A History Manuscript in Hausa Ajami from Wurno, Nigeria by Malam Haliru Mahammad Wurno
This manuscript is a history of the family of Muhammad Buji, who led a migration from the town of Bunkari in Argungu (Sokoto State, Nigeria) to Wurno, sometime capital of the Sokoto Caliphate. It is important as an illustration of the ongoing historiographical tradition of Islamic west Africa in local languages, and as evidence of the strong historical sense and continuing production of historical documents by certain of the scholars of the area.Wurno was constructed ca. 1830 by Muhammad Bello, Sultan of Sokoto and successor of Usuman dan Fodio, founder of the Sokoto Caliphate. Its primary purpose was to defend Sokoto from the northeast, and it replaced Magarya as the principal ribat (frontier fortification) and residence of Bello in that area. It also became the staging point for the annual dry season campaigns against the Gobirawa and other enemies of the Caliphate. When the Caliph himself was resident there, it became the capital of the state. Barth referred to it as such in his account of his travels. Wurno was the capital with more and more frequency as the nineteenth century wore on.