ANCIENT HISTORY FROM SWAHILI SOURCES

ANCIENT HISTORY FROM SWAHILI SOURCES

THE following histories are culled from old Pate records. They were communicated to me by Bwana Kitini who is a direct 'descendant of the Pate Sultans, and looked on locally as the authority on historical matters . For some reason or other I was not allowed access to the original documents, except one relating to recent Zanzibar history and evidently not much prized.¹

My informant, who, like most Orientals, had a prodigious memory for learning by rote, 2 made notes and visited me daily for some months. I wrote the text down from his dictation and subsequently translated it as literally as possible.

The reader must please pardon the peculiar phrasing sometimes adopted so as to keep as near as possible to the Swahili.

The beginning of these coast towns, 3 he who first made them  was a ruler called Abdul Malik bin Muriani. The date was the seventy- seventh year of the Hejra. He heard of this country, and his soul longed to found a new kingdom. So he brought Syrians, and they built the cities of Pate, Malindi, Zanzibar, Mombasa, Lamu and Kilwa.4

After that Abdul Malik died, and his sons who reigned did not care for the work of founding towns, and so they left them.¹ Now Abdul Malik's tribe was the Bani Omaiya, and of these fourteen kings reigned. After this the Bani Omaiya dynasty went out, and there ruled the Bani al Abbas. The third of this dynasty was Harun al Rashid, 2 who reigned in the year.

This Sultan heard that Abdul Malik had built in Africa, and he was pleased to call people and give them much wealth where with he sent them to build houses on the coast. The people he sent were Persians.

In the year 601 came the Nabahans to the coast coming forth from the Oman (Maskat) . Now the origin of the Nabahans leaving the Oman is this. In the beginning at Maskat four tribes ruled. First reigned the tribe called the Kharusi. After that they were robbed of their kingdom by the Nabahans. A Nabahan Sultan called Imam 3 Muthafar took the kingdom and ruled over the whole of Oman. After him came his son Suleiman bin Muthafar, and then the latter's son Suleiman bin Suleiman.

Then occurred a quarrel between the Arabs and the Nabahans amongst the two tribes of the Henawi and Ghafir. Then the Yorubi fought the Nabahans and they gained strength and defeated the ruling Nabahan . So he went forth and fled away and came to the Sawaheli 4 coast with some of his tribe, whilst others went to Jebel Riami ; they are there at Riami until now, He who went to the Sawaheli coast was he who had been Sultan of Maskat.

He landed at Pate and the inhabitants of Pate were those people who had been sent by Khalif Abdul Malik bin Muriani. So he remained in Pate with his people for he had arrived with many men and ships and much wealth. Presently they sent gifts to the chief of Pate and to every big man in Pate they made a present, and even to the small men of the town. they gave goods. Then the people, both great and small, perceived the goodness of the Sultan who had come from Maskat.

After this he went to Is-hak, the chief of Pate, and asked for his daughter in marriage, and Is - hak gave him his daughter and he married her, and he rested with her the seven days of the honeymoon.1

On the seventh day he came forth and went to see his father-in-law. When he came Is - hak said to him, " Your marriage portion is the kingdom of Pate." So Suleiman ruled, and he had a son by that woman and he called him Muhammad.

Till in the year 625 Suleiman bin Suleiman died, and  his son Muhammad bin Suleiman ruled and took possession of all his people, his wealth and his soldiers. It was he who first took the name of Sultan of Pate, and this by right, for his father came forth from their country bearing the title of Sultan.

The people of Pate loved him much for his own goodness , and because he was a child of the town, for his mother was of their kin .

Now Sultan Muhammad remained with them twenty-five  years, and then he died leaving three sons , Ahmad, Suleiman, and Ali .

It was Ahmad who took his father's place. The townspeople, those people of Pate, wished to make trouble, and so they said to his brothers Suleiman and Ali, " Why does this one take the kingdom ? Do not consent to it. "

So rebellion was stirred up in the country and the towns-people then went to Sultan Ahmad and said, " These brothers of yours are makers of mischief. ”

So discord arose between them, Suleiman and Ali on, one side , and Sultan Ahmad on the other, but Sultan Ahmad was together with those people whom his grandfather had brought from Arabia. Now these people of Pate purposely egged them on one against the other, so that they should waste their strength and then they might get back their country, for they regretted the arrangement made by their elders giving the kingdom to the Nabahans.

