The Journey South


 * The Journey South
 * by Jonathan I. Edelstein
 * 30 November 2001

From the Chronicles of Benjamin of Tudela SE 235 [1007 CE] FN1:

Kilwa Kisiwani is a port city lying on an island one mile off the coast, two days' sail south of Zanzibar. The records of Kilwa state that the island was purchased by a wealthy Arab merchant from Aden, some two hundred years ago; a descendant of this merchant, al-Badwi, reigns as sultan today. Among the ports of the eastern coast, Kilwa is second only to Zanzibar in wealth and importance.

The people of the adjacent country are ruled by a king, to whom the sultan of Kilwa Kisiwani pays annual tribute in return for the privilege of independent rule. These people are primarily of native stock, although Arabs and Persians also dwell among them. They are of the Mandaean faith, which means that they cannot sell food but must offer it freely in the markets. A custom has developed, however, that those who take food from a farmer or herdsman must present him with a gift of goods or money. Those who have nothing to give are not suffered to starve, but they are required to labor without pay in return for their rations. So astute have the farmers and herdsmen become that they often receive a greater fee for their goods than they would have earned had they been allowed to set a price. FN2

Two singular crops are grown in this country, of which it is necessary to speak. The first is called coffee, which is grown on great estates throughout the lowlands. Coffee is a bean which can be brewed into a drink with remarkable powers of stimulation. It is said that coffee was discovered by goatherds who chewed this bean to remain awake through long night watches, and later found that it could be made more pleasing when brewed and combined with water.

The second crop is cotton, which was imported from India more than a hundred years past. Weavers in the villages and Kilwa port weave the cotton into a fine, lightweight cloth, which they stain in bright colors and patterns using local and imported dyes. This cloth is called ‘’chitra’’, and it is sold for high prices in the markets of Kilwa.

Kilwa Kisiwani is also the only market where one can buy the laylak, or blue flower. FN3 The laylak is a precious stone that is mined in the uplands and possesses an intense dark blue or violet light. In the hands of a skilled jeweler, a laylak stone can be made to shine like purple fire.

The royal seat of this country is also called Kilwa, known as Kilwa Kivinje, and is situated on the mainland opposite Kilwa Kisiwani. Hundreds of small boats cross between the Kilwas each day, bringing people and goods from one to the other. The channel between the two cities is the site of a remarkable annual ceremony in which the sultan of Kilwa Kisiwani pays a ceremonial tax to his overlord. During this ritual, the sultan and the king each stand in royally appointed boats halfway between the two cities, and the sultan passes a gold coin across the boundary of his domain. At the same time, of course, his men bring a much more substantial tribute to the king of Kilwa in a more conventional manner.

In Kilwa Kisiwani itself reside more than fifty thousand souls, and people from all corners of the earth live here. The greatest number are of Omani or Yemenite descent, but there are also Persians, Ethiopians, natives, and even a street of merchants from Cochin in India. On this street can be found fine jewelry and metal plates as well as spiced meats and fish, pastries and other delicacies from their homeland.

The people of Kilwa Kisiwani speak a language called KiSawahil, which is a mixture of Arabic, Axumite and the tongues of the native peoples. FN4 In this traders' tongue, men of all nationalities conduct their business. Each speaks in addition the tongue of his homeland, and it is often possible to obtain a much better price when one speaks to a merchant in his own language. People of all faiths live unmolested in Kilwa port, and by decree of the sultan all are allowed to build houses of worship. In addition to Mandaean churches and houses of the Omani faith, there are churches of Coptic and Nestorian Christians and a synagogue of Jews of the rabbinic sort. There is also a building in the Arab style, with a domed minaret, which is used by men from the Najd. They call their religion al-Islam, which means "Submission" in the Arabic speech, although they know nothing of the faith of Submission practiced by the Norsemen.

These Submissives of the South are great poets, with an abiding love for God. They are called to prayer five times daily from the minaret of their mosque, or temple. I was also in Kilwa during an annual ceremony dedicated to the unity of God, which is celebrated by turning. At the appointed time, the worshipers remove black cloaks to reveal white robes, and whirl in silence to the accompaniment of flutes and harps. The men who perform this ceremony are highly practiced and can whirl for as much as an hour before the ceremony concludes with the pronunciation of God's ninety-nine names...

