Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Brown's focus was the history of the Islamic theocracy, alternatively referred to as the Fulani empire of Masina, the Diina, or the Caliphate of H amdallāhi, that emerged in the Middle Niger during the nineteenth century (1818-62).His PhD dissertation, titled 'The Caliphate of Hamdullahi, ca.1818-1864: A Study in African History and Tradition', defended in August 1969 under the supervision of Philip D. Curtin, has remained for decades the major study on the topic. 1 This dissertation was unfortunately never transformed into a book, despite Brown revising it in 1978 and again in the early 2000s for publication with University of Wisconsin Press. 2 'The Caliphate of Hamdullahi' is the result of a meticulous study of oral traditions and Arabic manuscripts that Brown collected, mostly, in three extended research trips in Mali.A vivid memory of Brown's trips to Mali is to be found in Bernard Salvaing's biography of the famous Malian traditionalist Almamy Maliki Yattara (d.1998), whom Brown describes as a '[m]iddle-aged descendant of a Tuareg cast lineage acculturated to the Fulbe during the Caliphal period.Instructs elementary and intermediate students in Arabic and Islamic sciences.Assistant to the collector-traditionist Hampâté-Bâ.Particularly knowledgeable of the traditions of the Masina'.3 Yattara describes three missions he conducted with Brown in 1966, 1967, and 1968.The first, between the towns of Segou and San, as well in different locations in Masina, did not result in the collection of substantial manuscripts, with few exceptions in Segou, Ténenkou, and Dia. 4 Very different was the second season, during which Brown and Yattara spent most of their time in Timbuktu.5 There, they had access to the famous library of Ah mad b.Mbārak b.Barka b.Muh ammad al-Mūsā-ū-'Alī al-Takanī al-Wādnūnī
Source: The Journal of African History
Authors: Mauro Nobili, Said Bousbina
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,255
OpenAlex ID: W4387315762