“Corners Conceal Treasures”: Arabic Manuscripts' Marginalia in Fuuta

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“Corners Conceal Treasures”: Arabic Manuscripts’ Marginalia in Fuuta Jaloo and Fuuta Toro in the Nineteenth Century

Alfa Mamadou Diallo Lélouma Independent Scholar [email protected]

Bernard Salvaing Université de Nantes [email protected]

Abstract

So far, studies of West African Arabic manuscripts have paid limited attention to scribes and their social environment. Fuuta Jaloo’s Islamic confederation emerged in the early 1700s as the brainchild of a group of scholars. Thanks to public policies and cultural innovations, its intellectual output and regional diffusion left indelible marks on manuscripts. The article illustrates how much information can be obtained from colophons, marginal notes, and other material elements. Analyzing several versions of a nineteenth-century treatise on astronomy, comments will be made on the diffusion and rendition of manuscripts in Fuuta Jaloo, Fuuta Toro and Maasina.1

1 Notes on the transcriptions used in this article: Place names of Fulani origin are written according to the recommendations of the 1966 unesco Conference in Bamako, Mali. Thus, we write Fuuta Jaloo, Fuuta Toro (usually written as Futa Jallon and Futa Toro in English, and as Fouta-Djalon and Fouta Toro in French, among other spellings). We also follow the same rule regarding people’s names. For example, we write Cerno Samba Mombeyaa. When such people are mainly known through old Arabic manuscripts, we prefer the Arabic transcription. For example, we use al-Ḥājj ʿUmar Tall (Umar Tall in English and Oumar Tall in French). With respect to people currently alive and local names, we follow the official spelling in use in African countries. Thus, we write Lélouma for a local name spelled as Lelumā in the Arabic and ʿAjamī texts, Lelumaa in the Pular (the Fuuta Jalon variety of Fula) Roman transcription based on the 1966 Bamako Conference recommendations. Finally, we should note that in the old days in Fuuta Jaloo, people referred to local personalities by the name of their place of origin, instead of their last names as it is done today. Thus, we can read Cerno

“Corners Conceal Treasures” 71

Keywords

Fuuta Jaloo – Fuuta Toro – colophons – marginalia – scribes – astronomy

Introduction

Most scholars working on West African Arabic manuscripts have focused on their content. When editing and translating manuscripts, many scholars looked only for information on political history, sociology, anthropology, and Islam in Africa. It took the steadfast dedication of a few pioneers to transform libraries and manuscripts into repositories of an amazing amount of biographical evidence. Following Professor John Hunwick’s leadership, scholars realized that in African manuscripts, “Corners conceal treasures.”2 Thus, they devoted greater attention to the social environment of texts. This article uses a similar approach to unearth a neglected – but critical – aspect of a West African Islamic polity.3 The Islamic confederation of Fuuta Jaloo was set up in the early eighteenth century as the brainchild of an influential group of scholars.4 Thanks to public policies and cultural innovations, it became “a magnet for learning” of regional importance.5 Literacy increased and scholarship became both a mark of social status and a diplomatic tool (i.e. “soft power”). However, limited attention has been paid to the material dimension of Fuuta Jaloo’s intellectual output and its regional diffusion. Indeed, through this abundant production of original local works, literate people from Fuuta Jaloo and from the other Islamic states

Samba Mombeyaa in Pular ʿAjamī texts. Today, the same person would be called Mr. Tierno (or Thierno) Samba Diallo, and his village would be spelled as Mombéya in the existing maps. 2 See John O. Hunwick, “West African Arabic Manuscript Colophons I: Askiya Muḥammad Bani’s Copy of the Risāla of Ibn Abī Zayd”, Sudanic Africa, 13 (2002), pp. 123–130. 3 Many thanks to El-hadj Abdourahmane Diallo (Poyé), Abdel Wedoud Ould Cheikh, Abderrahim Saguer, Claude Surmely, and Jean Salvaing for their assistance. 4 As Cerno Saʿdu Dalen (1788–1854) wrote in 1851: “Thanks to Allah […], great Saints and active scholars were born in our land. They put themselves to work in earnest […] to the point that […] religion and jihād have illuminated our country.” See “Tadhkira li-ṣlāḥ dhāt al-bayn bayna al-fi’atayn al-ʿaẓīmatayn” in Islam et bonne gouvernance au xixe siècle dans les sources arabes du Fouta-Djalon (textes de Tierno Sadou Dalen, Modi Tahirou Lélouma, Almami Ibrahima Sori Dara, et Alfa Gassimou Labé), eds. Georges Bohas, Alfa Mamadou Diallo Lélouma, Abderra- him Saguer, Bernard Salvaing, and Ahyaf Sinno, Paris, Geuthner (forthcoming). 5 See chapter 2 in David Robinson, La guerre sainte d’al-Hajj Umar. Le Soudan occidental au milieu du xixe siècle, Paris, Karthala, 1988, p. 59; and “Les espaces, les métaphores et l’intensité de l’islam ouest-africain”, Annales, 40/6 (1985), pp. 1395–1405.

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72 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing developed a regional network of knowledge and transmission of learning. So, Muslims in West Africa took over an Arab-Islamic heritage for their own use and Africanized (ʿAjamized) it. We will show in this article that together with the already initiated investiga- tions related to the content of the texts, we have to take their formal aspect into consideration. The data available in the marginalia are precious because they enable us to know how the ancient network of knowledge was structured. They reveal the deepening of a long-standing ʿAjamization of Islam. This process be- gan with the diffusion of Islam in West Africa, which took place for nearly over a millennium, through the trans-Saharan trade, leading to the Islamization of authorities and societies in places such as Timbuktu and Walata, and then to the Court Islam present in the medieval empires of Western Sudan.6 But a new step was taken during the eighteenth and nineteenth century jihads in West Africa. The texts we are commenting on were produced in the new Fulɓe (Fulani) jihād states created at that time. Those moments witnessed a deepening of Islam and a local appropriation of its culture. These processes were led by the State of Fuuta Jaloo (northwestern Guinea and part of south- ern Senegal) created in 1727, the Fuuta Toro (Senegal and Mauritania), created in the 1770s, and finally the Sokoto Caliphate (Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon) and the Maasina Empire (Mali), both of which were created at the beginning of the nineteenth century. A new community of culture and religion was built up, and this process was unexpectedly amplified during the colonial period in the twentieth century. As a result, books and manuscripts represent some of the most tangible evidence of the ʿAjamization process of Islam in West Africa. We will therefore analyze the marginalia7 of a corpus of manuscripts collected in Fuuta Jaloo, Fuuta Toro and Maasina to illustrate how much information can be obtained from colophons, marginal notes, and other material elements.8 As they embody

6 Here we follow a traditional statement related to the three stages of West African Islam. We regard it as a convenient framework, while being aware that such a notion should be kept in perspective. In this regard, David Robinson wrote: “If these three stages are presented in a loose and general form, they can be very useful to understand the different forms of expression of religion.” But at the same time, David Robinson notes that such a framework should be called into question or at least qualified, as Nehemia Levtzion noted. This is because there may be situations where there prevails “the peaceful coexistence between Islam and traditional religions, with rites related to the two spheres and even individuals creating some form of synthesis between Islam and local institutions.” See Robinson, “Les espaces”, pp. 1395–1405. 7 By marginalia we mean all the formal elements supporting the explicit textual content that can be used as a basis for a codicological description of the manuscript. 8 In this paper, we will refer mainly to unpublished manuscripts. In this respect, we must note that the manuscripts from those regions published to this day are few in number – except

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 73 crafts, know-how, values and ways of life, manuscripts are repositories of local knowledge, representations and social practices. This article documents how they shaped an international marketplace bringing together authors, producers, readers and collectors over several generations. It looks at colophons as time capsules revealing interesting evidence on manuscripts, producers and readers. Finally, through the study of several versions of a nineteenth-century treatise on astronomy, remarks will be made on the diffusion and rendition of manuscripts in Fuuta Jaloo, Fuuta Toro and Maasina.

Figure 1 Source: Adapted from: J.F. Ade Ajayi and Michael Crowder (eds), History of West Africa, vol. 2, London, Longman, 1974, p. 22. The map also appears in David Robinson’s book: The Holy war of Umar Tal, Oxford University Press, 1985. Many thanks to david Robinson for his assistance

the manuscripts from Sokoto, a region outside our main area of study. For instance, the only manuscripts published from Fuuta Jaloo are ʿAjamī manuscripts written in the Fuuta Jalon Fulfulde variety commonly spelled as Pular. See Alfâ Ibrahîm Sow, La femme, la vache, la foi, Paris, Julliard, 1966, p. 376; Chroniques et récits du Foûta Djalon, Paris, Librairie C. Klincks- ieck, 1968, p. 260; Le Filon du bonheur éternel par Thierno Mouhammadou Samba Mombéyâ, Paris, Armand Colin, 1971, p. 376; Christiane Seydou, “Trois poèmes mystiques peuls du Foûta- Djalon”, Revue des études islamiques, 1972, pp. 142–185; and “Poésie religieuse et inspiration populaire chez les Peuls du Foûta-Djalon”, Journal of African Cultural Studies, 14/1 (2001), pp. 23–47. Under these circumstances it comes as no surprise that we can only use a few printed references in our study.

