the

histories

are recited

for

the common welfare,

the details

of the

narratives are not

common knowledge, even among the various

kabe

themselves,

so

carefully

observed are the rules

governing

their recitation.

The

implications

of this

strict guarding of the 'true'

histories

for the

dissemination

of

ethnohistori-

cal

information

among

members

of

the

society

at

large were,

and

are,

profound.

Pagan

Fulani had

been present

in

Adamawa

at least

since the fourteenth

century.

52

By the end of the eighteenth century many of them had been

Islamized,

and

shortly

after

the Shehu

Usman

dan

Fodio

declared his

Jihad

from

Sokoto

in

I804,

the emirate

of

Fombina

was established

in

Adamawa.

The

first emir,

from

whom the

area's

name

is

derived,

was

Adama, who receiv-ed

his commission

from

Sokoto

in i8o6.

From

then

and for the

next

hundred

years

the

emirs of

Adamawa

conducted

a

policy

of

relentless expansion.

The many

tribal

groups

who fell to them were

at

least

partly

Islamized,

and

their

lands

and

produce

were held

in

fief to

the

emirate.

Among

the

effects of

the establishment

of

Fulani domination

was

the division

of

the

Bata states.

With the

exception

of

some isolated

hill

groups, most of the central Bata accepted Fulani rule, and over time many

52

For

what

is

perhaps

the best history

to date of the

Fulani presence

in

Adamawa, see

Sa'ad

Abubakar,

The Emirate

of

Fombina,

I809-I903:

The Attempts of

a

Politically

Segmented People

to

Establish

and Maintain

a

Centralised Form

of

Government.

Ph.D.

Thesis,

Department

of History, Ahmadu

Bello University (1970).


14/17

THE KISRA LEGEND 197

came

to

regard

themselves as Fulani. Several

raids were launched

against

Dyemsa, the headquarters of the western Bata, but these were always

repulsed

by

combined forces of

Bata, Bachama,

and Mbula. Hence

Bachamaland, although

constantly threatened,

remained independent.

And a

proud hatred and

rejection

of

all things Fulani-with whom

Islam

was

equated-developed

among

the

people.

There also developed

new conceptions of

Bachama history. Because of

the

strictly

observed controls on the

dissemination

of

history

as

contained

in the

dyemshi vurato,

the average person was free

to speculate on historical

tradition.

The

popular history

of the

Bachama, known and

strongly

held

by virtually

all

members

of

the

society,

is

that

the people

originated

n

Sokoto. They left that place, via Gobir, for reasons variously given; most

have

to

do

with

religious

persecution,

and

some

explicitly

state that

they

were driven out

because

of their

refusal to

accept

Islam.53

Bachama

point

to two

words

in

their language,

so koto, meaning 'thing

of

disgust',

or

'thing

of

rejection',

as

the

name

they gave

to

their

original

home when

they

left it for

more

favourable

surroundings.

And

there are

many

stories of Bachama

visitors to

Sokoto and Gobir who claim to have

conversed with the

people

in

Bachama

language,

and to have seen

many

customs

and items of

material

culture

identical

to

their own.

Arguments

for a

Sokoto

origin

of

the Bachama

are without foundation.

Meek had already pointed

this

out, suggesting

historical distortion of the

'Kisra'

type:

'The claim of

a tribal

connexion with Sokoto (or

Gobir)

is

untenable on

historical,

linguistic, and cultural

grounds, and it

is

probable

that

the

tale was

merely

an

invention

made for the purposes of

securing

immunity

from

the

attacks

of

the

Adamawa

Fulani.'54 Meek again implies

conscious, spontaneous

falsification of

tradition.

But such a claim

is

contrary

to all

historical, linguistic (Bachama

belong to

the

Chadic branch

of the

Afro-Asiatic

language

family),

and

ethnological evidence

gathered

since

Meek's

brief

investigations

in

the late

I920S.

Bachama claim to have separated from the Bata: the story of this

separation,

resulting

from

a

dispute

between

twin

heirs to the chieftaincy,

is

known

to

every

member of the society, and is

agreed upon by the Bata

of

Dyemsa

who also

claim a

Sokoto

origin. Some Bata

groups

in

the

central,

Fulani-dominated

areas, also

regard Sokoto as their

original home.

53

One account

asserts

that

the

name of

their first

king at

Sokoto was

'Yungfa', whose

descendants

were responsible

for the

founding of one of

the

original zomye,

Impang. No

further details could be

elicited, except

that

'Impang' is directly

derived from

'Yungfa'

(the

substitution

of

'p' for

'f' and

vice-versa is

a common

feature of

Hausa, the lingua

franca of

Adamawa).

It is

significant

to note that

the single

precipitating

factor in the

declaration of the

Jihad

by Usman dan

Fodio was the

abortive

plot against him

by one

Yunfa, Sultan

of

Gobir. Yunfa was

alarmed

at the

prospects of

the introduction of

Islam.

