State Creation in Hausa Land and Kanem-Borno Empire: The Concept of Contrapuntal Paramountcy- Ayomitemedia

STATE CREATION IN KANEM-BORNO AND HAUSA LAND: THE CONCEPT OF CONTRAPUNTAL PARAMOUNTCY

   The evolutions of states in any of the ancient African empires are subjected to the stories of contrapuntal paramountcy. It is obvious and factual that the then needs of the earlier settlers would have been the major force in the evolution modern state. However, the history, myth or legend of each ethnic group related a kind of warring group which subdued another group and evolved a  state or city state, having a kind of kingship institution. Just like in Hausaland and  the Kanem-Borno empire, where a sedative groups were conquered by more powerful groups. A situation that later led to the formation of state with kinds of central authorities.

 

The main discourse of this article is to practically explain the concept of the contrapuntal paramountcy by sampling the cases of Hausa city state formation and the Kanem-Borno empire. 

  What is contrapuntal paramountcy?

Explaining ‘contrapuntal paramountcy’ in its common form is a situation whereby a powerful ethnic group waged war against the aboriginals, and both of them on a long run became the rulers of that particular region. For an instance, group A (a mere cultural group which held to their ritual practices to deities) originally occupied Akungba-Akoko. Now due to some inconveniences facing group B in the southern part of Akungba-Akoko, and because of their first class military prowess, they migrated northwards to Akungba-Akoko and waged war against group A. Group A though accepted defeat but they never released their ancient practices in terms of rituals and others. After the imposition of king by the warring group B, they would have to accept a kind of socio-political framework that will be able to manage the current cultural problems. Then there evolved diarchy system of administration- one for cultural group A and one for political group B. This is contrapuntal paramountcy.  

      The Hausa lands in the northern part of Nigeria, prior to the coming of the Wangara traders, were mere manorial settlements that strongly held to some ritual practices (e.g Gidan itsafi- house of idols in Kano) and a very strong attachment to culture and households. Then, the system for all things never shifted from family. Emphasis was on the economic lifestyle of the people. The head of each house was only responsible to his family and later to the household, as there was total absence of a central authority to effect a central change that could have led to a central society. 

    Kinds of rough settlements in Hausaland prior to the evolution of a central state. 

    The shortage of outputs of each household summoned the need to combine two or mor friendly households together- making them a Gwari. And the incessant external attacks from the borders of each Gwari made the heads of these households to joined in order to form a central force against external aggression. This a bit developed the Gwari to Birni (city state).

City fence and the merging of city states against external aggression. 

      Though this did not make the cities a central society but it helped ease the way to state of centrality. In the 14th century, finally there came wanderers from the Songhai Empire, the Wangara, who waged war against the Hausas and, for their own commercial purpose, imposed a central, kingship institution on the people.  The strict attachment of the indigenous people to their cultural practices , made the more powerful Wangarawa traders to combined them in the system of administration.

 

     In Kanem-Borno Empire, the tens of thousands of wars of conquest eased the way to centrality state. There were many ethnic groups in this region: So, Zaghawa, Seifawa, Kanuri etc. The original inhabitants of this area were the So and later the Kanuri. Summarily, using the technology at hand, the more equipped Seifawa waged war against the odds and imposed the Seifawa dynasty on the people. Throughout the reign of this dynasty, there were wars and attacks against the Mai. In this cause, one Mai, Ali Ghaji evacuated the first capital of the empire, Njimi and founded Birni N’garzagamu, a more advanced state. Though this is a conspectus of the Kanem-Borno Empire’s contrapuntal paramountcy, yet it showed a kind of similitude with the Hausa and also the unexamined Yoruba ethnic group. 

Faforiji Tadese Obaloluwa.