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74 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Manuscripts Bind a Community of Share/Stakeholders in God’s Pursuit As stated in many manuscripts (“I wrote it [the text] for myself and for he who needs it among the Muslims, and for our Shaykh”), books united various stakeholders whose role was critical from supplying commodities (paper, ink, leath- er) to providing the knowledge they recorded. Once produced, they became tools of academia, individual or shared intellectual pursuit and luxury goods fueling a market of literati and connoisseurs. In theocratic societies, most of the scholars saw the pursuit of knowledge as a duty, following the famous ḥadīth: “Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.” Moreover, scholars’ peripatetic way of life found its justification in another oft-quoted ḥadīth: “Seek knowledge as far as China.”9 Thus, manuscripts’ marginal notes reveal their stakeholders’ way of life and worldview (Weltanschauung). In order to illustrate this statement, we will use six manuscripts belonging to a private collection from Fuuta Jaloo10 and one seized in Ségou in 1890.11 Understanding their marginalia requires a regional approach because their owners’ perspective covered a wide region. From their inception in the early eighteenth century, Fuuta Jaloo, Fuuta Toro and Ɓunndu formed a political and cultural continuum.12 Their alliance rested on a permanent movement of people from all walks of life, including

9 An illustration of this pattern is found in the incipit of al-Qasṭallānī’s commentary on the Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī written by a nineteenth century scribe from Fuuta Jaloo (or Fuuta Toro): “And – acquiring knowledge demanded that one visits the scholars where they reside – the qādis (Muslim judges) I met who were erudite told me…” The manuscript belongs to the private library referred to as The Collection El-hadj Alpha Mamadou Diallo Lélouma. 10 The Collection El-hadj Alpha Mamadou Diallo Lélouma (1909–2002) consists of documents dating from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century that were inherited and collected by a political and religious figure. 11 Aḥmad b. ʿUmar b. Saʿīd al-Kabīr al-Madanī al-Tijānī, also known as Amadou Tall (1833– 1898), was the son of al-Ḥājj ʿUmar’s who ruled over Ségou (Mali) from 1864 to 1890. His vast library was a war booty that Archinard transferred to Paris. It is held at the bnf (Bibliothèque Nationale de France). See Noureddine Ghali, Sidi Mohamed Mahibou, and Louis Brenner, Inventaire de la Bibliothèque ‘Umarienne de Ségou, Paris, Éditions du cnrs, 1985, p. 480. 12 Politically, they formed a “holy alliance” against the neighboring polities. In 1818, Mollien reported: “After the dinner, the conversation dealt with politics and made me realize that Fouta Toro, Bondu and Fouta Diallon had created an alliance to extinguish idolatry and fight the heathens relentlessly.” See Gaspard Mollien, L’intérieur de l’Afrique, aux sources du Sénégal et de la Gambie, 2e édition, vol. 1, Paris, Arthus Bertrand Librairie, 1822, p. 331.

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 75 scholars. The prestige13 associated with the three theocracies extended well beyond their respective borders.14 Their manuscripts are one of the rare tangible remnants of a “knowledge-based regional integration.” This article will connect manuscripts’ marginalia, investigate their “ecosystem” and unearth a forgotten dimension of knowledge production and dissemination in Islamic Africa.

“Of books and men”: colophons Unveil their Scribes

Our investigation rests on the following manuscripts written by the same copyist:

1. First manuscript: Fatḥ al-aqfāl wa-arbi al-amthāli from Abī ʿAbd Allah Muḥammad b. Bahraq b. ʿUmar al-Hadramī; a commentary of Jamāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Ibn Mālik’s Lāmiyyat al-afʿāl. Copyist: ʿAbbās b. al-Fāhim Muḥammad Jam b. Dabbu b. Amīr. Users: the copyist and his master (Muḥammad b. al-Mufassir al-Qāsim). 2. Second manuscript: Al-futūḥ al-qayyūmiyya fī sharhī al-jurrūmiyya. Copyist: ʿAbbās b. al-Fāhim Muḥammad Jam b. Dabbu b. Amīr. Marginal note: thanks to “Ibn al-Imām Yūsuf b. Siré” for offering the paper. Date: 17 dhū l-ḥijja 1239 ah/1823 ce. 3. Third manuscript: Sharḥ al-Alfiyyati naẓamahu al-shaykh al-imām al-ʿalim al-hāmm Muḥammad b. Mālik. Copyist: ʿUbays b. al-Fāhim Muḥammad Jam b. Dabbu b. Amīr.

13 “Frequent relationships between Poules and Brakna allowed the former to achieve re- markable progress in mastering the Arab language. Amongst them are several writers whose books in Arabic are valued even by the Moors. Therefore, public schools (in Fuuta Toro) are much frequented by strangers, and one can find there many children hailing from countries situated beyond Fouta-Diallon.” See Mollien, L’intérieur de l’Afrique, p. 360. 14 When Laing visited the Solima in 1822, his king’s school curriculum was presented as below: “Assana was educated at Labi, in Foutah Jallon, under the great priest Salem Gherladoo, who is well reputed in the three Foutahs for having brought up some of the best bookmen in the country, amongst whom Alimmamee Abdulkhadur of Foutah Jallon and Assana of Soolimana are distinguished.” See Alexander Gordon Laing, Travels in the Timannee, Kooranko, and Soolima Countries in Western Africa, ed. John Murray, London, Elibron Classics, 1825, p. 375.

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76 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Marginal notes: written in exile (in Fuuta Toro) by a scholar from Fuuta Jaloo whose last name is Jallo (Diallo in the French-based spelling). Users: copyist, any Muslim who would need it, and his master (Muḥammadu b. al-Mufassir). Date: 1238 ah/1822 ce. 4. Fourth manuscript: Khātima fī l-taṣawwuf, Muḥammad b. al-Mukhtar Al-Yadalī, Sanhajī, a polymath (d. 1753).15 Copyist: ʿUbays b. al-Fāhim Muḥammad Jam. Users: an unidentified owner. The second owner was al-khalīfa Abū l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad al-Kabīr al-Madanī.

While the manuscripts 1, 2 and 3 are to be found in the “Collection El-hadj Alpha Mamadou Diallo Lélouma,” the last manuscript belongs to the “Collection Aḥmad al-Kabīr,” also known as the “Bibliothèque ‘Umarienne de Ségou (held at the French National Library).” In this investigation, we start by deciphering the colophons of three manuscripts which probably belonged to Cerno Bubakar Ɓoyi Lelumaa (d. 1894/5 ce), a scholar from Fuuta Jaloo who studied, copied and bought books in Fuuta Toro. He was a renowned grammarian and the books consulted in his grandson’s collection were critical professional tools.16 Then, our three-step methodology consists of studying the colophons to understand where the books were produced. We use the copyist’s clues to find out who he was and compare his “footprint” and relationships with the evidence available in Aḥmad al-Kabīr’s library.

“Kala winnduɗo deftere fow winnday | To seraaji, no fennyina innitagol”

“He who copies a whole book would write | On the margins in order to disclose his name.”17 Our approach rests on a paradox: while the copyists’ code of conduct pro- moted discretion, several have used colophons as opportunities to record their

15 Ghali et al., Inventaire, 5683, 80a–84a, p. 232. 16 See “Writers of Guinea”, in John O. Hunwick et al., Arabic Literature of Africa, vol. 4: Writ- ings of Western Africa, Boston, Brill, 2003, p. 513. 17 “Ibrahima Kâne des Kâne du Tôro, village de Bantaŋii,” 1355/1935. See Sow, Le filon, p. 22. Note that the scribe is from Fuuta Toro or of Fuuta Toro’s descent, whereas the opus is a classical treatise from Fuuta Jaloo in Pular, the Fula variety of Guinea.

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 77 existence and showcase some of their achievements. Furthermore, at times, manuscripts carry the footprints of a community of authors, producers, and users whose scripts, annotations, comments and inks reveal who they were. This emerging field of studies holds an unexplored amount of precious evidence. Colophon No. 1: [1] [This is] the conclusion of the book written by the slave [of God], [he] the sinner, the weak, the miserable, the humble – and he who is the greatest ignoramus among the ignoramuses [2] and the most stupid among the stupid, and the most careless among the careless. But he is hoping [his] Lord’s mercy for He, the Most High, said: [3] Despair not of the mercy of Allah. For Allah for- gives all sins.18 This one is [4] ʿAbbās b. al-Fāhim Muḥammad Jam b. Dabbu b. Amīr. He wrote [this text] for himself and for he [5] who needs it among the Muslims, and for our Shaykh Muḥammad b. al-Mufassir [6] al-Qāsim, the ex- pert, in particular in this field of knowledge [grammar]. He is [7] unrivalled in his time. I wrote it in the year 1239 [8] of the hijra [1823 ce] of the Chosen One (i.e. Prophet Muḥammad). Oh God! [9] May He forgive us, and may He forgive our parents [10] and our shaykhs, and our [11] brothers and those [12] we love. Colophon No. 2: [1] This is the conclusion – Praise be to God – and His effective help - and salvation and peace be upon the last of the Prophets! [2] This is written by the hand of the modest writer, [3] ʿAbbās b. al-Fāhim Muḥammad Jam b. Dabbu b. [4] Amīr. May Allah cool his grave and the graves of the Muslims! [5] This commentary was brought to an end on a Friday night [6] on the 10th day of dhū l-ḥijja in the year 1239 [5] of Muḥammad’s hijra (1823 ce). [7] I copied it for myself [8] and for those who need it among [9–10] the nation of Prophet Muḥammad.

