PATTERNS OF SLAVING AND PREY–PREDATOR INTERFACES IN AND AROUND THE MANDARA MOUNTAINS (NIGERIA AND CAMEROON)

Nicholas David

doi:10.1017/S0001972014000382

PATTERNS OF SLAVING AND PREY–PREDATOR INTERFACES IN AND AROUND THE MANDARA MOUNTAINS (NIGERIA AND CAMEROON)

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 July 2014

Nicholas David

Article contents

Abstract
References

Get access

Rights & Permissions

Abstract

While from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century there was a lasting and elastic demand for slaves in Central Africa, the practices by which they were acquired had to be adapted to the physical and human terrain, the technologies available and the socio-cultural postures of the predator and prey societies. In this paper, I sketch the changing patterns of these variables in six slaving zones in and around the northern Mandara Mountains. Using historical sources, information from the diary of Hamman Yaji, a Fulani chief and active slaver, and data gathered in the course of ethnographic research in three of these zones by myself and colleagues, I show that in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the extraction of slaves from particular sub-regions within these zones was highly variable, as is evident in the interfaces between the decentralized prey societies and the predatory states. Besides providing fresh perspectives on slaving and evidence for evaluating the constructions of historians, such studies open the way for research on the mutual accommodations to slaving affecting the societies and cultures of both prey and predators.

Résumé

Il existait certes une demande d'esclaves durable élastique en Afrique centrale du XVIème jusqu'au début du XXème siècle, mais il a fallu adapter les pratiques d'acquisition de ces esclaves au paysage physique et humain, aux technologies disponibles et aux postures socioculturelles des sociétés prédatrices et proies. L'auteur de cet article brosse une esquisse de l’évolution de ces variables dans six zones d'esclavage situées dans la région des monts Mandara, au nord. S'appuyant sur des sources historiques, des informations extraites du journal d'Haman Yaji, chef peul et esclavagiste actif, et des données recueillies lors de recherches ethnographiques menées par l'auteur et ses collaborateurs dans trois de ces zones, l'auteur montre qu’à la fin du XIXème et au début du XXème siècle, l'extraction d'esclaves de sous-régions particulières dans ces zones était extrêmement variable, comme en témoignent les interfaces entre les sociétés décentralisées et les États prédateurs. Outre le fait d'apporter de nouvelles perspectives sur l'esclavage et des éléments factuels pour évaluer les constructions des historiens, ces études ouvrent une voie de recherche sur les accommodements mutuels en matière d'esclavage affectant les sociétés et les cultures des proies et des prédateurs.

Type: Historical perspectives
Information: Africa , Volume 84 , Issue 3 , August 2014 , pp. 371 - 397

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001972014000382 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © International African Institute 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1:250,000: Mubi (sheet 38). Federal Surveys Nigeria (FSN), 1972.

1:100,000: Gwoza (114), Madagali (136), Duhu (135) and Uba (156). FSN, 1970.

1:50,000: Madagali (136) NW and SW and Duhu (135) NE and SE. Directorate of Overseas Surveys for the Nigerian Government, 1969.

1:100,000: Mokolo (NC 33 XIV). Centre Géographique National, Yaoundé, 1978; Maroua (NC 33 XV). Institut Géographique National Paris, Yaoundé Centre, 1972.

1:50,000: Mokolo 1b, 2a, 2d, 4a, 4b, 4c–d. IGN Paris, 1965.

Bah, T. M. (2003) ‘Slave-raiding and defensive systems south of Lake Chad from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century’ in Diouf, S. (ed.), Fighting the Slave Trade: West African strategies. Athens OH: Ohio University Press.Google Scholar

Barkindo, B. M. (1989) The Sultanate of Mandara to 1902. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.Google Scholar

Barth, H. (1890) Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa, including Accounts of Tripoli, the Sahara, the Remarkable Kingdom of Bornu, and the Countries around Lake Chad. Minerva Library of Famous Books. London: Ward, Lock and Co.Google Scholar

Barth, H. (1965 [1857]) Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa, being a Journal of an Expedition Undertaken under the Auspices of H. B. M's Government in the Years 1849–1855. 2 volumes. London: Frank Cass and Co.Google Scholar