Sultan Ahmad's mother was a Pate woman, and she said to her son, " Understand that you must go and agree with your brothers . This is for your good, for my relations, the people of Pate, design to urge you on one against the other, until such time as you may expend your strength. Then they will turn you out and retake their country that its greatness may be restored to them.

" So you, myson, take my advice, and come to an agreement with your brothers here to- day. "

Sultan Ahmad called Ali bin Othman bin Sef bin Muthafar, an old man who had been with his father, and sent him to his brothers according to the advice his mother had given him. So Ali bin Othman went to Suleiman and Ali , they took his advice, and he brought them secretly by night to their brother, and the Pate people had no knowledge of this . Till in the morning when day broke they perceived that there was no longer war in the town.

They knew then that their plan had failed, and so they went to Sultan Ahmad and said to him, "We rejoice exceedingly that you are acting as a guardian to your younger brothers-it is indeed good news. "

Then they went to those brothers and said, " And for you to own allegiance to your elder brother is indeed proper. " In those days lived a man who strung some verses symbolical of the wiles of the Pate people which began, " The Pate people weave discord, then it is unravelled and they ask, ' Who is it that began the quarrel ? ' ”

So Sultan Ahmad lived in accord with his brothers, and placed many soldiers in the country, and enriched his subjects . The Pate people seeing this, gave allegiance to him, and peace came

to the country and he made it prosper. He benefited that country much, making plantations, digging wells , building stone houses , and sending expeditions by land and sea, till that country flourished exceedingly.

In the year 690 Sultan Ahmad died, leaving two sons, Omar  and Muhammad, and two daughters, Mwana Khadija, and Mwana Mimi.1

Muhammad bin Ahmad reigned , the third of the Nabahans, 2 and this Sultan was the first who was called by the name of Bwana Fumomadi, ³ and he was given the name of " The Great. "

This Sultan was a very fine man, both in appearance and disposition ; he was moreover very generous . He still further established the country and conquered the whole island of Pate, and fought with the people of Shanga, a country near Pate on the side of the rising sun. This country, which is even nearer to Siu, he conquered in war, plundering it and killing the males. The youths and the old women and maidens they made prisoners.

There was a maiden sitting on the ground grinding frankincense, and a soldier entered and seized her, intending to rob her of her goods and clothes and make her a captive.

This maiden said to the earth, "Open, that I may enter, " and the earth opened and swallowed her up, leaving only the border of her upper robe above ground. Now this is the truth, which has been obtained correctly from the people of those days who beheld the miracle, for this maiden was a God- fearing person .

That soldier, when he sawthat, gave up the profession of arms, for he perceived that this calling did not lead to great things , saying, " I am a soldier and I am unable to say to the ground

Open, that I may be swallowed up. ' Even my Sultan is unable to do this thing. This maiden is able to do this because she obeys her Master who created her. I also will obey him truly. "

So this soldier led a devout life until he died.

Sultan Muhammad when he heard the news about this damsel went to the place and there saw the border of her garment. He tried to dig her up but was unable, so he built a shrine over the spot to honour her as a sign to posterity.

That soldier he put in the shrine to live there performing the services, and to light the lamps at night, and pluck up the grass growing in the doorway.

When their father died , his sons tended the mausoleum, and their tribe was the Watui, but now there are no more of that tribe.

After Sultan Muhammad had conquered the country of Shanga, trouble arose between him and the people of the country originally called Rasini, but which is now called Faza.

So he made war against them and they fought together for many days. And it came to pass that the people of Pate were unable to go outside the town to draw water after the sun had risen for fear of those people of Rasini.¹

For it was the custom of those people to arrive daily as the sun commenced to mount in the heavens.2 Till the women in their houses used to tell their slaves , Go quickly and draw water before the sun mounts and those of the mounting sun have come. "

So the people of Faza (or Paza) were called " those of the mounting sun. " This is the origin of the word " Wapaza, " for after a while the word " sun " was dropped out, and they were called "those of the mounting (= Wapatha in Pate Swahili) . After many days had passed the name of Wapaza stuck to them.

Later on when the country of Rasini had been taken by the Sultan of Pate, it remained uninhabited till the Watikuu came asking for a place in which to settle. The Sultan of that date told them that they could have the place of the Wapatha. That is why they are now called Paza (or Faza) .

Now after the Sultan of Pate and the Sultan of Faza had warred together many days they made peace with each other and agreed each one to remain in his own country.