He attacked the Shehu's headquarters ot Degel, whence the Shehu was forced to

flee;

this

flight was the

famous Hijra of

I

804. The Jihad began,

and

Yunfa was killed in

the fall

of

Alkalawa,

the

capital of

Gobir,

in

I8o8.

All other

accounts

agree that

'Impang'

is

derived from the

generic

term for

a

large

and

formidable

wild

animal, impa.

54 Tribal Studies in

Northern

Nigeria,

I

(London,

I93I),

2.


15/17

i98


But the eastern Bata, who had their capital at Dyemsa

Pwa, which place is

regarded with reverence by Bachama and Dyemsa Bata, make no claim to

have come from Sokoto.55

Final evidence against the popularly-held Sokoto

connexion is contained

in the dyemshi vurato.

Of the twenty-seven sacred histories which I

recorded, each recited

under correctly sanctioned circumstances, none

contained

any

mention

of

Sokoto.56 The

majority

of histories which deal

with the coming of the people begin their narratives

by naming actual

places in areas north of Marua (Cameroons). A few

even mention locales

near Lake Chad. Many

of the places mentioned and the events alleged to

have occurred at each

are corroborated by other

peoples with whom

the Bachama claim historical connexions, notably

the Chamba

Daka

and

Kona

Jukun,

as well as the western

Bata.57

But there is never a

mention

of

any

area between

Adamawa

(or Bornu)

and Sokoto.

And,

as

Vansina

has

pointed out,58

there seems no

reason

for the falsification of

place

names in this type of historical testimony.

The people are free

to speculate on their history, primarily because

of

the strict taboos on discussion of the dyemshi

vurato.

And Sokoto

is

universally acknowledged

as their

homeland,

even,

in

conversation, by

trustees

of the

sacred

histories.

Some of these same

individuals

who at

festival

times recite the

histories,

have cited Sokoto and even

Egypt

(Birnin Masr) and,

on

a few occasions,

Mecca

(Maka),

as the

original

home

of

the

Bachama,

during

interviews with

me. 59

So, because

of the freedom among

the

laity

to

speculate

about

traditional

mysteries,

and

given

impetus by

the

threatening Fulani,

Bachama

historical

tradition

succumbed

to the

'Kisra effect'.

And I think that this factor

can

55

This observation

is based on interviews

with eastern

Bata

in Nigeria; I

did not visit

Bata

areas in Cameroons.

But Bertrand Lembezat,

who traces Bata

migration

'from

the

north',

makes no mention of Sokoto or, indeed,

of

any

area

west of the Mandara

Mountains

('Les

Bata', in Les populations

paiennes

du nord-Cameroun

et de l'Adamaoua,

Paris,

I96I,

i

89-2).

56

In fact, one did, but I later learned that some argument had been raised over its

recitation;

it seems that a stand-in

had acted

for the official

historian

who had become

a

Christian.

The latter individual, no longer

observing the old taboos,

gave

me his

version

on another

occasion. In it the

starting-point

for the

Bachama

migration

is 'Kurangyi',

explained

as a now-defunct village

'east of Mubi';

Sokoto

is not mentioned.

57

Based

on my own

investigations

in these areas.

Oral Tradition,

8o.

58 Such

freedom

of

speculation

about

privileged

information

has led to popular stories

about other mysteries,

such

as the mode

of burial

of

chiefs,

the

meaning

of certain religious

rites,

and the

description

and

histories of some

of the

more

important

relics

to which the

laity is denied

access.

Much of Meek's descriptions

of Bachama

customs (Tribal

Studies)

is

faulty,

apparently

because

of the fact that he admittedly

conducted

most

of his fortnight's

investigations

in

Numan,

the Divisional

Headquarters,

instead of

visiting

the centre

of

the customs he describes. He paid no visit at all to 73achama (named Lamurde by the

Fulani),

the traditional

headquarters.

I

have discussed elsewhere

some

of the risks involved

in attempting traditional

ethnography

in

such

a

politically-conscious

tribal

melting-pot

as

Numan

is-and was

in Meek's

day

('The Anthropologist

in West Africa Today;

Some

Observations

from Recent

Field

Work', African

Studies Review, xv, 2,

Sept. 1972, 255-

69).


16/17

THE KISRA LEGEND

199

account

for

claims of exotic

origins among

other societies

in

Adamawa,

all

of whom were threatened by the Fulani. For example, modern Sama

(Chamba Daka)

claim to

have

come from 'Asia

Minor',

and the

Kona

Jukun

cite 'Yemen'

as

their

original

home.60

III

Summary and Conclusions

The

presence

of the

'Kisra legend'

in

certain western Sudanic societies

has

long puzzled

historians and

anthropologists. Attempts by many

to

explain the phenomenon have been seen as unsatisfactory. In Section I

of this study we noted the fact that the Arabic Kasra or Kesra, having

been derived

from the title of one or the

other

of

two Persian

kings

of

the

sixth

and

seventh

centuries, denotes,

in

von

Grunebaum's

phrase,

'a

truly

royal style

of

life'.

