The Songhaiborai (also Songhai, Songhay, Sonrhaï) are a distinct subgroup within the larger Songhai

ethnolinguistic Ethnolinguistics (sometimes called cultural linguistics) is an area of anthropological linguistics that studies the relationship between a language or group of languages and the cultural practices of the people who speak those languages. It exa ...

family, residing predominantly in Niger's Songhai region and Northern

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

, with a minority presence in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

. Notably, they trace their lineage to the ruling dynasties of the ancient

Songhai Empire The Songhai Empire was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its lar ...

. In Niger and Burkina Faso, differentiating the Songhaiborai from the

Zarma people The Zarma people are an ethnic group predominantly found in westernmost Niger. They are also found in significant numbers in the adjacent areas of Nigeria and Benin, along with smaller numbers in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, and Sudan ...

poses a challenge, as both are subgroups within the same language family, sharing a very similar dialect and culture. Despite the significant commonalities, the Songhaiborai may identify themselves and their dialect as "Zarma," emphasizing the shared heritage. However, both groups acknowledge their distinct branches within the same ethnicity, often adopting the collective name "Zarma," making it difficult for outsiders to discern any noticeable differences. Additionally, in Mali, they are recognized as the Koyraboro. The Songhai originally were the descendants and partisans of the

Sonni dynasty The Sonni dynasty, Sunni dynasty or Si dynasty was a dynasty of rulers of the Songhai Empire of medieval West Africa. The origins of the dynasty lies in its predecessor Za Dynasty. The last ruler, Sonni Baru, ruled until 1493 when the throne was u ...

that retreated to this area of present

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

after the coup d'état of 1493 and that of the

Askia dynasty The Askiya dynasty, also known as the Askia dynasty, ruled the Songhai Empire at the height of that state's power. It was founded in 1493 by Askia Mohammad I, a general of the Songhai Empire who usurped the Sonni dynasty. The Askiya ruled from Gao ...

that also moved later to this same region after the invasion of the

by the

Saadi dynasty The Saadi Sultanate (), also known as the Sharifian Sultanate (), was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of Northwest Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was led by the Saadi dynasty, an Arab Sharifism, Sharifian dynasty. ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

in 1591. These two historical events that resulted in the mass exodus of the Songhai emptied

Gao Gao (or Gawgaw/Kawkaw) is a city in Mali and the capital of the Gao Region. The city is located on the River Niger, east-southeast of Timbuktu on the left bank at the junction with the Tilemsi valley. For much of its history Gao was an imp ...

and

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...

of their Songhai nobles, who find themselves dispersed today in the above-mentioned region of Southwestern

Aristocracy

According to oral history, the Songhai nobles came to be known as "Songhai" during the reign of Sonni Ali Ber. The name was coined from his name to form a tribal name for the ruling caste. The main factions of the Songhai are the ''"Si Hamey"'' and the "Mamar Hamey". The ''Si Hamey'' (meaning: descendants of Sonni), as the name implies, are the descendants and partisans of the Sonnis, while the ''"Mamar Hamey"'' are the descendants and partisans of

Askia Mohammad I Askia Muhammad Ture I (1443–1538), born Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Turi or Muhammad Ture, was the first ruler of the Askia dynasty of the Songhai Empire, reigning from 1493 to 1528. He is also known as Askia the Great, and his name in modern So ...

whose vernacular name among the Songhai is "Mamar". It is also worth noting that both groups use the title surname "''Maiga''" (meaning, "King or Prince").

History

After the ruler and founder of the

Sonni Ali died in 1492, his former army general and nephew Askia Mohammad rebelled against his son and successor,

Sonni Baru Sonni Bāru, also known as Sonni Abū Bakr Dao was the 16th and last king of the Sonni dynasty to rule over the Songhai Empire located in west Africa. His rule was very short, from 6 November 1492, to 12 April 1493. The dates of his birth and deat ...

and defeated him in a battle in 1493 . Sonni Baru fled to

Ayorou Ayourou (or Ayorou or Ayerou) is a town and rural Communes of Niger, commune in the Tillabéri Region, in western Niger. It is situated 208 km northwest of the capital Niamey near the Malian border. The old town stands on an eponymous island ...

and established his own small kingdom. After the defeat of the

at the

battle of Tondibi The Battle of Tondibi was the decisive confrontation in the 16th-century invasion of the Songhai Empire by the army of the Saadi dynasty in Morocco. The Moroccan forces under Judar Pasha defeated the Songhai under Askia Ishaq II, guaranteeing t ...

in 1591, the son of

Askia Dawud Askia Daoud (also Askia Dāwūd, Askiya Dawud) was the ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1549 to 1582. His rule saw the empire rise to a peak of peace and prosperity following a series of succession disputes and short reigns."Songhai empire." ''B ...