Then Bwana Shakwa, the Faza Sultan, married his daughter to Omar, the son of the Sultan of Pate, and they lived together at Faza for many days.

After that Omar took his wife and brought her to Pate secretly. When the girl's father heard in the morning he was very angry, and his son followed after his sister with a big expedition and came to Pate.

Omar said to his brother- in- law, " There is no need for you and me to quarrel, for your sister herself wished to accompany me her husband. So you go your way and she will rest here seven days and then I shall send her home."

The Sultan of Faza's son returned home to await the agreement made with Omar, but after seven days his sister had not come back, and he was very angry and swore to conquer the country of Pate .

So he warred again against Pate going and returning daily for many days, and every day as the sun mounted the heavens at nine o'clock, the people of Faza had come, and the people of Pate were no longer able to leave the city to draw water.

So they fought for many days, the people of Faza coming to Pate, and at other times the people of Pate going to Rasini. Then the Sultan of Faza's son registered a vow not to shave his head 1 till he had entered the town of Pate. So he went many times to fight at Pate till one day fortune favoured him, and he entered the city of Pate, seizing a whole quarter of the town. Then he had a chair placed outside the mosque and there his head was shaved, and so he consummated his vow.

Meanwhile they were still fighting and the people of Pate held out in one side of the town, and they took counsel of a sage who said to them, " Do not go now into the fight, but wait till two o'clock has passed . If you fight then you will drive them out of your country, but you must follow them and kill of their number in the way, and retake your property which they have looted till they reach their home, when you will take their town also."

Now the Rasini people when they had captured part of the town were content to rest and loot, thinking that they would take the rest of the city when the sun had declined .

When two o'clock was past the people of Pate fought them and turned them out of the town, for they were carrying much loot and were unable to fight. So the Pate people followed them till they reached the town of Paza. The Rasini people entered the city and barricaded the gates while the Pate people besieged them closely, so that a man might not come out or enter in.

They besieged them for seven days, and each day they were losing strength by reason of lacking water to drink . Now in the town of Faza was one of the captains of the troops called Haji Mwetha, and he said to the others, "My fellow captains, if I tell you my plan will you follow it ? " They answered, "We will follow it."

Then Haji Mwetha said, The reason that the Pate people drove us out of their town was that we found ourselves amongst their wealth , and they fell upon us when we were unable to fight because of the loot that we had taken.

Now my plan is to make a small breach in the wall and leave one part of the town for them to loot. When they see our property there together with the things we have taken from them, they will leave off fighting and remain there.

We shall remain with our women and children in the other part of the town, and when they withdraw with their loot we will fall upon them. The way out will be narrow so we shall kill and capture them and retake our property."

So the people of the town took his advice and they broke part of the wall.

When the Pate people saw this the chiefs and ameers said to the captains and soldiers , " Do you perceive this matter ? It is a ruse, so now everyone who enters the town must seize neither thing nor person. Everyone he meets he must smite whether it be man, woman, or child, and when we have finished conquering the town we will obtain all their property. Any people who are then left we will make our slaves . "

So they acted on this advice and entered the town smiting all they met with.

When the people of Faza looked on the faces of those who had been killed, they ran away and wished to open the gates and fly, but the Pate men had surrounded the whole town so there was no way out.

They then desired quarter, but the people of Pate refused to give quarter except to those of them who had friends amongst the people of Faza ; each man seized his friend and the remainder they killed or made slaves . The town and the houses they broke up leaving neither thing nor person.

For this reason the Swahilis say to anyone who gives advice which is not good, " Your advice is like the advice of Haji Mwetha."

From the day that the town of Faza was destroyed no man lived there till the coming of the Watikuu, ¹ and the only inhabitants left alive were those who were made captive and men who were not present at the fight such as fishermen and those on a journey.

Even to- day there are descendants of these at Siu , Amu, the Mrima, Zanzibar and other places and they call their tribe the Mafazii.

Later on the Sultan Muhammad of Pate pardoned the captives and they were scattered abroad, every man living where he pleased .

Sultan Muhammad conquered the island of Pate from Yaya and Shanga as far as Mtangawanda-that is the length and breadth of the island . After that he sent expeditions to Kiwayu and Ndao, and the people of Kiwayu, when they saw the strength of Pate, did not fight with them but declared allegiance to them and paid tribute to them. Each chief man of his tribe had to give a slave and twenty dollars to every Sultan of Pate, and if there was any matter or case they sent written petitions to the Sultan who ordered their affairs for them.