On the left side of the colophon: And [the] ṣadaqa (charity) of this sheet of paper From Ibn al-imām Yūsuf b. Siré May God forgive us, our parents, and all Muslims Until the completion of Islam.

Colophon No. 3: [1] Thus ended the book written by the slave [of God], [he] the sinner, the weak, the miserable, the humble – and he is the most ignoramus among the ignoramuses and the most stupid among the stupid, [2] and the most careless among the careless, but he expects mercy from God, The Guardian, for He,

18 See Qur 39, 53.

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78 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Figure 2 Source: Col. n° 1 in El-hadj Alpha Mamadou Diallo Lélouma’s Collection.

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 79

Figure 3 Source: Col. n° 2 in El-hadj Alpha Mamadou Diallo Lélouma’s Collection.

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80 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Figure 4 Source: Col. n° 3 in El-hadj Alpha Mamadou Diallo Lélouma’s Collection.

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 81 the Most High, said: despair not of the mercy of Allah.19 This [person] is ʿUbays [3] b. al-Fāhim Muḥammad Jam b. Dabbu b. Amīr. I wrote it (the text) for myself and for he who needs it among the Muslims. [4] And I wrote it with my hands for our Shaykh, Muḥammad b. al-Mufassir, who is famed in his time as an authority in his domain. [5] (The crossed section starts) I wrote it in the year 1238 and completed it at that time because I wrote it as I was in exile in a land called Fuuta Toro, in a place [6] whose name is Aʿdi Yari (word difficult to decipher) where a place called Buhayra Dari (word difficult to decipher) is located, whose name is Saare As (follows an illegible word ending by a yāʾ), which is called (follow two illegible words) [7] Kaʾsa Allah with (or in) (follow illegible words) [8] whose name is Fuuta Jaloo … the last name of the Jallo (Diallo) [9] We have laid that he is called bali.a (word difficult to decipher). [10] (illegible words) Allah (illegible words) in this life and in the Hereafter [12] (illegible words) [13] (illegible words) [14] at the end. Colophon No. 4: End of the text before the colophon: and prayer on our master Muḥammad. May God take care of him, his family and their companions! Thus, the text con- cluded with a praise of God. Translation: [Colophon starts] and in the beauty of His assistance. May the prayer and peace be upon the last of the Prophets! [2] [written] by the hand of God’s little servant ʿUbays b. al-Fāhim Muḥammad Jam, [3] He who needs most God’s benevolence – the most stranger among the strangers – copied it for our Shaykh who surpassed his contemporaries. [5] This is Maḥmud b. Mukhtar D.N.B (word difficult to decipher). [6] I copied it for the sake of Allah and His Messenger, [7] Peace be upon Him!

Bold lines added below: Property of the caliph who asks for God’s support, Abū l-ʿAbbās Sīdī Aḥmad al- Kabīr al-Madanī. And God is with him and with those he loves in both abodes (in this life and in the hereafter)! By using manuscripts marginalia, a catalogue and additional evidence collected from oral and written sources, an overview of book production and study can be uncovered, spanning three generations and covering Fuuta Toro, Fuuta Jaloo and Ségou areas. In this endeavor, the copyist is both our lodestar and the hub of a paper-based network. In 1238 ah/1822 ce, Abū l-ʿAbbās b. al-Fāhim Muḥammad Jam b. Dabbu b. Amīr copied two grammar books whose marginalia reveal that he went by the yettoore “Jallo” (“Diallo” in the French- based spelling) and that he came from Fuuta Jaloo and lived “in exile” in Fuuta

19 See Qur 39, 53.

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82 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Figure 5 Source: Col. n° 4 in Khātima fī l-taṣawwuf. Umarian Library from Ségou, bnf, Inventaire, 5683, 80a–84a.

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Toro. His father’s name reveals his origin, with “al-Fāhim” standing for the title “Alfaa” and “Jam” being a pre-Islamic Fulani surname used in Fuuta Jaloo. From an academic point of view, Abū l-ʿAbbās studied grammar with a scholar named Muḥammad b. al-Mufassir al-Qāsim. One manuscript was completed in a place called “Saare As.” The following year, Abū l-ʿAbbās copied an opus in grammar and recorded the gift of paper made by Ibn al-Imām Yūsuf b. Siré. The evidence collected concerning Muḥammad b. al-Mufassir al-Qāsim indicates that the copyist evolved in the upper circles of the Toorooɗo elite of Fuuta Toro. His master was probably the father of Almaami Malik20 who ruled between 1872 and 1874.21 As a matter of fact, an abstract of a local chronicle published in the early twentieth century provides genealogical information related to Abū l-ʿAbbās’ master: “L’imam Màlik, fils de Mohammadu, fils du Commentateur Algasimu […] du village de Dyâba-Dekle” (“the Imam Màlik, son of Mohammadu, son of the Commentator Algasimu from the village of Dyâba-Dekle).22 Delafosse usually uses “Commentator,” which is precisely the meaning of “al-Mufassir.”23 Thus, Muḥammad b. al-Mufassir al-Qāsim is the same person as “Mohammadu fils du Commentateur Algasimu.” In Fuuta Toro, candidates to the position of Almaami were to be at least 40 years old.24 If we consider that Almaami Malik was born in 1830 and that a generation

20 “Malik Mamadu Caam de Jaaba” whose reign would have lasted for one month, according to Yaya Wane in Les Toucouleurs du Fouta Toro (Sénégal): Stratification sociale et structure familiale, Dakar, ifan, xxv, (1969), p. 13. 21 See “Mālik Mohammadu”, p. 569 or “Mālik Thiam” who would have been elected in June 1873, p. 590 in David Robinson, Philip Curtin, and James Johnson, “A Tentative Chronol- ogy of Fuuta Toro from the Sixteenth through the Nineteenth Centuries”, Cahiers d’Études Africaines, 12/48 (1972), pp. 555–592. 22 Siré-Abbâs Soh, Maurice Delafosse avec la collaboration de Henri Gaden, Chroniques du Foûta Sénégalais, traduction de deux manuscrits arabes inédits, Paris, Collection de la Revue du Monde Musulman, 1913, p. 90. 23 This title was used in Bilād al-Shinqīṭ and Fuuta Toro. Still, “al-Mufassir” is translated in Pulaar as Tafsiiru. Delafosse explains his translation of “Le Commentateur du Corah Boggel” as follows: “this is my literal translation of the Arabic text, but the individual is known in Fuuta under the title of Tafsiru Boggel, Chroniques du Foûta Sénégalais, (1913), p. 90, note 2. 24 “Fuuta Toro had no dynasties, and one did not need to belong to a specific family to be elected. The simple criteria were: (a) belonging to a Toorooɗo lineage, (b) being at least 40 year-old, and (c) being of sound mind”. See Jean Schmitz, “Cités noires: Les répub- liques villageoises du Fuuta Toro”, Cahiers d’Études Africaines, 133–135, xxxiv/1–3, (1994), pp. 419–460, p. 439.

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84 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing equals 30 years, Muḥammad b. al-Mufassir al-Qāsim’s possible date of birth could be approximately 1800. Ibn al-Imām Yūsuf b. Siré is an additional proof of the copyist’s social integration within Fuuta Toro’s leading circles. Abū l-ʿAbbās’ patron was the son of an influential ruler, Almaami Yūsuf Siré, and perhaps Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qādir b. al-Imām Yūsuf b. al-Fahīm Sirī.25 According to Ibrahima Sall:26 “Almaami Yuusuf Siree Lih from Jaaba-Dekkle (Hebbiyaaɓe) served nine times as Fuuta Toro’s Almaami. He was the ruler who secured the highest number of mandates throughout the Almaami’s regime (1775–1890).”27 It is quite interesting to notice that Abū l-ʿAbbās’ master hailed from the same village as Almaa- mi Yūsuf Siré and, according to Siré-Abbâs Soh, married one of his daughters: “the imam Malik, son of Mohammadu, son of the Commentator Algasimu […]. His mother was Fatumata, daughter of the Imam Yusufu, son of Siré. His father and mother both hailed from the village of Dyâba-Dekle.”28 Thus, the copyist’s marginal notes reveal his good relationships with his master’s brother-in-law. Both colophons and their margins unearth some elements of the cultural environment surrounding the copyist. He lived in Fuuta Toro’s Hebiyaaɓe Diiwal (province), during the first half of the nineteenth century and was hosted by the elite of the Tooroɗo group whose members were scholars or rulers of the Islamic confederation.29

