In this transcribed oral history recorded originally from a Bajuni Shaykh, we learn of a story that details the origin of many towns on the Banadir as well as the Swahili coast.
Introduction
The author is Shaykh Fāḍil bin ʿUmar al-Bawrī from Pate Island in Kenya which is close to the border with Somalia. The text is the Kawkab Al Durriya li Akhbār Ifrīqiya (The Sparkling Stars of the History of Africa) written in 1913.
Included is the exploits of some Tubbas (Kings) of ancient Himyar – archeological research does in fact show a Pre-Islamic Arab presence in the region. There lies some grain of truth to the traditions as is often the case. One great Tubba As’ad al Kamil (Abu Karib) is credited by the Tabi’in and martyr Sa’id ibn Jubayr with wrapping the Ka’abah in fine cloth. He is the Tubba mentioned in the Qur’an and followed the pure message before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Here is his story expanded upon by Shaykh Haitham
The Tradition
According to Shaykh Fādil we learn that the Tubba As’ad sent an expedition to Africa and for two months his men were unable to approach the locals as they would flee whenever they came near. Eventually they would warm and the Tubba spoke to them and learned their fear was that the Arabs were cannibals. He said he would aid them in building several coastal towns – as for the interior he had no need and the Africans would agree.
A poem the Shaykh provides goes:
لما اراد اللهّٰ بالحدثان إحياء ارضالرملة والطان
When God desired to bring life in the beginning to the land of sand and mire
رأسالمدينة مقدشو ولقد بنا اسعد فتى حسان والحبران
He began with the town of Maqdishū and Asʿad son of Ḥassān and the two rabbis built it.
بلد حصين بين زنج وحبسة عشر ين يوماً بعدها يومان
An impregnable town between the Zanj and Ḥabasha twenty and two days’ journey
هو من تبابعة اليمن ملكالذي عن قومه مذكور في القرآن
He is one of the Tubbaʿ’s of Yaman, the king whose people are mentioned in the Qurʾān.
The Tubba is also credited with the construction of Marka next, who’s inhabitants came from Yemen and Sham (Syria) to live amongst the natives. After Marka, Barawa would be built and it’s people were the ‘Hawatim’ tribe. Shaykh Fādil ascribes the root of the name Barawa to برأ يبرأوه بروًا and the br meaning a place “free from worries.” Lastly on the Banadir, Kismayu would be constructed by the Tubba.
Lastly regarding the Tubba an ode with the same first 4 lines of the poem is given that details places on the Banadir and Swahili coasts. It also is a commentary reflective of political events in the region around the turn of the century as Zanzibar was the predominant power.
Here are the two new lines added beyond the initial 4:
طوبى لماركة اهلها قد احتموا من زنحبار حماية الرحمان
Blessed be the people of Mārka; for by God’s mercy they were protected from Zanzibār
وبراوة برّ وإحسان الذي لا ريب فيه خيارها وجدان
And Barāwa is righteousness whose chosen ones without doubt have good conscience and are well-doing
An interesting tradition tied to a Qur’anic figure and a region (Yemen) where many people of the Banadir trace ancestry to. Banadiri scholars have long travelled to seek ilm and knowledge there, and commercial ties are centuries long.
References
An Azanian Trio Three East African Arabic Historical Documents – ISBN 9789004258600