When the people of Kiwayu made allegiance to Pate they became soldiers of the Sultan, and the Sultan fought and conquered all the countries beyond Kiwayu, viz .: Kiunga, Tula, Koyama, Kismayu, Barawa, Marika and Mukadisho . He installed a governor at Mukadisho 1 for in those days this was an important place.

After conquering all these places Sultan Muhammad died in the year 740, and his son Sultan Omar (Fumomari) 2 reigned. It was he who fought the towns of the coast, Manda, Uthiwa, Komwana, Malindi and the Mrima and Kilwa till he came to Kirimba. 3

Now the Sultan of Manda,4 when he saw that the kingdom of Pate had become great, wished to place a governor over them, for before the coming of the Nabahans Pate used to be under his rule. The people of Pate did not agree to this and so trouble arose between them.

Till during the north- east monsoon if a man was building a vessel in Pate harbour, when he hammered a nail to drive it into a plank, an order used to come from Manda, " The master is sleeping ; do not make a noise. " 5 It came about that a person was unable to work at boat- building save morning and evening.

To this the Pate people did not agree, so war arose between them and they fought together many days.

Till after a space of time had elapsed one day the elders of Manda were sitting in council, all the big men of the town, every tribe with its representative. However, one of their head men, Bakiumbe, was not present, for he had gone to sea fishing and they had not told him that there was to be a meeting.

So all the elders assembled except Bakiumbe and someone said, " Let us wait, " but others said , " There is no necessity to wait for him; these words are not for fisher folk but for elders."

So they transacted their business , and when Bakiumbe returned from the sea he was told of this matter by his relations, for he was the chief of the fisher- clan. Then he spoke and said to his clan, " These men have treated us fishermen as lowly folk like unto slaves, and we are all as well bred as they, save that every one follows his calling. This one hoes, another is a smith, and another a palm-tapper. This is our town and every one has his house, his property and his dependants. I will make a plan that I may pay back this insult that has been offered us till even those who come after us will not be able to scorn a man again.'

Even to- day if there is an assembly people will speak together, and if one man is left out they say, "Do not leave out oneman from amongst our people for he is our brother even though he is a lowly person. Did not Bakiumbe break up Manda for this reason, choosing to leave his property and his children. without leaving even his name to the end of the world." 1

Now this is the story of Bakiumbe and what he did. After having heard about the council he took his canoe and went over to Pate and demanded private audience of the Sultan. Then he said to him, " I want to give you the country of Manda without trouble or war and with but little expense . Will you follow my advice ? " The Sultan said to him, " I will follow it ; tell me what it is."

Bakiumbe said, " Whenever I ask for ambergris I want you to give me the amount I ask for. About the third or fourth time I will give you the town of Manda."

The Sultan of Pate said to him, " I have agreed, but you, for what reason do you desire to break up your country, in which are your children and your property ? Tell me your reason that I may recognise for myself whether it be true or false."

Bakiumbe related to the Sultan the whole story of howhe had been treated by the elders of Manda. At that time the Sultan knew truly that he would do as he said, for he was seized with anger, and if a man is seized with anger he loses all wisdom.

So he consented and gave him the ambergris that he required .

Bakiumbe set out and when he arrived at Manda it was late at night. He knocked at the gate, but the officer would not open it ; because of the war with Pate all the gates of the city were closed at night. So he slept there outside, and the ambergris he put in his fish basket and poured water over it . In the morning he was permitted to enter and he went to the Sultan of Manda and gave him the ambergris .

The Sultan said, " Why did you leave the ambergris to get wet and why did you put it in your fish basket ? "

Bakiumbe said, " I came last night and when I knocked at the gate your officer would not open it for me. This is my reason, for I slept on the shore and did not get a receptacle to put it in, so I poured out my fish and put this ambergris in my fish basket. "

So the Sultan said to him, " If you get any more bring it to me and I will treat you very well ."

Bakiumbe said, " I want permission to enter the gates at whatsoever time I shall come and you must tell your door-keeper to open to me. So if I get any at any time I will bring it to you, for you are my master and my Sultan, and at whatever you give me I will rejoice exceedingly." 1

So the Sultan agreed, and Bakiumbe was glad in his heart, saying, " I have already attained my desires."