25 He is known through his son, Yūsuf, who copied several books that where in Aḥmad al- Kabīr’s possession. 26 See Jean Schmitz et. al, Sheikh Muusa Kamara, Florilège au jardin de l’histoire des Noirs, Zuhūr al-Basātīn, L’aristocratie peule et la révolution des clercs musulmans (vallée du Séné- gal), Paris, cnrs Éditions, 1998, note 47, p. 278. 27 “The dates proposed for his last mandate and his death by Shaykh Muusa Kamara and by Siré-Abbâs Soh are contradictory. The former has Yūsuf Siree Lih dying in 1244 ah (1829 ce), whereas according to the latter he was still ruling then for the eighth time (1829–1831). Furthermore, still according to the Chroniques, his ninth and last mandate oc- curred in 1834 and lasted for six months. However, this source does not mention the date of his death. Robinson, Curtin and Johnson (1972) suggest that he held a last mandate in March 1835. See Schmitz et al., Florilège, note 47, p. 278. 28 Siré-Abbâs Soh, Maurice Delafosse avec la collaboration de Henri Gaden, Chroniques du Foûta Sénégalais, p. 90. 29 The Fula language has different dialects and names. The Pulaar dialect is typically used for the variety spoken in Fuuta Toro. It is the variety spoken by the Toorooɗo (Tooroɓɓe in plural), the religious leaders of Fuuta Toro. As noted earlier, Pular on the other hand is the variety primarily spoken in Fuuta Jaloo. Fulfulde is generally used for the eastern variety primarily spoken in the northern Nigeria and Cameroon area.

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 85

Colophons Highlight Intergenerational Intellectual Achievements

The copyist’s careful description of his whereabouts is exceptional. This evidence is all the more intriguing when compared with the care taken to convert a detailed “direction” in an illegible one. It was apparently Abū l-ʿAbbās’ initial intention to record his status, his devout consideration for his master and his dwelling. The crossed section starts precisely with specifics, which corroborate the colophon’s biographical dimension. For unknown reasons, someone considered that “publishing” these private data was no longer proper. For scholars, this section provides critical evidence, including the place where the itiner- ant copyist would have been. “Saare As,” i.e. “Village of As” (in Fula) could be “Fonde As” in Fuuta Toro.30 This would prove that Abū l-ʿAbbās would have travelled in Fuuta Toro from the western part to the eastern part of the confederation.31 Additionally, two colophons reveal the copyist’s homesickness: “I wrote it as I was in exile” and “he who needs God’s benevolence the most (among mortals), stranger among strangers”. As early as the eighteenth century the Fulani (Fulɓe) from Fuuta Jaloo went into (definitive or temporary) exile in Fuuta Toro and or Ɓunndu.32 Another fascinating aspect of manuscripts’ biographical data is how their authors, copyists, and owners reveal genealogies charting knowledge and status transmission over generations. In Fuuta Jaloo and Fuuta Toro, knowledge was a key marker of social status and excellence. Books and manuscripts were

30 See the map in Schmitz et al., Florilège, p. 86. We assume that Saare As is in the diiwal (province) of Toro. See Schmitz, “Cités Noires”, p. 458. 31 This trajectory is similar to Sheikh Muusa Kamara’s curriculum in Fuuta Toro with Fuuta Jaloo’s scholars. See his silsila in “Table 1”, ibid., p. 12. 32 For instance, in the eighteenth century, Cerno Muusa Tafsir (d. 1773) left Dara Labé (Diiw- al of Labé) twice. He first stayed 15 years in self-imposed exile and studied in Fuuta Toro. His second exile led him to Ɓunndu. In the nineteenth century, Bubakar mo Almaami Bademba mo Karamoko Alfa mo Timbo went into exile in Ɓunndu after his father’s political assassination in Ketigiya (c. 1811). There, he was hosted by Almaami Hammadi Aysata who ruled between 1794 – or 1797 – and 1819. See p. 185, Appendix A: List of rulers in Mi- chael Gomez, Pragmatism in the Age of Jihad: The Precolonial State of Bundu, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1992, p. 252. Once he settled back in Timbo, Bubakar was elected Almaami for the first time (c. March 1824). See Winston McGowan, p. 302, Appen- dix: The Development of European Relations with Futa Jallon and the Foundation of French Colonial Rule, 1874–1897, Ph.D. dissertation, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, 1975, p. 526. While being Almaami of Fuuta Jaloo, he was also referred to as “Almaami Buubakar Ɓunndu” due to his exile. See Sow, Chroniques, p. 44.

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86 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing authored, copied, annotated and owned by several generations of scholars and rulers whose marks are indelible. For example, Soh and Delafosse record Muḥammad b. al-Mufassir al-Qāsim’s genealogy while noting the following about his son: “… was elected the learned professor and discerning juriscon- sult, Imam Màlik, son of Mohammadu, son of the Commentator Algasimu, son of Sirë, son of Hammadi, son of Biran, son of Demba, son of Mat, son of Moktàr, son of Ndyobbo, son of Môdi. His mother was Fatumata daughter of Imam Yûsufu, son of Sirë.”33 Furthermore, the catalogue of Aḥmad al-Kabīr’s library mentions Muḥammad b. al-Mufassir al-Qāsim’s father, Al-Qāsim b. al- Sirī b. Hammadi b. al-Imām Diba, as the copyist of a poem on astronomy.34 As in several cases,35 the genealogy is not comprehensive. Here “Biran” could be missing, while “Imam Diba” was probably “Demba.” Additionally, several manuscripts in Aḥmad al-Kabīr’s library offer interesting information. While “Ibn al-Imām Yūsuf b. Siré” could have been Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir, we know for sure that the latter’s son, Yūsuf b. Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir b. al-Imām Yūsuf b. al-Fāhim Sirī, copied four poems.36 Naṣīḥat al-sālik fī muʿāmalat al-mālik37 is a takhmīs composed by Cerno Bubakar Ɓoyi Lelumaa (the owner of some manuscripts we studied). His work was composed from a poem written in 1270 ah/1853 ce by Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm al-Khālidī. While we have not been able to identify this scholar, he undoubtedly belonged to the Khalduyanke lineage (al-Khālidī) and lived in (or at least hailed from) the Diiwal of Labé.38 The poem was copied in 1272 ah/1855 ce by Muḥammad b. Ibrahim b. ʿUmar b. Muḥammad, a twenty year- old scholar from Dara Labé,39 belonging to the Wuyanke lineage, and with the

33 Siré-Abbâs Soh, Maurice Delafosse avec la collaboration de Henri Gaden, Chroniques du Foûta Sénégalais, p. 90. 34 Bibliothèque oumarienne de Ségou: Aḥmad al-Kabīr’s library in Ghali et al., Inventaire, 5436, 110a–113b. 35 Several instances of this practice are found in the manuscripts in El-hadj Alpha Mamadou Lélouma’s collection. 36 See Ghali et al., Inventaire, first poem: 5681, 1a–b, p. 1; second poem: 5681, 1b, p. 1; third poem: 5681, 3a-b, p.1 ; and fourth poem: 5697, 9a–22b, entitled Sirr al-asrār by Aḥmad b. Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā b. Zarrūq al-Burnusī (d. 899/1493) known as Ibn Zarrūq, p. 14. 37 See Abū Bakr b. Ṣāliḥ, Naṣīḥat al-sālik, lbid., 5461, 89–93, 1272/1855, p. 5. 38 Oral sources mention Cerno Bubakar Ɓoyi’s friendly relationships with his fellow (Khal- duyanke) erudite Cerno Dura Sombili (d. c. 1895). 39 Muḥammad b. Ibrāhim gives his age as 21 in a document that he copied in 1855–6. See Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, Manuscrits Orientaux, Fonds Archinard (Bibliothèque omarienne de Ségou) in Ghali et al., Inventaire, 5719, ff. 104–106; John Hanson and David

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 87 yettoore “Bari.” He “came from the Labé province, home of many of the leading Islamic pedagogues of Fuuta Jaloo […] [and] was an important member of the Dinguiraye community in the 1850s.”40 We know from oral and written sources (including the catalogue of Aḥmad al-Kabīr’s library) that several scholars from this family played a key intellectual role around al-Ḥājj ʿUmar and his heirs. As for Cerno Bubakar Ɓoyi Lelumaa’s grandfather, Cerno Bubakar Poti, his poem on astronomy (Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb)41 was available in Ségou. Addition- al evidence on the copyist and the pedigree of the manuscript are missing and would require additional investigation. Last but not least, Abū l-ʿAbbās’ sons seem to have continued their father’s work and interest in grammar. Al-Fāhim Muḥammad b. Shaykh ʿAbbās and Aḥmad b. Shaykh ʿAbbās copied a 238-page long version of al-Ushmūnī’s Manhaj al-sālik ilā Alfiyyat Ibn Mālik. While the former started copying the book, the work was completed by his brother who finally owned the manuscript.42 It seems that they kept their father’s itiner- ant way of life since the copy was made at ʿAlī Sīdī al-Iskāfi’s residency at an unknown location. As a conclusion of this part of the article, one notes the practice of name transmission over three generations which was common among scholars and rulers of Fuuta Jaloo and Fuuta Toro. “Abbās b. al-Fāhim Muḥammad Jam” gave his father’s name to his son “al-Fāhim Muḥammad b. Shaykh ʿAbbās.” Sim- ilarly, “Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir b. al-Imām Yūsuf b. al-Fāhim Siri” named his son after his father (“Yūsuf b. Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir b. al-Imāmi Yūsuf”). Lastly, the Arabic names of the scholars from Lélouma were identical: “Abū Bakr b. Ṣāliḥ b. Bakr al-Saylānī” (Cerno Bubakar Ɓoyi Lelumaa) was the grandson of “Bakr b. ʿUthmān ʿAbd Allah al-Fulānī al-Jalāwī al-Saylānī.” In so doing, grandson and

