the search for timbuctoo

8/7/2019 The Search for Timbuctoo

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Journal of Negro Education

The Search for TimbuctooAuthor(s): John Henrik ClarkeSource: The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 33, No. 2 (Spring, 1964), pp. 125-130Published by: Journal of Negro EducationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2294578 .

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TheSearchforTimbuctooJOHN HENRIK CLARKE

AssociateEditor,Freedomways,New York,N.Y.The Africanwriter,AbderrahmanEs-Sa'di,in his greatwork,Tarikhes-Sudan(Historyof theSudan), saysthatTim-buctoowas foundedat theend of thefifthcenturyafterthe Hegira (Muslimcalendar) which correspondswith theeleventhcenturyof ourera. It began

as a camp of theTuaregs,the strangeveiledtribeof the SouthernSahara,whoincidentallyare still the main trouble-makersin the area aroundpresentdayTimbuctoo. Es-Sa'dicalledit "an exqui-site city,pure, delicious,blessedwithluxuryand full of life." Furthermore,he boaststhatTimbuctoowas noble inthatitspeoplehad "neverbeensoiledbythe worshipof idols.""Timbuctoo,"he goeson tosay,"grad-uallydevelopedintoa tradecenter;itsgreatestdaysdid notstartuntil theendofthefifteenthcentury,when it becamethemeetingplace fortradersfromEgypt,the Libyan Desert,Fezzan,Ghadames,the Oases of Tuat, Syelmassa,Fez and

theGold Lands."In anotherworkon thehistoryof theWesternSudan,Tarikhel Fettash(His-toryoftheSeeker)byMuhammedKati,it is said that"Timbuctoo,at its zenith,had no equal among the cities of theBalades Sudan(countriesoftheblacks).The people ofTimbuctooboast of "thesolidarityof its institutions,its politicalliberty,the purityof its morals,publicsecurity,compassiontowardthe poor,clemencyto foreigners,courtesyto stu-dents and men of science, and the

amountofhelp and respectgivento allschoolsandmen of learning."Perhapsthe onereasoncontributingtothe renownof Timbuctoohas been theodd soundof itsnametoEuropeanears.The writer,Es-Sa'di,tells us that thecitywasnamedaftera slavewomanwhowas sometimesleftin chargein thedays.whenit was a Tuareg camp and thatthe name meant"Old Woman." Othertranslationsof thewordinclude"She-of-the Big-Navel."Anotherexplanationisthatthename meantthe"Well of Buc-too."These suppositionsand conjectures

eventuallycirculatedin Europeand con-tributedto the advertisementof thistantalizingand legend shroudedcitywhich Europeanswere toldhad houseswithroofsof goldand to whichforsolongno outsidetravelerscouldpenetrate.Two hundredmiles downthe NigerfromTimbuctoothe competingcity ofGao stood. It was foundedabouttheseventhcenturyand was the capitalofthe largeblack empireof Songhai. LikeTimbuctoo,itwas in a favorablepositionfor the trans-Saharantrade,in the daysof the regular caravans fromNorthAfrica. Like Timbuctoo,the greatestdaysof Gao came in thefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies.There is now a growingwillingnessonthe part of an increasingnumberofscholarsto admitthatthe Africansarepeople with a respectablehistoricalpast.A fewyears ago, Dr. Ethel Alpenfels,

125


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126 THE JOURNALOF NEGRO EDUCATIONNew YorkUniversityanthropologist,tolda highschoolconferenceon humanrela-tions:'Therewas a NegroUniversityatTimbuctoo,in Africa,whichexchangedprofessorswithMoorishuniversitieshun-dredsofyearsago. It is believedtohaveflourishedas earlyas 600 A.D."

Dr. Alpenfelswas referringto theUniversityofSankore,atTimbuctoo.IntheyearswhenTimbuctoowas thegreatintellectualnucleusof theSonghaiEm-pire,Africanscholarswere enjoyingarenaissancethatwas knownandrespectedthroughoutmostofAfricaand in partsofEurope. AtthisperiodinAfricanhis-torythe Universityof Sankorewas theeducationalcapitalof the WesternSu-dan. In his book,TimbuctootheMys-terious,FelixDuBoisgivesus thefollow-ingpicture:The scholarsof Timbuctooyieldedin nothingto the saintsand theirsojournsin theforeignuniversitiesofFez,TunisandCairo. Theyastound-ed themostlearnedmenof Islambytheirerudition.That theseNegroeswere on a level with the Arabiansavantsis provedbythefactthattheywereinstalledas professorsin Moroc-co andEgypt. In contrasttothis,wefindthattheArabswerenot alwaysequal to therequirementsofSankore.The famousEmperorofMali, MancaMussa,stoppedat Timbuctooon his pil-grimagetoMecca in 1324. He wentinregalsplendorwithan entourageof 60,-000 persons,including12,000 servants.Fivehundredslaves,each ofwhomcar-Tied a staffof pure gold weighingsix

