The very intense interactivity between the islands before colonization makes possible a common history of the Comoros archipelago:
All the Sultans of Mayotte claim to be descendants of the daughter of Mtsamboro Fani who was the wife of Chirazzi (Shirazi) Othman ben Ahmed, first sultan of Mayotte and uncle according to the tradition of Hassane ben Mohamed ben Issa chirazzi (Shirazi) Al Maduwa (first sultan of Mayotte Anjouan) whose father settled in Ntsaweni in Ngazidja.
The same rule of succession of power from a woman as a common ancestor is in effect in other islands.
In Anjouan, the four families who succeeded each other (Al Maduwa (chirazzi) Al Ahdali (sultan Idarous) Al Masely and Aboubakar ben Salim) all claim descendants of Djoumbe Adia daughter of Sima’s Fani and wife of Hassane ben Mohamed ben Issa. Issa. She is the mother of Mohammed who married Mtsamboro Mayotte and father of the famous Sultan Issa (1550-1590).
In Ngazidja, the rule of succession to power is the same, the two main families returning to the title of Sultan Ntibe Inya Fwambaya and Inya Matswa Pirusa claim themselves, also descending from the two daughters of a Bedja called Fe Pirusa aka Fe Ubbaya hence the names of two families. He had married a Chirazzi princess and niece of Hassane ben Mohamed ben Issa (1st sultan of Anjouan) and another Chirazzi princess apparently daughter of Othman ben Ahmed (1st sultan of Mayotte).
In this drawing done in Anjouan in January 1846, we have Sultan Salim ben sultan Allaoui 1st Al Madouwa – brother of Sultan Abdallah II, killed in Moheli by Djoumbe Fatima’s father, he is also the brother-in-law by Mougné M ‘ kou de Ngazidja – entering into normalized diplomatic relations with France (represented by Commander Romain-Des Posses). Since the Sultan of Anjouan came to power by chasing his nephew Allaoui II, he has always challenged Mayotte’s surrender to France.
Written By Said Bakar Mougné M’kou , an avid researcher and writer in Comoro History
________________
Photo credit: Djahazi 2, island history, Casimir, Djahazi editions 1997. Drawing executed in Anjouan by L. Lebreton in 1846.
