History of the Tamajaq People
(History according to Gamaje, the King of Nobi)
Recorded, transcribed and translated in 1999

The Origins of the Tamajaq people
This is our history. When the Tamajaq left the north they were one people. Everyone was related to everyone. There was one kingdom. There were still various Tamajaq kings but they were all one clan. They had the same ancestral heritage. All people who speak Tamajaq originally came from Jerusalem. During this time, the time of great ignorance, there was a king named Jalud (or Jalut). Jalud was the king that battled with Israel. He defeated Israel. Years past. Then Israel came back and defeated Jalud. After this the Tamajaq scattered. Some stayed refusing to leave, others left. They went into the lands of Egypt and settled. Others continued on to Tripoli. It was they who gave the name Tripoli, (Talaburas). This is in the land known today as Libya. There they established their city, Tripoli. They remained there for 100 years. Then came the people of Turkey. They fought. The ones that could travel fled. The Tamajaq were defeated. Those that could not leave stayed and paid tribute. The ones that fled traveled until they came to the land of Algeria. Here too the land was uninhabited. They were again the ones to settle the land. They settled and remained there many years. Then came Arabs who lived in what is known as Algers today. They fought. The Arabs defeated the Tamajaq people. They fled until they came to Morocco. And there in Morocco they settled. There they created cities and multiplied until the French came into the area. France defeated them and they fled to this land. Some came to this land, some stayed there in Morocco. The ones that stayed are the origin of the Moroccan people. The current king of Morocco is part of the remnant of the Tamajaq. Those who left Morocco scattered. Some went to Libya, others to Mali and Burkina Faso. Others came into the north of this land here. Others passed through and went to Chad. At that time it was known as Fort Lamy in what is today known as Chad. Here in Niger the Tamajaq people settled in the northern part of the country.

The Kel Geres People
My own ancestors migrated here to the south. They are called Kel Geres. The name Kel Geres comes from Assaggaras which means "to move permanently". When the time came to return to the north with the animals our people stayed here, refusing to return. For this reason they received the name, Kel Geres, "the people who didn’t return." They established the lands here. They found small settlements here [already established] but not a lot. It was mostly uninhabited bush. Everyone could grab a piece of land and settle it. You became the king of the land that you settled on. People from other tribes would come later and settle with you. You let them have a piece of land and they become your subjects. That is how people lived until the land became very populated.

Some of the Kel Geres settled in Arzerori. Some of them settled in Galma. Some of them settled in Tambay. Some of them settled in Mansala which is now in the region of Keita. They settled the land as far as Dakoro. They conquered the land, took possession of it and ruled it and no one dared to oppose them. They organized armies, went out and plundered. They lived like this until the arrival of the French.

The Arrival of the French
The Kel Geres people waged war against the French. They fought three major battles. There was the battle of Labatam, the battle of Jangebe and the battle of Galma. When they realized that they weren't able to stand up to the French, they fled and went towards Fort Lamy [Chad]. They left behind those that couldn’t travel. Then France came in and went to the Hausa villages and appointed rulers for them. And among the nomadic people who remained behind, France also appointed Tamajaq leaders.

When the people who fled reached a faraway village called Gidmuni they again encounter a company of French soldiers. The French stopped them and forced them to settle there. It was there at Gidmuni that they made a treaty with the Kel Geres. Then the Kel Geres returned to their homelands. When they returned to their homelands, there were already leaders put in place in the villages by the French. Therefore the Kel Geres simply settled back in the land without the same dominance. It should be noted that the Tamajaq kings were not ruled by the kings of the villages. The Tamajaq were still strong. They still did as they pleased. Everything was done as they wished but there was now also rulers among the Hausa people in this area.

The People of Nobi
Our clan is known as Tagayist. Our ancestors began in the region known as the Laways, more specifically Laway Birni. They were the ones to found Laway Birni. The ruler Gajere founded it. Gajere was followed by Alfaruq. Alfaruq was followed by Mukhamad. Mukhamad was followed by Mayu. Mayu was the ruler when France came. It was at that time that he left Laway to come here to Nobi. It was deserted at that time. He settled here. But there were Tamajaq people east of here. There were some others in the area of Konni. From Birnin Konni all the way to Gidan Idar; they were all Tamajaq people and they all followed Mayu. After Mayu came Kando. After Kando came Albaqri, the older brother of my father. After Albaqri my own father (Wurokel) came to power. After him came a man by the name of Wannaghli. After him came Gidda. Gidda and another by the name of Asshekh took power together at the same time. They divided the power into two parts. As time went on, Asshekh did not rule wisely. This was during the time of French rule. He refused to pay the French the tax that he collected from the people. Therefore the French removed Asshekh and established the rule of Gidda. After Gidda came Alghabid. After Alghabid I became the king.

The Ancient City of Birni Laway
In the area of Birni Laway the people dug a trench all the way around the area. And they planted thorn trees around the outside while the inside remained a trench. The people lived in the center of this. If enemies came, their horses and the foot soldiers were not able to cross. The enemy was forced to go to the gate, which was guarded. This is what people of olden times did. It was Gajere that did this along with Alfaruq. When Mukhamad came he built a stone wall. When the wind eventually blew the trench full, he built a wall of stone. The wall encircled the city and is still there to this day. The wall still goes around the dunes. If you go there you will see it.

