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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.
7/24/2019 Invention of Tradition as Response to Threat
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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.
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4/17
THE KISRA LEGEND
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7/24/2019 Invention of Tradition as Response to Threat
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.
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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.
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I90
PHILLIPS STEVENS, JR.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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
historical tradition
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
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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i98
PHILLIPS STEVENS, JR.
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).
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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,
historical tradition
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'.
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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.