Beauvilain, A. (1989) Nord-Cameroun: crises et peuplement. Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon: Alain Beauvilain.Google Scholar

Boutrais, J. (1973) La Colonisation des Plaines par les Montagnards au Nord du Cameroun (Monts Mandara). Paris: ORSTOM.Google Scholar

Bovill, E. W. (ed.) (1966) Missions to the Niger. Volume 3: The Bornu Mission 1822–25. London: Cambridge University Press for the Hakluyt Society.Google Scholar

Cameron, C. M. (2011) ‘Captives and culture change: implications for archaeology’, Current Anthropology 52: 169–209.Google Scholar

Cordell, D. D. (2003) ‘The myth of inevitability and invincibility: resistance to slavers and the slave trade in Central Africa, 1850–1910’ in Diouf, S. (ed.), Fighting the Slave Trade: West African strategies. Athens OH: Ohio University Press.Google Scholar

David, N. (2008) Performance and Agency: the DGB sites of northern Cameroon. Oxford: Archaeopress.Google Scholar

David, N. (2012a) ‘Ricardo in the Mandara mountains: iron, comparative advantage, and specialization’ in David, N. (ed.), Metals in Mandara Mountains Society and Culture. Trenton NJ: Africa World Press.Google Scholar

David, N. (2012b) ‘A close reading of Hamman Yaji's diary: slave raiding and montagnard responses in the mountains around Madagali (northeast Nigeria and northern Cameroon)’ <http://www.sukur.info/Mont/HammanYaji%20PAPER.pdf>, accessed 1 November 2012., accessed 1 November 2012.' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=David,+N.+(2012b)+‘A+close+reading+of+Hamman+Yaji's+diary:+slave+raiding+and+montagnard+responses+in+the+mountains+around+Madagali+(northeast+Nigeria+and+northern+Cameroon)’+,+accessed+1+November+2012.>Google Scholar

David, N. and Kramer, C. (2001) Ethnoarchaeology in Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

David, N. and Sterner, J. (1996) ‘Constructing a historical ethnography of Sukur. Part II: iron and the “classless industrial” society’, Nigerian Heritage 5: 11–33.Google Scholar

Diouf, S. (ed.) (2003) Fighting the Slave Trade: West African strategies. Athens OH: Ohio University Press.Google Scholar

Fisher, H. J. (2001) Slavery in the History of Muslim Black Africa. London: Hurst & Co.Google Scholar

Forkl, H. (1983) Die Beziehungen der zentral-Sudanischen Reiche Bornu, Mandara und Bagirmi sowie der Kotoko-staaten zu ihren südlichen Nachbarn unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Sao-problems. Munich: Minerva Publikation.Google Scholar

Forkl, H. (1990) ‘Publish or perish, or how to write a social history of the Wandala (northern Cameroon)’, History in Africa 17: 77–94.Google Scholar

Forkl, H. (1993) ‘La chronologie et le problème de la succession legitime des rois wandala dans les manuscrits arabes’ in Barreteau, D. and von Graffenried, C. (eds), Datation et Chronologie dans le Bassin du Lac Tchad. Actes du Séminaire du Réseau Méga-Tchad, ORSTOM-Bondy, 11–12 septembre 1989. Paris: Éditions ORSTOM.Google Scholar

Goodridge, R. A. (1994) ‘The issue of slavery in the establishment of British rule in northern Cameroon to 1927’, African Economic History 22: 19–36.Google Scholar

Hallaire, A. (1991) Paysans montagnards du Nord-Cameroun: les Monts Mandara. Paris: Éditions de l'ORSTOM.Google Scholar

Haour, A. (2011) ‘The early mediaeval slave trade of the Central Sahel: archaeological and historical considerations’ in Lane, P. J. and MacDonald, K. C. (eds), Slavery in Africa: archaeology and memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

Hawthorne, W. (2001) ‘Nourishing a stateless society during the slave trade: the rise of Balanta paddy-rice production in Guinea-Bissau’, Journal of African History 42: 1–24.Google Scholar