pounds,marchedinfrontoftheEmperor.Eightycamelsbore2400 poundsofgoldwhichthisAfricanmonarchdistributedas almsandgifts. MussareturnedfromMecca with an architectwho designed

imposingbuildingsin Timbuctooandotherpartsof hisrealm.To the outsideworld,of the lateme-dievalperiod,theEmperorMancaMussawas morethan an individual. He -wasAfrica.He conqueredthe SonghaiEm-pire and rebuiltthe UniversityofSan-kore. He figured,by name, on everymap. In his lifetimehe becamein per-son thesymbolof themysteryand ofthefabulouswealthoftheunknownAfri-can continent.He was themostcolorfulof the black kingsof the fourteenthcentury.He stillheldthispositionnear-ly two centuriesafterhis death.Afterthe death ofManca Mussa,theEmpireof Mali declinedin importance.Its place was takenby Songhai,whosegreatestkingwas Askia theGreat(Mo-hammedToure). Askia came to powerin 1493, one yearafterColumbusdis-coveredAmerica. He consolidatedtheterritoryconqueredby the previousrulerSonniAliand builtSonghaiintothemostpowerfulstate in the WesternSudan.His realm,it is said, was largerthanallEurope.The Germanwriter,HenryBarth,in

hisfamouswork,Travelsand Discoveriesin NorthandCentralAfrica,calls AskiatheGreat"one of the mostbrilliantandenlightenedadministratorsof all times."He reorganizedthe armyofSonghai,im-provedthe systemofbankingand credit,and madethe citystatesofGao, Walata,Timbuctooand Jenne into intellectualcenters.Timbuctooduringhisreign,wasa cityofmorethan100,000people,filledto the top,saysa chroniclerof thattime,withgoldanddazzlingwomen.

Askiaencouragedscholarshipand litera-ture. Studentsfromall overtheMoslem


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SEARCH FOR TIMBUCTOO 127worldcameto Timbuctootostudygram-mar,law andsurgeryat theUniversityofSankore;scholarscamefromNorthAfri-ca and Europe to conferwith learnedhistoriansand writersof thisblackem-pire. A Sudanese literaturedevelopedandmanybookswerewritten.Leo Afri-canus,whowroteone of thebestknownworkson theWesternSudan,says: "InTimbuctoothereare numerousjudges,doctorsand clerics,all receivinggoodsalariesfromtheking. He paysgreatrespectto menof learning.Thereis abig demandforbooksin manuscript,im-ported fromBarbary(North Africa).Moreprofitis madefromthe booktradethan fromanyotherlineofbusiness."

Askia has been hailed as one of thewisestmonarchsof the Middle Ages.AlexanderChamberlain,in hisbook,TheContributionof the Negro to HumanCivilization,says of him: "In personalcharacter,in administrativeability,in de-votionto thewelfareofhis subjects,inopen-mindednesstowardsforeigninflu-ences,and in wisdomin theadoptionofenlightenedideas and institutionsfromabroad,King Askia was certainlytheequal of the averageEuropeanmonarchof the timeand superiorto manyofthem."

AfterthedeathofAskiatheGreat,in1538, theSonghaiEmpirebeganto loseits strengthand itscontroloveritsvastterritory.When the Songhai EmpirecollapsedafterthecaptureofTimbuctooandGao bytheMoroccansin 1591,thewholeoftheWesternSudanwas devast-atedbytheinvadingtroops.The SultanofMrorocco,El-Mansur,had senta largearmywithEuropeanfireacrosstheSa-harato attacktheoncepowerfulempireof Songhai. The armydid not reach

Timbuctoountil 1591. The prosperouscityofTimbuctoowas plunderedby thearmyof freebooters.A stateof anarchyprevailed. The Universityof Sankorewhichhad stood foroverfivehundredyearswas destroyedand thefacultyexil-ed to Morocco. The greatestSudanesescholarof thatday,AhmedBaba, wasamongthoseexiled. Babawas a scholarof greatdepthand inspiration.He wasthe authorof morethanfortybooksonsuch diversethemesas theology,astrono-my, ethnographyand biography.Hisrichlibraryof 1600 bookswas lostdur-inghis expatriationfromTimbuctoo.