The

profound

influences of

Perso-Arabic elements on

many cultures of the southern and western Sudan, even before the spread

of Islam in these

areas, strongly suggests the possibility that, rather than

by any specific migration,

the idea of 'Kisra' was

borne

across the

Sahara,

to the areas where it

took root

in

the form of the

Kisra

legends.

When

the

geographical

situation

of

those

societies having fully-developed

Kisra

legends is considered, noting that the most detailed and strongly held

legends

obtain

among

societies who were

constantly threatened by others

who were recognized

as

technologically, and possibly felt as culturally,

superior,

and

among

whom

the Kisra idea also

existed,

the

origins

and

distribution

of

such

legends

becomes

more

plausibly explainable.

It has

been

suggested that, through

a

selective

altering

of historical

tradition,

over

time,

societies who felt so

threatened were able

to (i)

assert

their

equality to,

if

not

superiority over,

the

threatening power; (z) justify

their

successful maintenance of

independence

in

spite of this threat; and/or

(3)

thus re-establish

a basis

for societal

unity.

Section II has shown how, among one southern Sudanic society, the

Bachama,


may have been altered as a reaction to the

constant

threat

of the Adamawa

Fulani.

Because

of

the careful, super-

naturally-sanctioned guarding

of

myth by a few titled elders, the layman

has

been free

to

speculate

on

such

mysteries. The Adamawa Fulani

received directives

for

the

conduct

of

the Jihad from Sokoto. Bachama also

claim a Sokoto

origin, although

no

mention of

the

place

is contained in the

myths

of

origin,

and

culturally and linguistically

a

Sokoto origin is most

improbable.

As

a

result of what

I

have

called the

'Kisra effect',

Bachama

60

It is curious that 'Yemen' is named, even among the elderly who know only the Kona

dialect.

This

might have been

simply an introduction by some

educated individual,

as

Meek

might suggest. But another

possibility lies in the fact that

Adama,

when

granted

authority over the

conduct of the

J7ihad

n the southern areas, was

given the title Aminu

Yemen, 'Lord of the South'

(Hogben and

Kirk-Greene, Emirates, 428). He rejected this

and other titles,

preferring to be

known only as the Modibbo, 'Learned'.


17/17

200 PHILLIPS STEVENS, JR.

popular history was selectively altered in response to the continual

Fulani

threat, so that today every member of the society regards Sokoto as the

home of his forebears.

Other societal cases could be offered to illustrate this process of

alteration

of historical tradition in response to an external threat. I think the

evidence

is nearly sufficient to support the suggestion that this accounts for

the

presence of fully developed Kisra legends in Borgu and Kebbi. The

Bachama case is strikingly similar to these two, and I have shown how

in

this society ethno-historical distortion is not only tolerated, but

in

fact

encouraged by the system of the strict guarding of 'true' history by its few

trustees. The striking similarities between the military histories of Borgu

and Kebbi on the one hand, and Bachama on the other, both of which

successfully maintained their independence in spite of the continuous real

or threatened attacks from technologically superior outside powers, and

both of which hold otherwise unaccountable legends of origin, adequately

justify the coinage of a new term, the 'Kisra effect', to explain certain

obvious distortions in historical tradition.

Recognition of the Kisra factor has far-ranging applications.

Of

sig-

nificance are its implications for local and national cohesiveness.

In

the

squabblings for fair shares of the local political pie which plague

admin-

istration on sub-national levels, historical traditions may often by invoked

in

support of various claims.61 It may become a case of not only

who

has

a

history, but who has the right history. In traditional societies

like

pre-Jihad

Bachama, supernatural sanctions dictated against overt attempts

at

tempering with historical tradition; the changes indicated

in

this

paper

most probably occurred gradually and systemically during

the

period

of

contact. With modernization and the concurrent increasing disregard

for

the

sanctity

of

tradition such

changes may

be

sudden,

effected

by

a

relatively small segment of the society, and hence potentially disruptive.

61

Two other African

cases are illustrative. In 'Folklore as an Agent

of Nationalism',

African Studies Bulletin, v,

2

(I962),

3-8, James W. Fernandez describes how active

nationalist elements among the Fang seized

upon a traditionaJ migration

legend and used

it for their own ends,

to foster a sense of community and political unity.

He further

notes

that the glorification of folkloric elements elsewhere

provided the bases for such concepts

as negritude and 'African

personality'. An East African case of the selective

re-interpreta-

tion of traditional history in response to the

felt need for a re-ordering

of societal values is

recorded by Marcel D'Hertefelt, in 'Mythes

et

ideologies

dans le

Rwanda ancien et

contemporain' (in J. Vansina, R. Mauny,

and L. V. Thomas, eds.,

The Historian in

Tropical Africa, London,

I964).

Traditional

myths served to sanction the dominant

position of Tuutsi

and the corresponding

servitude of Hutu and Twa; with

the move

toward

a

more egalitarian

society the reforming

elements seize on aspects

of the

myths

which suggest a common

origin of the three castes, and those themes

which justified social

stratification are rejected.

invention of tradition as response to threat

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