Robinson, After The Jihad: The Reign of Aḥmad al-Kabīr in the Western Sudan, East Lan- sing, Michigan State University Press, 1991, p. 53, and note 4. 40 “He probably accompanied ʿUmar Tall during part of the Karta campaign. He was attached to the court of Aḥmad in Ségou, and in 1868 we find him writing an important statement defending the Commander of the Faithful”, ibid., p. 53; and note 5: “Bibliothèque Natio- nale de Paris, Manuscrits Orientaux, Fonds Archinard (Bibliothèque oumarienne de Sé- gou) in Ghali et. al., Inventaire, 5484, ff. 108–9. Other references to the author, primarily as a copyist, can be found in the following volumes of the Umarian Library: 5461, 5669, 5713, 5718–9, and 5723. 41 Ghali et al., Inventaire, 5693, 29a–39b. See the document entitled Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb by Bakr b. ʿUthmān ʿAbd Allāh al-Fullānī al-Jallāwī al-Saylānī, p. 11. 42 Ibid., 5704, 1a–238b, Manhaj al-sālik ilā Alfiyyat Ibn Mālik by ʿAlī b. Muḥammad al-Ushmūnī al-Miṣrī (d. 900/1494–5) also known as Uʿraj al-Dīn. The copying of the manuscript was started by al-Fāhim Muḥammad b. Sheikh ʿAbbās and was completed by Aḥmad b. Sheikh ʿAbbās (the owner). See p. 238.

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88 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing grandfather were “tokora” (Pular: namesakes), which oftentimes carried deli- cate complicity, and at times, intergenerational transmission of knowledge, status, values or aspirations. As names circulated between individuals and across generations, so did some books whose marks of property or annotations reveal their fate across countries.

An International Book Market for Literati?

In 1790, Watt interacted with Aliyyu mo Karamoko Alfa mo Labé43 (Labé’s inter- im ruler) for four days and noted his scholarly pursuits as follows: “On February 22, the King questioned us about our religion but slightly, and also on various other subjects, such as our books which we showed him, and printing.”44 “On February 24, we went to see the King. We found him sitting under the shade of an orange tree with two other men correcting a manuscript […]. At about 7 pm we resumed our visit to the King. He was again busy with his books. But he put them aside to entertain us.”45 “On February 25, while we were bringing up our journals in the morning we received a message that the King wished to see us. We found him as usual busy with his books, but he soon put them away and took us to the church (i.e. the mosque) where we found at least 50 headmen expecting us.”46 Beyond their religious and intellectual value, books were prized assets. As Winterbottom recorded in 1803: “They set a high value on some of their manuscripts. An old man, who had a small duodecimo book of a quarto form, containing extracts from the Qurʾān very neatly written, and ornamented with views of the Caaba (Kaʿba), etc. in Mecca, refused to sell it for eight slaves, as it [the Qur’ān] had been in Mecca. Or as he expressed it: it had walked to Mecca.”47 Books were precious goods whose distribution depended on their “stakeholders.” Abū l-ʿAbbās’ manuscripts were written in Fuuta Toro and found in Labé Lélouma. Aḥmad al-Kabīr’s library includes books that were owned by an Almaami from Fuuta Toro. According to a copyist’s note, a poem dealing with

43 For the biographical data, see J. Leprince, “Le Tourisme Colonial: A travers le Labé (Fouta- Djalon)”, Revue Coloniale, 88 (1910), p. 321. 44 James Watt, Journal of James Watt: Expedition to Timbo, capital of the Fula Empire in 1794, ed. Bruce L. Mouser, Madison, University of Wisconsin, 1991, p. 19. 45 Ibid., p. 23. 46 Ibid., p. 24. 47 Thomas Masterman Winterbottom, An account of the Native Africans in the Neighbour- hood of Sierra Leone, Vol. 1, London, F. Cass, 1969, pp. 220–221. He describes Fulɓe and Mandingo Muslims in this work.

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 89 the Qurʾān’s “ordering and binding […] was read or found with Imām Yūsuf al-Sirī.”48 Almaami Yūsuf Siré’s likely bibliophilia is corroborated by a manuscript’s annotation specifying that it was “possessed by Shaykh Yūsuf, Amīr al-Muʾminīn (Arabic: Leader of Faithful).”49 The bold lines added below Abū l-ʿAbbās’ manuscript could also indicate Aḥmad al-Kabīr’s bibliophilia similar to other manuscripts with the following note: “property of the Khalīf […] Abū l-ʿAbbās Sīdī Aḥmad al-Kabīr al-Madanī.” Thus, by going beyond the script and studying the marginalia and supporting evidence found in other sources, one can obtain a preliminary overview of the book culture in Fuuta Jaloo and Fuuta Toro. We will now focus on Cerno Bubakar Poti Lelumaa’s opus to document and contextualize its dissemination in Fuuta Toro and Ségou.

Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb: the text and its Diffusion

We are now going to focus more particularly on six versions of a nineteenth- century treaty on astronomy (Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb) written by Cerno Bubakar Poti Lelumaa, the grandfather of the scholar who bought the above-mentioned manuscripts. We will classify them chronologically and consider two sets of data: (1) the information available by taking into consideration the physical format of the manuscripts and of their diffusion, and (2) the process of own- ership and diffusion of an Islamic knowledge coming from outside (through the works of West African scholars in Arabic). As we will demonstrate with the nineteenth and twentieth-century versions of the Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb, their physical format and colophons provide a wealth of information.

The Early Nineteenth-century Version According to the colophon, a nephew of the author wrote the most ancient available copy. The manuscript, written nearly two centuries ago, was found in Lélouma/ Poyé. Cerno Bubakar Poti, the author, lived mainly in Labé Louggoudi and used to travel to Lélouma Pétel where he had a temporary residence, due to his administrative position as head of the district. On the first page, the ink has become so faint that the text is very difficult to decipher. Indeed, we must emphasize the fact that most of the available manuscripts in Fuuta Jaloo are

48 Ghali et al., Inventaire, 5586, 242a–257b, p. 16. The copyist notes the following: “this poem was read or found with Imām Yūsuf al-Sirī.” 49 Ibid., 5691, 76a–84b, copied by Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Qādir b. Tafsīr Hamāti b. ʿAlī, p. 9. Miscellaneous: "Identified as possessed by Sheikh Yūsuf, Amīr al-Muʾminīn."

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90 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Figure 6 Source: Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb, mss 1. Picture taken in Lélouma Poyé/ Guinea, 1985 (Bernard Salvaing’s Archives)

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 91

Figure 7 Source: Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb, mss 2. Umarian Library from Ségou, bnf, Inventaire, 5693, 29a–39b. recent copies of ancient texts. They can sometimes be found quite far from the place where they were composed. This gives us an idea of the circulation and social use of manuscripts in ancient and more recent times.50

The End of the Nineteenth-century Version We can see an example of such diffusion in the copy available at the Biblio- thèque Nationale de France (bnf) in Paris, which is one of the manuscripts from the Umarian Library. Because Archinard seized the library during the French conquest of Ségou in 1890, this copy is one of the most ancient ones available now. But it is unfortunately incomplete, without the colophon. We can emphasize here the importance of the Archival fund. It is one of the most extensive for West Africa. It gives us access to old copies of documents, which are nowadays available in Africa only through much more recent copies. In the first lines of the bnf copy, the author is presented as being Abū Marwān Bakari b. Al-Faqīh ʿUthmān ʿAbd Allah al-Fulanī al-Jalāwī al-Saylānī. The presence of the text in the Umarian milieu is a proof of the influence of Fuuta Jaloo culture in the nineteenth century. Al-Ḥājj ʿUmar went first to Fuuta

50 For more on Pular materials written by Fuuta Jaloo scholars and digitized in Sen- egal, see African Ajami Library (aal) at Boston University: http://dcommon.bu.edu/ handle/2144/1896.

