66 MAN : PAST AND PRESENT. [CHAP. 



the "Banza bokoy' : ("The Seven Upstarts"). All form collec- 

 tively the Hausa domain in the widest sense. 



Authentic history is quite recent, and even Komayo, reputed 

 founder of Katsena, dates only from about the i4th century. 

 Ibrahim Maji, who was the first Moslem ruler, is assigned to the 

 latter part of the i5th century, and since then the chief events 

 have been associated with the Fulah wars, ending in the absorp- 

 tion of all the Hausa States in the present unstable Fulah empire 

 of Sokoto, now a British protectorate. The Hausas were them- 

 selves never a conquering power, and their present expansion and 

 social supremacy seem almost entirely due to the natural intelli- 

 gence, industrial habits, and commercial enterprise of this remark- 

 able people. 



Kanembu ; Kanuri l ; Baghirmi, Mosgu. Round about the 



shores of Lake Chad are grouped three other 



PoiiticaiRela- historical Muhammadan nations, the Kanembu 



tionsinthe ("People of Kaiiem ") on the north, the Kanuri of 



Chad Basin. 



Bornu on the west, and the Baghirmi on the south 

 side. The last named is, or has lately been, subject to the Sultan 

 of Waday farther east, and the whole region has been exposed to 

 the ravages of fierce Arab predatory tribes (Salamat and others) 

 from the north, and (since the Madhi's revolt) of Arabo-Nubian 

 armed bands from the east. In other respects these states have 

 hitherto maintained their political independence, although now 

 gravitating towards the rival European powers (England, France, 

 Germany), whose hinterlands have already converged round the 

 Chad basin. 



In this region the ethnical relations are considerably more 

 complex than in the Hausa States. Here Islam has had greater 

 obstacles to contend with than on the more open western plateaux, 

 and many of the pagan aborigines have been able to hold their 

 ground either in the archipelagos of Lake Chad ( Yediitas, Kuri\ 

 or in the swampy tracts and uplands of the Logon- Shari basin 

 (Mosgu, Mandara, Makari &c.). 



1 By a popular etymology these are Ka-Niiri, " People of Light." But, 

 as they are somewhat lukewarm Muhammadans, the zealous Fulahs say it 

 should be Ka-Nari, " People of Fire," i.e. foredoomed to Gehenna ! 