Hopkins, A. G. (1973) An Economic History of West Africa. New York NY: Longman.Google Scholar

Hubbell, A. (2001) ‘A view of the slave trade from the margin: Souroudougou in the late nineteenth century slave trade of the Niger Bend’, Journal of African History 42: 25–47.Google Scholar

Juillerat, B. (1981) ‘Éléments d'ethnohistoire des Muktele et du Mandara septentrionale’ in Tardits, C. (ed.), Contribution de la Recherche ethnologique à l'Histoire des Civilisations du Cameroun. Colloques Internationaux du Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique 551. Paris: C.N.R.S.Google Scholar

Kirk-Greene, A. H. M. (1954) ‘A note on the history of Madagali district’, National Archives Kaduna, Yolaprof ACC 49.Google Scholar

Kirk-Greene, A. H. M. (1958) Adamawa Past and Present. London: Oxford University Press for the International African Institute.Google Scholar

Kirk-Greene, A. H. M. (1995) ‘The view from Yola: 1927’, in Vaughan, J. H. and Kirk-Greene, A. H. M. (eds), The Diary of Hamman Yaji: chronicle of a West African Muslim ruler. Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar

Klein, M. A. (2001) ‘The slave trade and decentralized societies’, Journal of African History 42: 49–65.Google Scholar

Kosack, G. (1992) ‘Aus der Zeit der Sklaverei (Nordkamerun): alte Mafa erzählen’, Paideuma 38: 177–94.Google Scholar

Lange, D. (1987) A Sudanic Chronicle: the Borno expeditions of Idriis Alauma (1564–1576). Studien zur Kulturkunde. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag.Google Scholar

Lavergne, G. (1944) ‘Le pays et la population matakam’, Bulletin de la Société d’Études Camerounaises 7: 7–73.Google Scholar

Lovejoy, P. E. (2005) Slavery, Commerce and Production in the Sokoto Caliphate of West Africa. Trenton NJ: Africa World Press.Google Scholar

Lovejoy, P. E. (2012) Transformations in Slavery: a history of slavery in Africa. 3rd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Lovejoy, P. E. and Hogendorn, J. S. (1993) Slow Death for Slavery: the course of abolition in Northern Nigeria, 1897–1936. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

MacEachern, S. (2011) ‘Enslavement and everyday life: living with slave raiding in the northern Mandara Mountains of Cameroon’ in Lane, P. J. and MacDonald, K. C. (eds), Slavery in Africa: archaeology and memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

MacEachern, S. (2012) ‘The prehistory and early history of the northern Mandara Mountains and surrounding plains’ in David, N. (ed.), Metals in Mandara Mountains Society and Culture. Trenton NJ: Africa World Press.Google Scholar

Madziga, G. L. (1976) ‘Bornu-Mandara relations to c. 1900’, Nigeria Magazine 121: 64–79.Google Scholar

Manning, P. (1990) Slavery and African Life: occidental, oriental and African slave trades. New York NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Martin, J.-Y. (1970) Les Matakam du Cameroun: essai sur la dynamique d'une société pré-industrielle. Mémoires ORSTOM 41. Paris: ORSTOM.Google Scholar

Meek, C. K. (1931) Tribal Studies in Northern Nigeria. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co. [Kraus reprint 1976.]Google Scholar

Meillassoux, C. (1991) The Anthropology of Slavery: the womb of iron and gold. London: Athlone Press.Google Scholar

Midel, M. (1990) Fulbe und Deutsche in Adamaua (Nord-Kamerun) 1809–1916. Auswirkungen Afrikanischer und Kolonialer Eroberung. Europäische Hochschulschriften. Frankfurt-am-Main: Peter Lang.Google Scholar

Mohammadou, E. (1988) Les Lamidats du Diamaré et du Mayo-Louti au XIXe siècle (Nord Cameroun). Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa.Google Scholar

Morrissey, S. R. (1984) ‘Clients and Slaves in the Development of the Mandara Élite: Northern Cameroon in the nineteenth century’. PhD thesis, Boston University.Google Scholar