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92 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Jaloo to study before his pilgrimage between 1820 and 1825.51 Later, when he settled in Dinguiraye (1848–1849) after his return from Mecca, many people from Fuuta Jaloo followed him. And some of the Fuuta Jaloo texts in the end reached Ségou, Mali where Amadu, one of al-Ḥājj ʿUmar Tall’s sons, reigned until the French conquest. In fact, a lot of important texts from Fuuta Jaloo are available in the Umarian Library from Ségou, including Cerno Saʿdu Dalen’s compositions.

The Early Twentieth-century Version But another copy enables us to better understand the diffusion of Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb in Fuuta Toro. This copy was discovered in Nouakchott, Mauritania by Ulrich Rebstock who edited and translated it in German.52 We will emphasize two facts here. First, there were continuous academic links between duuɗe (centers of Islamic cultures) in Fuuta Toro and Fuuta Jaloo. For instance, young students from the Lélouma region in Fuuta Jaloo travelled westwards to study in Senegal. But on the other hand, students from Fuuta Toro came to study in Fuuta Jaloo. The most famous example is al-Ḥājj ʿUmar Tall. And in the twentieth century, one can refer to Le Chérif de Sagalé (The Sharīf of Sagale), Muḥammad ʿAbd Allah al-Tinwājjīwī) from Mauritania, who settled in Fuuta Jaloo in 1918. Second, the colophon shows that the copy was written in 1936 in a place written as being “D-m-t-y - J-l-m-j,” which refers to the region of Dimar (or Dimat), the Western part of Fuuta Toro and the leydi (district) of Dialma.53 We know that Shaykh Muusaa Kamara stayed in

51 See David Robinson, The Holy War of Umar Tall: The Western Sudan in the mid-Nineteenth Century, Clarendon, Oxford University Press, 1985, p. 368; La guerre sainte d’al-Hajj Umar, Paris, Karthala, 1988, p. 60. Al-Ḥājj ʿUmar was born in Halwar in northwestern Senegal in c. 1794. He moved to Fuuta Jaloo, Guinea in 1820 where he pursued further Islamic studies. He performed the pilgrimage to Mecca around 1825 before coming back to Central and Western Africa in 1831. He settled in Dinguiraye (on the eastern margin of Fuuta Jaloo) in 1849. He then launched an armed jihād in 1852 and founded an Islamic Empire that in- cluded parts of Guinea and Mali. He was mainly responsible for introducing the Tijāniyya Sufi brotherhood in West Africa. 52 Die Brücke des Rechnens von Abu Marwan: ein gedicht über die arabische Kalenderrech- nung und Astrologie, Freiburg, 2007. See online at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/29758914_Die_Brucke_des_Rechnens_von_Abu_Marwan_ein_Gedicht_uber_ die_arabische_Kalenderrechnung_und_Astrologie. 53 See Jean Schmitz, “Cités noires”, p. 455; and the maps on p. 65 and 87 in Schmitz et al., Florilège. Sheikh Muusa Kamara’s monumental literary work, Zuhūr al-basātīn fī tarīkh as- sawādīn (Flowers of gardens concerning the history of Blacks), was written between 1920 and 1925. The Collection Cheikh Moussa Kamara (or Sheikh Muusa Kamara) contains several Arabic manuscripts. Written during the colonial period, Kamara’s work focuses on

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 93

Figure 8 Source: Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb, mss 3. Ulrich Rebstock’s Collection. Picture taken from the Library of Ibrahīm Sīh in Nouakchott, Mauritania. Reproduced by permission of Ulrich Rebstock.

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94 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Dimat where he studied two books under the direction of Alfā Ibrāhīma, a faqīh (Islamic jurist) from Fuuta Jaloo.54 The two latter copies enable us to get more insights into the diffusion of texts in West African duuɗe (centers of Islamic cultures). This region was a cultural continuum, as it is obvious in this article. But the three following re- maining copies were found in Poyé, thanks to the benevolence of Al-hadj Ab- derrahmane Diallo, the Imam of Poyé who accepted to collect them for us. They originate from Lélouma’s commune urbaine (urban municipality) and its immediate periphery (Balaya).

The Three Mid-twentieth Century Versions According to the colophon, the fourth copy (photographed by Bernard Salva- ing in 1985) was made in 1943 by Cerno Amadu Uri Baldé from Kénéri (Lé- louma) who died in 2014. According to the colophon, the fifth manuscript was copied by Ibrāhīm b. Shaykh Muḥammad Jam b. Tayru b. Ibrāhīm Jogo wa-Sellu. The author, who was the second Imām of Poyé, does not mention the date of the copy. This text, like the following one, was written on a schoolboy notebook. In the sixth copy, the date 1371 ah/1952 ce was added on the left of the colophon, which mentions Saturday 23rd of Rabīʿ al-awwal as the day of the completion of the copy. The various copies of the texts make it possible to study how the material and ink have evolved. The texts in Fuuta Jaloo were written on imported sheets of paper. Most of the old available copies date from the nineteenth century. Some of them were written on very little pieces of paper. Paper was rare and expensive at that time. Although a systematic study of the origin of the paper has not been done and might be highly instructive, we can see that the writing support becomes more varied in the twentieth century as some copies have been made on schoolboy notebooks. With regard to the aesthetic of the manuscripts, and contrary to what can be observed in the case of some of the ancient copies of the Qurʾān from Fuuta Jaloo, it is currently really difficult to establish an interest in illumination, con- sidering the sober ornamentation in the documents. We have not established among the copyists a real intention to produce an aesthetic emotion, soli Deo

history, anthropology, theology and law. Kamara was considered an important historian in his era and a reputed intellectual. As a historian and anthropologist, Maurice Dela- fosse, Henri Gaden and other Africanists supported him in his efforts. At his death in 1945, Kamara’s works were donated to ifan (Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire) in Dakar, Senegal. 54 See Schmitz et al., Florilège, p. 12.

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Figure 9 Source: Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb, mss 4. Picture taken in Lélouma Poyé/ Guinea, 1985 (Bernard Salvaing’s Archives). gloria. Copyists do not generally go beyond enhancing some letters or using colors as a tool for promoting a better understanding of the message of the text. Those various techniques they use are in fact very common, and in no way specific to Fuuta Jaloo.55

55 See François Déroche et al., Manuel de codicologie des manuscrits en écriture arabe, Paris, bnf, 2000, p. 413.

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96 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Figure 10 Source: Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb, mss 5. Picture taken in Lélouma Poyé/ Guinea, 2009 (Bernard Salvaing’s Archives).

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Figure 11 Source: Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb, mss 6. Picture taken in Lélouma Poyé/ Guinea, 2009 (Bernard Salvaing’s Archives).

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98 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

For instance, in the sixth copy of Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb written in 1952, some de- tails are emphasized. The word faṣl (chapter) at the beginning of every chapter and the letters lām and alif are lengthened and written in bold characters.

Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb: the Pedagogical Material

We will now take a look at some pedagogical materials. Al-hadj Abdourah- mane Diallo, the Imam of Poyé, gathered all of the pedagogical documents. They originate from Lélouma’s commune urbaine and its immediate periphery (Balaya), and are explanations about ʿilm al-nujūm (the science of stars), a kind of practitioners’ “algorithm.” It is worth noting that all these documents are recent. The copyists paid greater attention to the presentation of these documents than in the copies of the text Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb. They used decorative patterns, but with an intent that seems more pedagogical than aesthetic. The title of the text is Kitāb tarḥīl al-shams ʿalā al-manāzil (Book about the motion of the sun among the lunar mansions). The text is written in prose. Some words are underlined as reflected on line 5 (Shaḥr yunār, the month of January), line 13 (wa-idhā dakhala, when it enters), line 15 (the month of February), and line 20 (wa-idhā dakhala, when it enters). We also have a text, dealing with the knowledge of the twenty-eight lunar mansions. It is written in blue with small red circles (on top of Figure 13) and the signs of the Zodiac in red. On the same document, we can also see the horizontal lines in dark blue crossing the vertical lines in red and in light blue/ green written with a ballpoint pen on a sheet of paper with small squares. Some documents use diagrams for a didactic purpose. For instance, we can see the signs of the Zodiac corresponding to three dates: November, the beginning, and the end of December. We can also have circle diagrams, with concentric circles enhancing the connection between the months, the seasons, the signs of the Zodiac, and so forth. Such a representation has a pedagogical value. It is decorative and it certainly impresses the people who cannot read this sort of document.56 As a comparison, we show the same sort of diagram published by Shamil Jeppie and Bachir Diagne.57 This is a further proof of the large diffusion of the science of calendars in Muslim West Africa. In fact, a whole chapter of the tale

56 Al-ḥajj Bobo Bowel Diallo of Balaya owns this document. 57 Shamil Jeppie and Bachir Diagne, eds., The Meanings of Timbuktu, Cape Town, Human Sciences Research Council, 2008, p. 212.

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Figure 12 Source: Picture taken in Lélouma Poyé/Guinea, 2009 (Bernard Salvaing’s Archives).

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100 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Figure 13 Source: Picture taken in Lélouma Poyé/Guinea, 2009 (Bernard Salvaing’s Archives).

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Figure 14 Source: Picture taken in Lélouma Poyé/Guinea, 2009 (Bernard Salvaing’s Archives).