Then he remained for the space of one month and again he brought him ambergris bigger than the first. After that he remained more than a month and brought him some again.

Then he waited more than three months and again he brought him a piece.

After this he went to the Sultan of Pate and said to him, " Make ready-the work is finished . To-morrow night at two o'clock I will come to fetch you. Have soldiers ready, a few I shall take myself and many must follow behind me."

They arranged after this manner till , when night had come and two o'clock was passed, Bakiumbe went to the Sultan of Pate and found soldiers ready as he had desired.

He took them and came with them to Manda, and coming to the gate he knocked . The officer of the watch thought that this was Bakiumbe coming according to his custom with ambergris for the Sultan.

He unfastened the gate, and Bakiumbe entering with the soldiers seized the guard and killed them and straightway went to the Sultan's palace while other soldiers seized the gates of the city.

The Sultan, when he heard Bakiumbe's voice, descended from upstairs and said to the door-keeper, " Open quickly, for this is Bakiumbe," and his heart was exceeding glad.

When the door was opened Bakiumbe entered together with the Pate soldiers with naked swords held ready. When the Sultan saw the swords he wanted to run away, but there was no way in which he might run.

The soldiers struck him and killed him together with those of his people who were there in the house. The people of the town heard shouts so they came to the house of the ruler of the city . When they came, they met the people of Pate who had already seized the house.

Other people went to the gates, but the Pate men had already seized them.

So when dawn came, the townspeople had made no plan for assembling together or fighting because wherever they went they found Pate men already in possession . Thus it was that Pate conquered the country of Manda in one day, and when it dawned they seized as prisoners both the men and women, and all their property, silver and gold.

Now the Manda people had many gold ornaments, for which reason they were called Wavaa ng'andu " 1 (the wearers of gold) .

So Pate obtained much wealth, and they took both property and prisoners back with them to their city. troops went on to Taka and broke into the city.

The people of Kitao, when they heard that both Manda and Taka had fallen, sent their elders to Pate to sue for peace.

The ruler of Kitao was a woman called Mwana Inali . When she heard that her elders, fearing war, had gone off to sue for peace with Pate, she said, " It will not do for me to live any longer. There is no cause that I should await the arrival of the Pate people, for they will kill me or make me captive, and treat me with every kind of abasement. Therefore it is better to die first. "

So she arose and put on her gold ornaments, pearl buttons and ancient jewellery, and went out behind Cape Kitao, and threw herself into the sea.

When her people heard that their Queen was going down to the shore, they followed after her, but did not see her again ; even a sign of her clothes or body they saw not.

This is the story of Kitao, Taka, and Manda, and the people of Pate took prisoners of the two countries Manda and Taka, but the people of Kitao got peace because they made allegiance to Pate before the war reached their country.³

So they were left in their country, but everyone who cultivated. land had to pay three loads of produce for every gang of slaves.

Since that time the Sultan of the Nabahans taxed their subjects a kikanda (about 180 lbs . ) for every gang of slaves,¹ and who first made this tax was Sultan Omar.

Now the captives of Manda were taken to Pate and put on the east side of the city, and a wall was built round making it one with the city of Pate.

This quarter was called " Weng'andu " 2 by reason of those people, " the wearers of gold," being there.

Now at the time of the building of the wall of this quarter the captives, both men and women, were made to carry the stones.

There was one woman of the people of Manda who refused to carry stones, so a soldier beat her and that woman wept. There was a second Manda woman there and she said to her, "Friend, do not weep," and then she said the following couplet :-

{When we were at our home in Manda it was we who were doing-to - day if we are done to, why should we refuse ? They give us the wall to build winding hither and thither ; all day it is quarrelling-we get no respite.)

So the people of Manda lived in the quarter of Weng'andu ; this is the account of them till at last they were sent to Shela by Sultan Abubakr ; its history will be related further on.

So Sultan Omar reigned on the coast, it was he who was the Sultan to conquer Manda, Taka, Kitao and Emezi on the mainland and Tukutu. After this he fought Mea, Kiongwe and Komwana and the seven towns between Komwana and Shaka.1

The Sultan of these latter towns was called Liongo, 2 and he subdued the country from Mpokomoni to Malindi , and this district was called Ozi . Now Sultan Omar fought with these towns for many days, and when he perceived the difficulty of taking them, he went to Magogoni, the harbour of Tukutu, and stayed there.