Timbuctooprovidesthe most terribleexampleof the strugglesof the WestAfricanstatesand townsas theystrovetopreservewhat was once theirGoldenAge. The Arabs,Berbersand Tuaregsfromthe northshowedthemno mercy.Timbuctoohad previouslybeen sackedbythe Tuaregs as earlyas 1433 and theyhad occupiedit for thirtyyears. Be-tween1591 and 1593,theTuaregshadalreadytakenadvantageof the situationto plunderTimbuctooonce more. Be-tween1723 and 1726 the Tuaregsoncemore occupied and looted Timbuctoo.Thus Timbuctoo,oncethequeen cityofthe WesternSudan,withmorethantwohundredthousandinhabitantsand thecenterof a powerfulstate,degeneratedintoa shadowofits formerstature.

Atthebeginningof thenineteenthcen-tury,Europeanswho had been hearingexaggeratedstoriesabout Timbuctoofornearlya thousandyears,began to searchforthephantomcityon the Nigerriver.Thishad been the mostfabled,the mostexoticcity in the world. Tales aboutitswealth,its remotenessand thebeautyofitswomenwhettedthegreedycuriosity


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128 THE JOURNALOF NEGRO EDUCATIONof Europeansand stimulatedthesearch.A ChristianizedMoor,Leo Africanus,inhis book,Historyand DescriptionofAfrica,reintroducedthesubjectof Tim-buctooinEurope. He visitedWest Afri-ca in 1515,whilehisunclewas Ambas-sadorto theCourtof Askia the Great.In hisbookhe richlydescribestheCityof Timbuctooand the SonghaiEmpire,whoseking,he said,was so gluttedwithwealththathe ownedgold platesweigh-ing 1300 pounds.

"MysteriousTimbuctoo"becamepartofthelanguageofEuropeanadventurers.The citybecamea splendidbut elusiveprize. It was said thatwhosoevercap-turesTimbuctoohas therestof Africaathis feet. Neartheend of theeighteenthcenturythefindingofTimbuctoobecamethe goal of Europeanexploration.Afloodofadventurerswantedtobe thefirstto reach thefabulouscity. RobertAd-mans, a shipwreckedAmericansailor,claimed he was takencaptiveby theArabsin 1810 and spentsix monthsasa slave in Timbuctoo. His storywasvague and the detailssupposedlysup-portingit leftmuchtobe desired.

FinallythesearchforTimbuctoowastaken out of thehandsofmereadven-turersand summersoldiers. The ParisGeographicalSocietyoffereda prize of10,000 francsto the firstEuropeantoreachTimbuctooandreturnwitha fact-ual reportof itslocationand its mysteries.Duringthisperiod,twoexplorerswrotetheirnamesinhistory.Aftermanyhard-shipsbothof themarrivedsafelyatTim-buctoo. One was an Englishman,MajorAlexanderGordonLaing,the otherwasFrench. Only the Frenchmanlived totell the story. This Frenchman,Rene

Caillie,gave Europethe firsteye witnessaccountof Timbuctoo.The storyofReneCaillieis brieflyre-

lated as follows:Rene Caillie was borncn September19, 1799, in Mauza, inthe PoitoudistrictofFrance. His fatherwas a shiftlessbakerwhotookno interestin his son's educationandverylittlein-terestin the restofhisfamily. He hadlittleeducationotherthanthebrieftimehe spentin a charityschool. He be-camean avidreaderofbooksabout thelives of greatexplorersandwas especial-ly excitedby Daniel DeFoe's storyofRobinsonCrusoe. Alreadyhe was ob-sessedwiththeideaofpenetratingto theheartof Africaand, althoughhe had nomeansof his own,and neithertheFrenchnor the English governmentscould beinduced to give him any assistance,heclung tenaciouslyto his purposeand hisdreamofbeingthefirstEuropeanto lookupon the phantomcityof Timbuctoo.In May 1825,he setoutfromTripoliand presentlyjoineda caravanheadedforTimbuctoo.He had spentmonthsamongtheMoorsundermosttryingconditions.His intentionwas to learn how to liveand act like a Mohammedan;then,pre-