... The city of Sofala lies eight days' sail south of Kilwa Kisiwani FN5 and is home to twenty thousand souls. To reach Sofala, it is first necessary to pass several populated islands to the east. Two days' sail south of Kilwa Kisiwani, one comes to the Isles of Perfume FN6, so called because of the many oils and spices that are grown there. From these islands, the markets of Kilwa receive vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and the oil of the ylang-ylang plant, which can be distilled into a sweet-smelling perfume. The people of the islands, some seventy thousand in all, practice al-Islam, the Submission of the South. FN7 Each island has its own sultan, and on the largest, no fewer than three quarrelsome sultans reign over the people.

To the east and south of the Isles of Perfume is a much larger island called Madagascar, which is exceedingly rich; all the products of the Isles of Perfume are grown there, and indigo and balsam besides. There are port towns in the north and west of Madagascar inhabited by Arabs of Omani and Yemenite nationality, but these are heavily defended fortresses because the tribes of the interior are warlike and treacherous.

Sofala port is ruled by a sultan of Omani descent and is subject to no other ruler. To Sofala come caravans of gold and copper from the interior, and it is also the site of the largest slave market on the east coast. At night, this quarter of the city is filled with the cries of the slaves lamenting the loss of their families and homes.

Sofala was once called the Southernmost, but now the cities of Mutavele and Lombaba are still further south. FN8 It is said that beyond Lombaba is an empty land inhabited only by a few brown-skinned people living off game, roots and berries, and that here the waters mingle with those of the western ocean...

... Great Zimbabwe is located on a tributary of the M'popo river, some ten days' journey inland from Sofala. FN9 The city has two great stone walls, the outer wall making three quarters of a circle with both ends on the river, and the inner wall making a full circle on a hillside. The area around the city is also filled with many smaller circular walls, each containing the house of a nobleman or great warrior. Thirty thousand souls live in the outer city; the king and his retinue of councilors and priests, numbering one thousand in all, reside within the inner wall.

The wealth of Zimbabwe is its cattle, of which great herds graze on the surrounding plains. Cattle can also be found within the city and the compounds of the famous men, along with small plots and market gardens. The kingdom of Zimbabwe also includes great gold and copper mines, and its armies raid the surrounding tribes for slaves to sell at Sofala. Through these devices, Great Zimbabwe has built a thriving trade; goods from the coast are commonplace in its markets, and the king drinks from a porcelain cup brought at great expense from China.

The houses of the outer city are made of mud and thatch, but those of the inner city are made of stone. These houses, and the city walls, owe their existence to a unique form of tribute required of every traveler to the city. In order to gain entry into the port or through the outer gate, every visitor must bring one stone suitable for building. Caravans from Sofala are not excepted from this rule, and it was necessary for me to obtain a stone from the highlands before coming to the city.

The people of Great Zimbabwe know nothing of mortar, but their towers and buildings are sturdy and have withstood siege. The king's palace is the largest building in the city, rising two stories and decorated with the shields and spears of captured enemies. Next to the palace stands a stone tower seventy feet in height, which is solid throughout and contains no rooms. This tower is holy to the people of Zimbabwe, and the priests are raised to the top of the tower to worship their god.

Unlike many of the nations of the interior, the Zimbabweans believe that one God reigns over the world, commanding all lesser gods and spirits. It is their belief, as well, that the spirits of their ancestors can be summoned by the priests to guide them in times of trouble. So too do they view all the prophets and messengers of which they have learned from foreign merchants; they believe that there is one eternal ancestor who has appeared in such men as Moses, Jesus, John the Baptist and Anan ben David. This ancestor, according to their lore, will appear to them if their city is ever in danger, and will lead them out of trouble with his prophecies. Their own ancestors also hold the status of prophets or demigods, although of lesser degree, and appear often when their priests enter a holy trance.

The armies of Zimbabwe are feared throughout the land, and justly so. Every man is required to spend three years in the king's service upon coming of age and drill constantly with sword and spear; the strongest prisoners taken in war are also drafted into the armies rather than being sold as slaves. The soldiers fight both afoot and on horses bought from foreign traders, and are trained to march barefoot over open country until their feet are as strong as leather. The armies march in time to the beat of drums and are highly disciplined. It is said that the king has fifteen thousand soldiers under his command, and that his armies are a terror to tribes living as far as ten days' journey from the city... FN10