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102 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Figure 15 Source: Document owned by Al-ḥajj Bobo Bowel Diallo of Balaya (Lélouma/Guinea), 2009 (Bernard Salvaing’s Archives).

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Figure 16 Source: Shamil Jeppie and Bachir Diagne, The Meanings of Tim- buktu, Cape Town, Human Sciences Research Council, 2008, p 212. Reproduced by permission of Shamil Jeppie.

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104 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing of “The Arabian Nights” (recently found in Timbuktu, which is translated and published by Floréal Sanagustin) deals with the science of calendars.58

Other Aspects of the ʿAjamization of Islam as seen in some Fuuta Jaloo Manuscripts

The latter examples show how a specific tradition of learning coming from outside took root in West Africa, and how a local opus written in Lélouma in Fuuta Jaloo achieved a wide diffusion in West Africa. We will first highlight the diversity of the fields that the calendars reflect. Let us simply recall that this branch of knowledge developed first in the Mediterranean world by combining two traditions. The first tradition is astrological and astronomical. But the distinc- tion between astrology and astronomy we make nowadays would have been an anachronism in the old days. They were derived from the Islamic science of the anwāʾ and from the Indian knowledge of the manāzil (mansions). We can mention here the kitāb al-anwāʾ written by Ibn Qutayba (828/889 ah). The second tradition pertains to calendars, which were almanacs that indicate for each day the sky and weather phenomena, the dates of the agricultural calendar, the lucky and unlucky days for such and such activity, and the different religious feasts. These calendars also reflect the knowledge developed in the first tradition. Let us mention, among the most ancient ones, the calendar of al-Birūnī (973–1050 ah). There are also examples of Syrian and Coptic calendars and the Calendar of Cordoba.59 This branch of knowledge spread also to the Maghrib and to the Saharan centers of Islamic culture like Timbuktu. We can find this knowledge in several places throughout West Africa, including in Kano and Bornu in northern Nige- ria.60 We do not know how such knowledge came to Lélouma in Fuuta Jaloo.

58 Floréal Sanagustin, La docte sympathie, tawaddud al-jâriyya, conte des 1001 nuits de Tombouctou, Paris, Geuthner, 2016, p. 276. 59 For these calendars, see Georges Troupeau, “Le livre des temps: Le Kitāb al-Azmina d’Ibn Māsawayh (m. 243/857)”, tr. George Troupeau, Arabica, 15 (1968), pp. 113–142 ; Charles Pel- lat, Cinq calendriers égyptiens, Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale du Caire, 1986, xxviii and 276 p; and R. Dozy, Le calendrier agricole de Cordoue : Nouvelle édition accom- pagnée d’une traduction française annotée par Charles Pellat, Leiden, Brill, 1961, p. 198. 60 Melvyn Hiskett, “The Arab Star-Calendar and Planetary System in Hausa verse”, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 30 (1967), pp. 158–176. Bornu (or Borno) was an ancient Islamic kingdom (northern Nigeria, Chad). It lasted from 1380 to 1893. Its most famous figure in the nineteenth century was Muḥammad al-Kanemī. On the ancient state of Bornu, see Louis Brenner, The Shehus of Kukawa: History of the al-Kanemi Dynasty of

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Was it through direct relations with Timbuktu or through the transmission of scholars from Fuuta Toro and Mauritania? The only thing we know for sure is that Cerno Bokar Poti Lélouma had a sufficient mastery of the knowledge to compose his own calendar at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It seems that the science of calendar was a controversial matter because of its connections to astrology. The author gave a hint to such a discussion in the following comment about his Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb: “This is the end of what I wanted to say. Praise be to God, without an end! I removed a section of [the text] for fear that malicious people misuse it.” It appears that an esoteric use of such kind of knowledge was frequently made in Fuuta Jaloo. For example, Cerno Samba Mombeyaa reveals in his poem about the battle of Berekolon the way of determining whether a day is good or bad for initiating a jihād: “The Imam asked the intelligent and trustworthy persons among the princes what they thought. And he asked the individuals renowned for their knowledge the same question.”61 Oral traditions attribute the same knowledge to his cousin Moodi Tahirou of Lélouma. When reading Cerno Bubakar Poti’s Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb, we can see the author’s areas of interest. They encompass astronomy, including knowledge of the right moment for the five prayers, the comparison between the lunar calendar and the solar calendar, and so on. His Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb is not so much an almanac and agricultural calendar. After Cerno Bubakar Poti, several authors from Fuuta Jaloo wrote their own calendars. These include Cerno Aliyyu Ɓuuɓa Ndian of Labé (1845–1927). Beside the Arabic pedagogical material found in Lélouma, some similar texts written in Fuuta Jalon Fula (Pular) ʿAjamī are available, particularly in the Collection Gilbert Vieillard in Dakar.62 Thus, Cerno Bubakar Poti and his duuɗal are the source of a “new” field of knowledge, which is now considered by the local oral tradition as coming from Lélouma.

Bornu, Clarendon Press, Oxford Studies in African Affairs, 1973, p. 145. Kano was a medieval commercial and Islamic city in northern Nigeria. In the nineteenth century, it became an Emirate of the Sokoto Caliphate. See H.R. Palmer, “The Kano Chronicle”, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 38 (1908), pp. 58–98; and John O. Hunwick, “A Historical Whodunit: The So-called ‘Kano Chronicle’ and its Place in the Historiography of Kano”, History in Africa, 21 (1994), pp. 127–146. 61 Unpublished text about the battle of Berekolon, p. 2, verse 16 in the personal archives of Bernard Salvaing; and 5584, 90a–91a in Ghali, Inventaire, p. 139. 62 See “Un calendrier solaire aux mois cachés (in Pular: Fi Lebbi wirniiɗi”, Cahier 29, p. 19; and "Le temps: Notes peules”, Cahier 106, p. 46 in Thierno Diallo, Mame Bara M’Backé, Miriana Trifkovic, and Boubacar Barry, Catalogue des manuscrits de l’ifan, Dakar, 1966, p. 156.

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106 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing

Such an example of the indigenization of an external knowledge contrib- utes to the broader theme of the ʿAjamization of Islam and its traditions in Africa, which is the focus of this volume. We construe this notion as the strate- gies used by the authors and readers from Fuuta Jaloo to appropriate the religious practice and the Arab-Islamic culture coming from the Middle East and Northern Africa. They adopt Islam and its traditions, but make them their own in the way Leopold Sédar Senghor conceived how Africans had to assimilate European influences and not to be assimilated by them.63 Similarly, David Robinson notes that the diversity of Muslim practices in sub-Saharan Africa is not indicative of local deviations of a so-called Black Islam (Islam Noir).64 In other words, various African peoples who converted to Islam appropriated and indigenized (africanized, ʿAjamized) it.65 For comparative perspectives, it would certainly be highly beneficial to refer to the manner in which Christianity has also been ʿAjamized since the second half of the twentieth-century, following the wishes of both European mission- aries and African clerics who dwelled on the necessity of the inculturation of Christianity.66 Following this line of thinking, some scholars such as Kwame Bediako have emphasized the fact that the center of gravity of Christianity has nowadays already shifted away from Europe. They see in Christian Africa “a new center of universality” for Christianity.67 Moreover, it is worth noting that in the nineteenth century African Sahel, Shaykh Mukhtār al-Kuntī thought that the region of Africa where he lived was the center of Islam in his time.68 Therefore the notion of ʿAjamization goes far beyond writing religious texts in the local languages with modified Arabic letters, which also flourished in Fuuta Jaloo.69 Suffice it here to refer to the ʿAjamī poem, Oogirde Malal (Vein

63 For a similar comparison, see the discussion on the “Muriditude movement” in Ngom, Muslims beyond the Arab World: The Odyssey of ʿAjamī and the Murīdiyya, New York, Oxford University Press, 2016, 64. 64 David Robinson, Muslim Societies in African History, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 242. 65 Ibid., p. 198. 66 Protestants usually prefer the word “contextualization.” 67 Kwame Bediako, Christianity in Africa: The Renewal of a Non-Western Religion, Edinburgh University Press, 1995, p. 276. 68 See Abdul Aziz Batran A.A, Sidi al-Mukhtar al-Kunti and the Recrudescence of Islam in the Western Sahara and the Middle Niger, PhD dissertation, University of Birmingham, 1971, p. 343. 69 The spread of ʿAjamī literature in Fuuta Jaloo was quite an intellectual innovation, which was initiated by Cerno Samba Mombeyaa. In fact, one cannot deal with the issue of ʿAjamī literature in Pular without recalling the important role played by Cerno Samba