tendingto be an Arab returningfromcaptivityin Egyptto his nativeMecca,he set outforTimbuctoo,dependingforsupporton thegoodshe hadboughtwithhislife'ssavingsof2,000francs.To concealhisEuropeanidentityRenetold everyonethat he was of Egyptianparentage,buthad been takenprisoner,

sentto Franceduringthe occupationofEgyptby Napoleon'sarmy. Further,hestatedthathe hadbeenbroughttoSene-gal as a slave and had sinceobtainedhisfreedom.As hemovedintotheinteriorof Africa


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SEARCH FOR TIMBUCTOO 129he andhis companionsmadegoodprog-ressuntilthe rainyseason started.Hebecameill withscurvyand was nursedbackto healthbyan old Africanwoman,the motherof one of his companions.He putdownthefollowingdescriptionofthe event: "Alone in the interiorof awild country,stretchedon the dampgroundwith no pillowbut the leatherbag thatcontainedmyluggage,withnomedicineand no attendantbut Baba'soldmother."

By January9, 1828, he was wellenough to continuehis journey. ByMarch23rd,he had reachedthecityofDjenne and was now close to Timbuc-too. Whenhe, at last,reachedthecityhe madethefollowingentryinhis journ-al: "Atlength,we arrivedsafelyatTim-buctoo,just as the sunwas touchingthehorizon. I now saw thiscapitalof theSudan,to reachwhichhadso longbeenthe objectof my wishes. On enteringthismysteriouscity,whichis an objectofcuriosityand' researchto the civilizednationsof Europe,I experiencedan in-describablesatisfaction.I neverfeltbe-forea similaremotionandmy transportwas extreme.I was obligated,however,to restrainmy feelingsand toGod alonedid I confidemyjoy."

And thus,Rene CailliereachedTim-buctooand becameoneofthegreatestex-plorersof all times. He stayedin Tim-buctoofortwoweeksavidlytakingnotesofthecity'sarchitectureand thecustomsofthepeople.On September7, 1828,fivehundredandsixdaysafterthestartofhisjourney,coveringroughly3,150 milesof Africa,morethanthe distancefromNew Yorkto San Francisco,Rene Caillie arrivedin Tangierand announcedto a shocked

Frenchconsul:"Mynameis ReneCail-lie. I havejustcomefromTimbuctoo."The FrenchGeographicalSocietyreadi-

ly gavehim thepromised10,000francsas the firstEuropeanto reachTimbuc-tooand returnaliveto tell thestory.Hewasalso awardedtheCrossoftheLegionofHonor. His book abouthis journey,TravelsthroughCentralAfricato Tim-buctoo;and acrossThe GreatDesert toMorocco,Performedin theyears1824-1828, in two volumes,is stillone of thegreateststoriesof traveland adventureever recorded.For the remainderof thenineteenthcentury,Timbuctoowas discoveredandrediscoveredby a new generationof ad-venturers.Earlyin 1894, the FrenchoccupiedTimbuctooandbecamemastersofthis area ofAfricaby the endof the

century.Timbuctoois now a part oftheMali Republicand the cityis beingrebuilt.New orold,it is stilla legend-shroudedcity.Whocantell,itmayonceagainbecomethe magnetdrawingatten-tionto Africa.References

GeorginaA. Gollack.Sons of Africa.London, 1928. Pp. 20-30.Felix DuBois. TimbuctooThe Mysteri-ous. New York, 1896.E. W. Bovill.The GoldenTradeof theMoors.London,1958. Chapters15, 16,17.J. D. Fage. An Introductionto theHistoryof West Africa.London, 1955.J.D. De Graft-Johnson.AfricanGlory.London,1954. Pp. 92-120.WillisN. Huggins.IntroductiontoAf-ricanCivilization.New York,1937, P.123.J. G. Johnson.An Accountof theEm-


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130 THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO EDUCATIONpireof Moroccaand theDistrictofSuse,With Accountof Timbuctoo.London,1886.

R. J. Wingfield.The Storyof OldGhana, Melle and Songhai. London,1957.

W. F. Conton.West Africain His-tory,VolumeI. London,1961.BasilDavidson.The LostCitiesofAf-rica.Boston,1959.W. E. B. Du Bois.The WorldandAfrica.New York,1946.

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