Müller-Kosack, G. (2003) The Way of the Beer: ritual re-enactment of history among the Mafa, terrace farmers of the Mandara mountains (North Cameroon). London: Mandaras Publishing.Google Scholar

Otterbein, K. S. (1968) ‘Higi armed combat’, Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 24: 195–213.Google Scholar

Reyna, S. P. (1990) Wars without End: the political economy of a precolonial African state. Hanover NH and London: University Press of New England.Google Scholar

Rohlfs, G. (1875) Quer durch Afrika. Reise vom Mittelmeer nach dem Tschad-See und zum Golf von Guinea. Zweiter Theil. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus.Google Scholar

Seignobos, C. (1980) ‘Les fortifications végétales dans la zone soudano-sahelienne (Tchad et Nord-Cameroun)’ in Pélissier, P. (ed.), L'arbre en Afrique tropicale: la fonction et la signe. Cahiers ORSTOM, Série Science Humaines 17, nos 3–4. Paris: ORSTOM.Google Scholar

Sterner, J. (2003) The Ways of the Mandara Mountains: a comparative regional approach. Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.Google Scholar

Sterner, J. (2008) ‘Representations: indigenous constructions of the past’ in David, N., Performance and Agency: the DGB sites of northern Cameroon. Oxford: Archaeopress.Google Scholar

Sterner, J. and David, N. (2009) ‘Pots, stones, and potsherds: shrines in the Mandara Mountains (North Cameroon and Northeastern Nigeria)’ in Dawson, A. C. (ed.), Shrines in Africa: history, politics, and society. Calgary: University of Calgary Press.Google Scholar

Strümpell, K. F. (1912) ‘Die Geschichte Adamauas nach mündlichen Überlieferungen’, Mitteilungen des Geographischen Gesellschaft in Hamburg 26: 46–107.Google Scholar

Strümpell, K. F. (1922–23) ‘Wörterverzeichnis der Heidensprachen des Mandara Gebirges (Adamaua)’, Zeitschrift für Eingeborenen-Sprachen 13: 47–74; 109–49.Google Scholar

van Beek, W. E. A. (1986) ‘The ideology of building: the interpretation of compound patterns among the Kapsiki of North Cameroon’ in Fokkens, H. et al. (eds), Op Zoek Naar Mens en Materiële Cultuur: Festschrift J. D. van der Waal. Groningen: Rijks Universiteit Groningen.Google Scholar

van Beek, W. E. A. (2012) ‘Intensive slave raiding in the colonial interstice: Hamman Yaji and the Mandara Mountains (North Cameroon and North-Eastern Nigeria)’, Journal of African History 53: 301–23.Google Scholar

van Santen, J. C. M. (1993) They Leave Their Jars Behind: the conversion of Mafa women to Islam (North Cameroon). Leiden: Centrum Vrouwen en Autonomie.Google Scholar

Vaughan, J. H. (1977) ‘Mafakur: a limbic institution of the Margi’ in Miers, S. and Kopytoff, I. (eds), Slavery in Africa: historical and anthropological perspectives. Madison WI: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar

Vaughan, J. H. (1995) ‘The context’, in Vaughan, J. H. and Kirk-Greene, A. H. M. (eds), The Diary of Hamman Yaji: chronicle of a West African Muslim ruler. Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar

Vaughan, J. H. and Kirk-Greene, A. H. M. (eds) (1995) The Diary of Hamman Yaji: chronicle of a West African Muslim ruler. Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar

Vincent, J.-F. (1991) Princes montagnards du Nord-Cameroun. Les Mofu-Diamaré et le pouvoir politique. Paris: Éditions L'Harmattan.Google Scholar

Vossart, J. (1953) ‘Histoire du sultanat du Mandara’, Études Camerounaises 35/36: 19–52.Google Scholar

Weiss, H. (2000) ‘The illegal trade in slaves from German northern Cameroon to British northern Nigeria’, African Economic History 28: 141–97.Google Scholar

Moisel, M. et al. (1912–13) Karte von Kamerun in 31 Blatt und 3 Ansatzstuecken im Massstabe von 1:300,000, Berlin.Google Scholar