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“Corners Conceal Treasures” 107 of Eternal Happiness), written by Cerno Samba Mombeyaa (1755–1852).70 However, we will not settle here the debate about the controversy that Cer- no Samba Mombeyaa triggered, in particular the opposition of al-Ḥājj ʿUmar to his ʿAjamī initiative.71 A thorough analysis of the various aspects of the ʿAjamization of Islam in Africa and their consequences would deserve long and numerous studies. In fact, a functional division between the two languages prevailed. “Pular is the dominant language for works having to do with morality, personal and social practices linked to religion (i.e. advice, sermons, and political topics) and panegyrics (praise of the Prophet and elegies for holy men). On the other hand, Arabic is the dominant (often the sole) in areas more closely linked to knowledge, such as esoteric sciences, calendars of events, grammar and philol- ogy, fiqh (jurisprudence), and matters concerning Sufi orders. In three areas (jurisprudence, historical texts, and tawḥīd), Pular is important but not the dominant language”.72 But to have a better understanding of the scope of Cerno Samba Mombey- aa’s initiative, it may be interesting to compare his action to the effort made in a different context by Christians. We know that the Bible can be translated, whereas in Islam the Qurʾān, which Muslims believe was sent down to Earth by God through the Arabic language, can be commented on but not really translated into foreign languages. We can refer here to the arguments put forward by Lamin Sanneh, particularly in his work entitled Translating the Message.73 He demonstrates in this book how Christianity, as imported as it was by Euro- peans, often in a colonial situation, has been africanized through the simple approach of translating the Sacred Scripture in vernacular languages. This is because such an approach entails a set of exchanges, and even a genuine osmosis between the specific concepts coming from the imported religion and

Mombeyaa in bringing it into existence. “Although before his time the use of Pular was common as elsewhere for oral commentaries on Qurʾānic and other religious texts (under the Pular term firugol – clarification or commentary, corresponding to the Arabic term tafsīr), he was the first to advocate the systematic use of Pular as a written language in religious teaching. To this end, he composed the famous Oogirde Malal (Vein of Eternal Happiness) in which a certain number of important Islamic teaching texts are presented in a readily accessible form”. See Hunwick et al., Arabic Literature of Africa, p. 493. 70 See Sow, Le filon, 1971. 71 For al-Ḥājj ʿUmar Tall’s opposition to ʿAjamī, see Bernard Salvaing, “Colonial Rule and Fulfulde Literature in Futa Jallon (Guinea),” Sudanic Africa, 15, p. 112. 72 Hunwick et al., Arabic Literature of Africa, p. 495. 73 Lamin Sanneh, Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture, Maryknoll, N.Y., Orbis Books, 1989, p. 255.

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108 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing the words – for example, the term referring to the Supreme God – used by vernacular languages to translate them.74 We may add that in this way Christianity – which was originally an Oriental religion, just like Islam – but which in the course of time seemed to become consubstantial with the European and Western Civilization – despite its uni- versalist vocation – was africanized, through a process of Inculturation. But in Islamic societies, this appropriation is also carried out through the texts written in Arabic and ʿAjamī and through religious practices. Thus, why shouldn’t we talk about the inculturation or ʿAjamization of Islam in Africa? As the calendar Qanṭarat al-ḥisāb exemplifies, Fuuta Jaloo scholars borrowed a tradition present in the whole Mediterranean world since the Middle Ages and re- appropriated it to address their local needs. However, the adaptation is not total. For example, the calendar Qanṭarat al- ḥisāb keeps mentioning locally absent data reflecting the Mediterranean sea- sonal and agricultural cadence, including the ripening of wheat on June 24th, and the sowing of cereals between October 17th and October 24th (in the Julian calendar). But the same calendars state that the rainy season of the simooms begins on July 12th (…) and lasts until August 20th, during a forty-day period, which is an evident hint to the West African rainy season. We cannot but notice that the local inherited knowledge and farmers’ lore are more accurate on this point than the calendars written by scholars. Furthermore, as it has been pointed out in another context,75 the osmosis between African and Islamic cultures was carried out in both directions to such an extent that it is sometimes difficult to recognize the African pre-Islamic substrate.76

74 For more on the exchanges between Islam and local traditions which are framed as processes of ʿAjamization, see Ngom, Muslims beyond the Arab World, pp. 247–251. 75 See Tal Tamari, “Notes sur les représentations cosmogoniques dogon, bambara et ma- linké et leurs parallèles avec la pensée antique et islamique”, Journal des Africanistes, 71/1 (2001), pp. 93–111. 76 For a discussion that emphasizes the same idea, see Labelle Prussin, “Architectural Facets of Islam in the Futa-Djallon”, in Islamic Art and Culture in Sub-Saharan Africa, eds. Karin Adahl and Beit Sahlström, Uppsala, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 1995, pp. 21–56. Prus- sin notes that “Islam itself was never monolithic. Clothed in the garb of the particular cultural and religious milieu out of which it came to sub-Saharan Africa, it interacted differentially at various levels with its host cultures. As elsewhere, Islam functioned and continues to function at many different levels in the African contexts. As a secrete, mysti- cal and magical force, as a definition of class status, either social, political or economic, and as a rationale for military expansion or political conquest. On one hand, the centuries have often eroded, diffused, and softened the earlier, more intense presence of Islam. On the other hand, particular aspects of Islam have permeated in subtle ways that are

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Monique Chastanet also noted in her comparison of the Soninke and the Muslim calendar (which the Soninke adopted with the arrival of Islam), that “the latter has deeply influenced the Soninke society in their perception and structuration of time to such an extent that it has become today difficult to know what had originally been the Soninke pre-Islamic calendar, apart from the agricultural sector and of some daily rhythms where it continued to exist.”77

Conclusion

A codicological study of the texts provides a better understanding of their physical and social environment, the diffusion of the culture they embody, and the importance attached to them by both their owners and their readers. The examples discussed in this article show how West African Muslims took a religious heritage that came from outside and appropriated it for their own use. They show how West African Muslims africanize some Islamic traditions, or, if we prefer the approach of the present publication, how they ʿAjamized them. A formal study and a study of the contents and meanings of the texts are complementary as the examples of the science of calendars illustrate. Building on the discussion above, and to end this study, let us give an example of the appropriation by another major nineteenth-century scholar from Fuuta Jaloo of other Islamic sciences that came from outside. Cerno Saʿdu Dalen’s poem Nusḥ al-Ruʿāt78 indicates that he is the heir of a secular tradition: the tradition of the Mirrors for Princes which originated from India and found its way in Persian and Arabo-Islamic cultures. The Mirrors for Princes were written in urban Middle Eastern societies, which were organized as centralized

sometimes difficult to recognize, much of the fabric of African culture despite the fact that European colonial presence and research biases often militated against both its overt and covert forms. One expression of these variations and their complexities is the archi- tecture of the West African mosque” (pp. 21–22). 77 Monique Chastanet, “Entre bonnes et mauvaises années au Sahel: Climat et météorologie populaire en pays soninké (Mauritanie, Sénégal) aux xixe et xxe siècles”, in Entre ciel et terre, climat et sociétés, eds. Esther Katz, Annamaria Lammel, and Marina Goloubinoff, Paris, Éditions Ibis Press, 2002, pp. 192–193. 78 This text is about to be published in Islam et bonne gouvernance au xixe siècle dans les sources arabes du Fouta-Djalon (textes de Tierno Sadou Dalen, Modi Tahirou Lélouma, Al- mami Ibrahima Sori Dara, et Alfa Gassimou Labé), eds. Georges Bohas, Alfa Mamadou Diallo Lélouma, Abderrahim Saguer, Bernard Salvaing, and Ahyaf Sinno, Paris, Geuthner (forthcoming).

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110 Diallo Lélouma and Salvaing states under the leadership of absolute monarchs. The most famous of these texts is al-Ghazālī’s Naṣiḥāt al-Mulūk (Counsel for Kings).79 The Fuuta Jaloo scholars adopted this ideology of power while maintain- ing its Islamic nature. For example, they believed that the sovereign is God’s vice-regent on earth, and as such he should be obeyed. But at the same time they believed that he must not deviate from the task assigned to him. They modified the ideology in accordance with the character of their African society in Fuuta Jaloo, which was a rural society made up of breeders – at least in its early stages – and a loose confederation headed by a primus inter pares among the Imams of the provinces who must be a good shepherd of his flock. The Fuuta Jaloo scholars made this borrowed ideology of power congruent with their needs. They wished to fight against the commitment of the princes to worldly things. Furthermore, they strived to reconcile the two opposing political parties (Alfaya and Soriya). Finally, they sought to revive the Islamic values that existed at the time of the foundation of the Fuuta Jaloo Caliphate80 driven by some nostalgia comparable to the nostalgia of Classical Islam for the era of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs.

79 See Abū Ḥamid Al-Ghazālī, Al-tibr al-masbūk fī naṣīḥat al-mulūk, ed. Muḥammad Aḥmad Damaj, Beirut, Muʾassat al-Jāmiʾiyyat, 1987; and F.R.C. Bagley, Ghazālī’s Book of Counsel for Kings (naṣiḥāt al-mulūk), London, Oxford University Press, 1964, p. 197. 80 We would like to mention that nineteenth-century Fuuta Jaloo scholars used “caliphate” in their Arabic texts dealing with history and politics. In Pular, “almsamqku” was used. The concept was based on the word “almaami”, a Fulanized version of “al-imām” and the title attributed to Fuuta Jaloo overarching rulers.

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