Every hour he sent out an expedition and he remained at Magogoni fifteen years till he got a son called Ahmad.

It was this son who finally overcame the towns of Ozi, and then sent the news to his father. So his father returned to Pate and then he went and fought Malindi .

When he and his troops reached Malindi there was a Godfearing man who invoked Allah against them so that the Pate soldiers became sick.

So they returned to Pate and Omar said to his son, " Now rest till we have seen about this sickness . "

So they rested, and after that the people of Malindi came to offer allegiance to the Sultan of Pate, and so they remained seven years without war.

Afterwards Sultan Omar collected many troops and made many ameers, and passed over to the mainland to go and fight against the towns there.

They passed on to Malindi and traversed the country in peace and then came to Mombasa. travel abroad again. His mother said, " Ah, my son, do not travel again. You have been greatly afflicted, why do you want to travel ? Money to spend is here ; if you want anything or any matter, tell me."

He said to her, " I want neither thing nor matter. My soul longs to travel, and if I do not get leave from you, my father and mother, I will travel away as best I can. "

As they were unable to stop him they made up a fleet of seven ships for him, and he voyaged away and wrecked all his ships. He returned alone, and he had nothing and no one with him.

His father and mother said to him, " Now you will not be able to travel any more." So that youth stopped at home a year, and by the second year he had no more desire to travel by reason of the trials through which he had passed.

Till one day he went to the bathroom at night and saw a cockroach climbing the wall . When it had climbed a little it slipped down, then it rose up again, and again it slipped down. But it rose a third time and climbed up till it reached the top and passed out of sight.

That youth said, " I have been outdone by that cockroach, for it fell twice and tried a third time. I was not able to try a third time. God has sent it to teach me a lesson. I must set forth again. "

In the morning he said to his parents, " I must set out again, and this time I want much wealth with me. If you do not give me a fleet according to my wishes you will not see me again. "

His parents and his relations and friends all besought him not to travel again, but he did not agree. When his parents found that they were unable to prevent him, they gave him a fleet according to his wishes.

So he set out and arrived in India where he traded and made much profit. During the return they were lost at sea for many days till from the vessel on board of which he was they saw an island near them.

So they disembarked as they were in need of water, and that youth wished to rest from the discomforts he had suffered . He lay under a tree and told his servants to cook his food and bring it him there.

They sat down to cook, and when the fire blazed up they saw the sand of that place melt and run away. When it had gone a little from the fire it cooled in separate little pieces .

The cooks told this to their master and he came to look at it and recognised what it was. However, he only said, " Cook food quickly," till after he had finished eating he called the captain and sailors and said to them, " Do you recognize here that our home is near ? " They said, " We do not know this place, we have now come to this island for the first time, nor have we before even heard tell of it. "

He answered, " I have made a plan ; will you follow it ? " They said to him, " Whatever you desire, that will we do. " So he said, " I want to unload our food and everything we have on board leaving food and water for fifteen days only. Whatever is over and above this let us leave behind and let us load up our ship with this sand till she can carry no more, for this sand is silver ore, and we cannot help getting from it a return greater than from these other things we are carrying . "

So they took his advice and unloaded all their goods and filled up with sand for three days till the ship could carry no more. They sailed away, and on the third day they met a bad storm and lost all hope of escape . The sailors jettisoned the sand till , the boat was half empty, that youth stopped them, saying, " Have patience first. ".

Afterwards they got a safe and favourable wind and arrived home. When they arrived they found that those other vessels of his had arrived first, and on shore was a mourning for him.

He said to the captain and sailors, " I want you to hide the news about this sand till I know truly if it be silver ore, for if it is not so people will think me a fool, throwing away wheat and food and loading sand. " They said to him, " Very good . "

So the youth landed with great joy and his parents were overjoyed to see him.

He rested for three days, and then at dead of night he brought some of that sand and put it in a store in his house.

Then he called skilled workmen and showed them a little, and when they made an ornament out of it they found that it was very pure silver.

Now it was at this time that the Portuguese arrived in Pate, and first they came in friendship .

Afterwards he showed the ore to the Portuguese and they asked him where he got it . He told them the story from first to last because of his joy when he knew that it was real ore .

Those Portuguese wanted him to show them the spot, and they went together with the captain and searched for six months and returned again without finding it.

When he arrived back in Pate he found that Sultan Muhammad had died, and that his father Abubakr was now Sultan . The name of that youth was Bwana Mkuu.