, Askia Muhammed Gao (''aka'' ''Wayki''), deposed his brother

Askia Ishaq II Askia Ishaq II, also known as Askia Isḥāq Zughrānī, was the ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1588 to 1591. He commanded the Songhai force at the Battle of Tondibi, where he was defeated by Saadian forces from Morocco who subsequently destroy ...

and briefly took command of the Songhai resistance army. Supported by the remains of the disbanded army, they migrated down river from Gao to the same region of Ayorou where Sonni Baru and his people had taken refuge after their overthrow, precisely in present-day

's Tillabery Region. ''Askia Wayki'' (Muhammed Gao) installed his base on the banks of the Niger river in the current locality of Sikié hoping in vain for a possible passage of the Moroccan army. Askia Muhammed Gao died in 1632 without being able to regroup his men to reclaim

, which had fallen under the control of

Judar Pasha Judar Pasha () was a Spanish-Moroccan military leader under the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur in the late 16th century. He led the Saadian army in the conquest of the Songhai Empire. Born as Diego de Guevara in Cuevas del Almanzora, Castil ...

. His son, Fari Monzon (Fari Mondyo) who was an Inspector of tax collection during the reign of

Askia Ishaq I Askia Ishaq I, also known as Ishaq Ber (Ishaq the Great), was the ruler of the Songhai Empire from 1539 to 1549, elected Askia following the death of Askia Isma'il. He was the fifth ruler of the Askiya dynasty. Rise to Power Ishaq was born the ...

succeeded him and in 1661 tried for the second time to regroup the Songhai including their rival cousins (the ''Si Hamey'' and the Zarma) in order to take back the city of Gao. Together, they were able to garner the support of the

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

s from Imanan and Azawad. Recognizing the strength of the Moroccan army, they later decided to abandon the struggle for the re-establishment of the

. The son of Fari Monzon, Tabari took command of

Karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

, a principality established since the passage of

during his pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. His other brothers and cousins created the kingdoms of Namaro,

Gothèye Gotheye is a village and rural commune in Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, ...

, Dargol, Téra, Sikié, Kokorou etc. This marked the end of an empire that once shone for its immensity and the courage of its leaders in spite of multiple incessant internal conflicts of succession. These kingdoms, however, did not find their union circumstantial until March 1906, during the anti-colonial battle of

- Boubon led by Oumarou Kambessikonou (Morou Karma), a descendant of Askia Daoud and brother to Askia Muhammed Gao.

Society and Culture

The language, society and culture of the Songhai people is barely distinguishable from the

. Some scholars consider the Zarma people to be a part of and the largest ethnic sub-group of the Ayneha. Some study the group together as Zarma-Songhai people. However, both groups see themselves as two different peoples. The Songhai proper have traditionally been a socially stratified society, like many West African ethnic groups with

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

s. According to the medieval and colonial era descriptions, their vocation is hereditary, and each stratified group has been endogamous. The social stratification has been unusual in two ways; it embedded slavery, wherein the lowest strata of the population inherited slavery, and the ''Zima'', or priests and Islamic clerics, had to be initiated but did not automatically inherit that profession, making the cleric strata a pseudo-caste.

Louis Dumont Louis Charles Jean Dumont (11 August 1911 – 19 November 1998) was a French anthropologist. Dumont was born in Thessaloniki, in the Salonica Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. He taught at Oxford University during the 1950s, and was then dire ...

, the 20th-century author famous for his classic ''Homo Hierarchicus'', recognized the social stratification among Zarma-Songhai people as well as other ethnic groups in West Africa, but suggested that sociologists should invent a new term for West African social stratification system. Other scholars consider this a bias and isolationist because the West African system shares all elements in Dumont's system, including economic, endogamous, ritual, religious, deemed polluting, segregative and spread over a large region. According to

Anne Haour Anne Haour (born 1973) is an anthropologically trained archaeologist, academic and Africanist scholar. She is Professor in the Arts and Archaeology of Africa at the Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the ...

– a professor of African Studies, some scholars consider the historic caste-like social stratification in Zarma-Songhay people to be a pre-Islam feature while some consider it derived from the Arab influence. The different strata of the Songhai have included the kings and warriors, the scribes, the artisans, the weavers, the hunters, the fishermen, the leather workers and hairdressers (Wanzam), and the domestic slaves (Horso, Bannye). Each caste reveres its own guardian spirit. Some scholars such as John Shoup list these strata in three categories: free (chiefs, farmers and herders), servile (artists, musicians and griots), and the slave class. The servile group were socially required to be endogamous, while the slaves could be emancipated over four generations. The highest social level, states Shoup, claim to have descended from King Sonni 'Ali Ber and their modern era hereditary occupation has been ''Sohance'' (sorcery). The traditionally free strata of the Songhai proper and Zarma have owned property and herds, and these have dominated the political system and governments during and after the French colonial rule. Within the stratified social system, the Islamic system of polygynous marriages is a norm, with preferred partners being cross cousins.Songhai people
Encyclopædia Britannica This endogamy within Songhai-Zarma people is similar to other ethnic groups in West Africa.Tal Tamari (1998), Les castes de l'Afrique occidentale: Artisans et musiciens endogames, Nanterre: Société d’ethnologie, (in French)

Livelihood

The Songhay are mostly agriculturalists (mostly growing rice and millet), hunters, fishers and cattle owners which they let the

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

tend.

Notes

References