When Mayu came back from Gidmuni he discovered that there were Hausa chiefs now established in the area around Laway. For this reason, he abandoned Laway and went to Nobi. The area that was once Laway is all farmland now. The Hausa people are not inside the wall but they lived close to it. That is the way you will find it today. So the place of the ancient city of Laway is now farmland belonging to others not the Tamajaq people. The Tamajaq people abandoned it. To this day, there is no one living there in the ancient city. But people are living around it. They live to the west of it. They live to the east of it. They live to the south of it. They are also to the north. But the ancient city stands empty.

The Traditional Political Structure of the Kel Geres
The kings of the Kel Geres had what is called a "attabal" [lit. a tribal drum]. The attabal was the leader who was over all the kings. When the attabal wanted a meeting, he would beat the drum to summon the kings. When he beat the drum all the kings would come together. If they were to go to war, he would tell them to get ready. It was not always about war, they could also make decisions about other things as well. The attabal is the head of all the kings. There are two different kinds of traditional Tamajaq leaders, amnokal or aghola and the attabal. Aghola is subject to attabal. The igholan (plural of aghola) choose the attabal. But then he becomes their superior. They lift him up as their leader. He is the one who makes the decisions. He is not better than them in any way. He doesn’t rule over them in the sense that they don’t pay tribute to him. If they want to give him a gift, they give it to him but there is no obligation to do so. But he is simply the one they themselves chose to be their chief.

The attabal is at Galma. All the others are igholan or kings. This is the history of the Tamajaq people. This is what we have heard about it.

Time of Blessing in Niger
When the Tamajaq first came to this region, the land here was blessed. The population was not great. It was all bush. If you went from Konni west, you wouldn’t find any civilization until you reached a village called Arewa in the region of Dogon Dutchi. And here in Nobi, there was nothing but bush and very few people. The trees were plentiful and wildlife abounded. Animals thrived on the vast land.

The Demise of the Land
Settlements were very few in the early days but today the people have grown numerous. They came and cut down the trees and made fields for farming. They chased off the wild animals. Some of the animals they killed. The wild animals have left the land. They are gone now. The population multiplied. The land can no longer support them. This is why now nothing is sufficient. The trees are gone. The wildlife is gone. People have butchered off their herds. The great numbers of people became the enemy of the land. This is what brought the changes to the land and the way of life. From year to year, the rains become less and less. The grass is no longer plentiful. Food is not enough and people are hungry. They are suffering. That is what has brought these things. If there was sufficient rain, and grass was plentiful, the trees also would blossom. People would have enough to eat. But now people don’t have enough of anything. The land is full of suffering. And still the people are growing more numerous. In the beginning it might have been just you by yourself, but now you have ten children. And your children also have children. So if you had one field before, now between you and your offspring you have thirty to fifty fields. So you cut down the trees and turn the land into farmland. Now nothing is sufficient. The herds don’t have enough grass. People don’t have enough food. The land has become a barren wasteland. The blessing is gone. There is no rain. This is what I see has brought the change to the land. In the old days people were few. It was all bush in every direction. But now it’s no more. It is all towns and villages now. This is what has brought about these troubles.

The Five Ancient Sultans of Niger and Nigeria
What old people say is that in the old days there were five kings or sultans. There was the sultan of Agadez, the sultan of Gobarawa, the sultan known as the "Sarkin Damfara", the sultan named Kanta and Shekhu, the sultan of Borno (between Niger, Nigeria and Chad). From Konni to Tanout, up to Agadez (not including Zinder), this was all the region of Agadez. All this land belonged to Agadez. Kanta ruled the region known as Kabi. It went from the city of Kabi (in Nigeria) to the limit of the land belonging to the king of Gobarawa. This was before the time of Shekhu. At this time, Sokoto did not exist. Only the king of Gobir was in power at this time. He was the Sultan. Sarkin Damfara ruled the land around Kano. From Zinder to the east was ruled by the king of Borno. Therefore the kings were only five. They ruled this land. From Nigeria to Niger these were the five sultans. So from here in this area to Tanout is the limit of the land that belonged to Agadez. When the Tamajaq people migrated south, they were coming to their own land, ruled by the same sultan. They were not entering a new land ruled by another king. Therefore the kingdom of Agadez began with the Tamajaq people.

There are three versions of the origin of the Agadez sultanship. According to Tamajaq tradition, in the area of Mount Bagzan, there is a small village known as Ansattafan where lived an old Muslim priest named Asshekh who put in power the Tamajaq king or the sultan of the Tamajaq people. It is this old priest who then made the sultan to be the king over all the other Tamajaq kings. He was the sultan. This is how it began. But accounts differ. According to the historian Askiya the Tamajaq people came from Istanbul. It was the slaves of the king of Istanbul who founded Agadez. This is rejected by most Tamajaq people. Another historian named Bello agrees with the Tamajaq tradition that the orgins of the sultan of Agadez was Ansattafan. Therefore the people of Ansattafan are the Tamajaq people. But it is clear that Tamajaq people are in their own land that before belonged to them. This is what we heard.

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