So Sultan Abubakr reigned in the year 825.

The Portuguese came and they stayed at Pate and Dondo and they were in friendship with Sultan Abu Bakari ( Swahili for " Abubakr " ) . Their influence grew great in the town of Pate, and they taught people how to excavate wells in the rocks by means of gunpowder.

The Portuguese built houses on the rock and made an underground passage to Pongwa rock.1 For a long time they lived together in friendship and traded with goods and every kind of thing.

The Portuguese said to Abubakr, " Your kingdom is very great, but there is no profit. Why do you not make taxes ? "

So they made a customs house at a place in Pate harbour called Fandikani ; in the language of the Portuguese it means 66 customs. " 2

Afterwards Sultan Abubakr died in the year 855. The Bwana Mkuu reigned and he had much wealth, and traded much till the whole country of Pate became very wealthy.

They made large houses and put in them brass lamps with chimneys, and they made ladders of silver to climb up into bed with, and silver neck chains. Into the pillars of the houses they beat silver studs and nails of gold on top of them.

The Portuguese lived on the coast and they set in order Dondo and Mombasa. Their governor lived at Mombasa, and there they built a fort which is there to this day.

So Bwana Mkuu reigned without falling out either with the Portuguese or with his own subjects .

In the year 903 of the Hejra he died, leaving seven children, of whom Muhammad reigned, and he was called Bwana Fumomadi the Second. There came about trouble between the people and his brother, a Nabahan called Bwana Mtiti, nephew of the Sultan Omar.

They made war and defeated him, and so Sultan Muhammad reigned at peace with his subjects . He set the country of Siyu in order ; this place was there before that time, but it had no power.

At that time was the beginning of the Wafamao coming to an agreement with the Portuguese governor ; some accounts say that the Wafamao are Portuguese, and other that they are the Arabs originally sent by Abdul Malik.

That was the origin of the Siyu people.

Now they are called Swahilis and their clan is the Banu Sadi.

Afterwards trouble arose between the people of Siyu and Pate by reason of Portuguese intrigue. They fought together and Siyu was defeated, and the town broken into. Their chief went and complained to the Portuguese and they came and made peace and took the prisoners who had been made and returned them to Siyu. So they stayed in allegiance to Pate.

In the year 945 Sultan Muhammad died, and Sultan Abubakr, son of Bwana Mkuu, reigned.

Now at this time the Portuguese conquered the whole Swahili coast. They instituted a tax, and afterwards their subjects would not agree to the tax.

Sultan Abubakr was of one accord with his people, and strife arose between him and the Portuguese. The Portuguese came and fought with Pate, and the people of Pate were grievously afflicted.

Now at that time there was a Sherif 1 of Arabia in a country called Inati . So the Sultan of Pate sent a man to desire his supplications, for he was a very holy man, saying, " Pray to Allah on our behalf that he may deliver us from our enemies." When he went to him, he gave him his two sons, and they were brought to Pate.

He said, " The Portuguese will not get your country again by the grace of Allah." So his sons came and settled at Pate and married there. It was after these Sherifs that the quarters of Sarambini, Inati and Shindoni were named, for these were the names of their houses.

Now at that time the ships of the Portuguese came round the Cape and they attacked Pate and afterwards there was a truce for six months .

The Portuguese always came during the season of the greater rains, and this time, after the six months' truce, they came in great strength and stationed their ships in the neighbourhood of Pate. There is a small island near Pate which even to- day bears the name of Shaka Mzungu (the white man's Shaka) because of the Portuguese staying there.

They seized also the harbour of Mtangawanda and Shindakasi, and they blockaded the island of Pate, landing by way of Shindakasi . They fired cannons on the town and fought with the inhabitants.

The shots from their cannons passed overhead without damage by reasons of the supplications of the holy man Sheikh Maulala Abubakr bin Salim.

When they saw that the shots did not hit they made channels in the ground of Shindakasi so that they might pump water into the town. When they had made these and brought water from the shore it would not rise. When they saw that they were not able to do this they made peace and came to an agreement with the Sultan of Pate.

Afterwards Sultan Abu Bakari died and his son Sultan Bwana Mkuu reigned in the year 995.

At this time foreigners came into the country of Pate and they were called Wabarawa.

At one time they used to live at Barawa, but they were Arabs and their tribe is called Hatimii, a tribe renowned in Arabia, and their country was formerly Andalusia.1

They arrived in Pate with much wealth, and they bought houses and even bought firewood and wells .

So the country of Pate prospered exceedingly till in the year 1010 Sultan Bwana Mkuu died, and Sultan Ahmad, the son of  his cousin, reigned. He was a very good man and loved his subjects much. He reigned seven years without rain falling, and then he abdicated of his own free will and gave the throne  to Sultan Muhammad, the son of Sultan Abubakr.

Sultan Muhammad quarrelled with the Portuguese and they turned him out of the throne and gave it to a son of Bwana  Mkuu called Abubakr, and he agreed with the Portuguese very well.

The Portuguese then had trouble with the people of Amu, and they fought and defeated them utterly, making many people prisoners.

Sultan Abubakr, by reason of his friendship for the Portuguese, desired them to give up these prisoners, and he returned them to Amu. From that date the people of Amu made allegiance to Pate.

Sultan Abubakr loved to travel about and visit every place. Whilst he was on his travels, there behind him in Pate the people intrigued, and put Sultan Muhammad, the son of his brother, on the throne in the year 1040.

When Sultan Abubakr returned he landed at Amu; he was not able to get to Pate again. He and the Portuguese went together to fight Pate, but they were utterly defeated and so made peace, and Sultan Abubakr remained at Amu. He married at Amu, and later the people of Pate and Amu combined against the Portuguese who lived at Dondo, but they were not strong. enough for them.

At Pate Sultan Muhammad married his son to the daughter of Abubakr. The name of the son was Bwana Mkuu.

Bwana Mkuu had not yet taken her to put her in his house when the people of Pate and Amu and the Portuguese intrigued together and brought back Sultan Abubakr, and Sultan Muhammad they locked up.

Sultan Abubakr then said to Bwana Mkuu, " Enter the house and take your wife. I am your father, do not be angry with me for locking up your father-it was the subjects and the Portuguese who wanted it."

So Bwana Mkuu took his wife and lived in peace with his father-in-law till Sultan Muhammad died.

The people of the town told Bwana Mkuu that his father had received poison and that presently he also would be poisoned. Bwana Mkuu did not listen to these tales, so the people went to the Sultan Abubakr and said, " Your son- in- law is about to kill you in revenge for his father's death, and the kingdom, he says, is his."

Sultan Abubakr believed their words and so made a plan with the Portuguese, saying, " When your governor comes from Mombasa I will pretend to be ill and will send my son-in-law Bwana Mkuu and forty great men in my stead.

Honour them greatly and feast them. Give them food of quality and strong drink. When they have finished getting drunk, hoist sail and carry them away that they return no more. For these are troublesome people ; I am not able to reign while they are here."

The Portuguese took Sultan Abubakr's advice and did as he suggested.

When the Pate people came to know that these men had been taken away at Sultan Abubakr's instigation, they were at first silent and acted as if the matter had not reached their ears.

Sultan Abu Bakari 1 said to his daughter, " Your husband has gone to Goa-after six months he will return . " son.

So she awaited her husband and meanwhile gave birth to a When her son had reached three years of age she knew that her father's words were false. Now at that time her father made a fête for the circumcision of his sons and told her that he would have her son circumcised at the same time.

She replied, " I do not want that, I will have him circumcised separately. "

Sultan Abubakr replied, " You have joined in the intrigues of the other people ; perish , both of you. "

Now it was necessary that at these festivities the royal horn should be blown and there was but one horn.

So his daughter came to borrow the horn of the Amu people secretly, but the Amu people would not give it for fear of the Sultan.

When she could not obtain the horn she called to her secretly a man in Pate called Mwenyi Baenyi, one well versed in skilled work.

She said to him, " I want you to make me a horn secretly that no man may know, and what you ask that will I give you." He said, " Very good, " and so she put him in her house and gave him an elephant tusk 2 and everything he required , and he made a fine horn.

When he had finished she asked him what wages he required, and he replied, " My wages are the gifts given to the blower." She said, " Take them, " and she gave out the horn and he sounded it through the town and people showered gifts on him.3

So she held the ceremony and rivalled her father.

After this the people of Pate made intrigue and rushed in on Sultan Abubakr, smiting him and his brother Bwana Madikilling them both.

Book Name: THE LAND OF ZINJ

Published: 1913

BY CAPTAIN C. H. STIGAND