On Trans-Saharan Trails: Islamic Law, Trade Networks, and Cross-Cultural Exchange in Nineteenth-Century Western Africa

498 Pages·2009·4.23 MB·English

by  Ghislaine Lydon

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ON TRANS-SAHARAN TRAILS
This studyisthefirstofits kindto examine thehistoryand organizationof
trans-Saharan trade in western Africa using original source material. It
documentstheinternaldynamicsofatradenetworksystembasedonacase
study of “Berber” traders from the Wa¯d Nu(cid:1)n region, who specialized in
outfittingcamelcaravansinthenineteenthcentury.Throughanexamination
ofcontracts,correspondence,fatwas,andinterviewswithretiredcaravaners,
Professor Lydon shows how traders used their literacy skills in Arabic and
how they had recourse to experts of Islamic law to regulate their long-
distance transactions. The book also examines the strategies devised by
women to participate in caravan trade. By embracing a continental
approach, this study bridges the divide between West African and North
African studies. The work will be of interest to historians of Africa, the
Middle East, and the world and to scholars of long-distance trade, Muslim
societies, and Islamic law.
Dr.GhislaineLydonisanAssociateProfessorintheDepartmentofHistory
at UCLA. The author of several articles on West Africa, she has done
extensive fieldwork in both West and North Africa and archival work in
France.
To the People of the Sahara
On Trans-Saharan Trails
Islamic Law, Trade Networks, and
Cross-Cultural Exchange in
Nineteenth-Century Western Africa
GHISLAINE LYDON
University of California, Los Angeles
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521887243
© Ghislaine Lydon 2009
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part
may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2008
ISBN-13 978-0-511-51772-3 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-88724-3 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Contents
Acknowledgments page ix
Note on Language xiii
List of Abbreviations xv
Glossary xvii
Maps xxiii
1 “Making History” Across the African Divide 1
Saharan History and Its Misperception 4
Africans, Arabs, and “Making History” 14
The Centrality of Orality 21
African Written Sources 31
Interpreting the Sahara Through Western
Sources 36
On Trans-Saharan Trails: Method and
Layout 45
2 Trans-Saharan Trade in the Longue Dure´e 49
Early Trans-Saharan Crossings 51
Beginnings of Arabic Sources 59
First Trading Communities 63
“Golden Trade of the Moors” 71
Saharan Markets Old and New 79
Later Turning Points 86
Early Modern Saharan Trade 90
Reflections on the Book and Paper Trade 99
Conclusion 104
v
vi Contents
3 Markets and the Movement of Caravans:
Nineteenth-Century Developments 107
Caravans in the Age of Jihad 112
Trans-Saharan Slave Trade 122
Old and New Merchandise 130
Moroccan Commerce 146
The Rise and Fall of Markets 152
Conclusion 157
4 Guelmı¯m and the Wa¯d Nu(cid:1)n Traders 160
The Market of Guelmı¯m 162
The Tikna: Distant Relatives of the
Almoravids 171
The Bayru(cid:1)k Family 179
The Jews of Guelmı¯m 182
The Awla¯d bu(cid:1) al-Siba¯ 186
)
The Wa¯d Nu(cid:1)n Network 196
Conclusion 205
5 The Organization of Caravan Trade 206
“Ships of the Desert” 208
Caravans Big and Small 214
Caravan Workers 222
Family Labor and Women Caravaners 232
The Paper Economy of Caravanning 241
Currencies on Trans-Saharan Trails 248
Measures and the Problem of Valuation 257
Market Rules, Fairs, and Fees 262
Imminent Dangers and Organized Violence 265
Conclusion 272
6 Business Practice and Legal Culture in a Paper
Economy of Faith 274
Religion, Legal Culture, and Commerce 279
Islam, Ma¯likı¯ Law, and Contracts 284
Saharan Qa¯dı¯ Justice 296
_
Overview of Saharan Jurisprudence 301
Return Policies and the Law on Defects 304
Rules of Cross-Cultural Exchange 308
Nawa¯zil Al-Qard, or the Value of Credit 312
_
Contents vii
Contracting Saharan Caravans 319
Conclusion 337
7 Trade Networks and the Limits of Cooperative Behavior 340
The Trade Network Model 342
Religious and Legal Institutions 350
Literacy and the Question of Trust 353
Wa¯d Nu(cid:1)n Trade Network Inheritance Case Study 356
Islamic Institutional Constraints 377
Conclusion 383
8 On Trans-Saharan Trails 387
Orality and Trade Network History 389
On Contracting Trust 391
Islamic Law and the Organization of Trade 393
The Vital Role of Credit 394
Networks of Trade Networks 395
Long-Distance Trade and Cultural Diffusion 396
Bridging the African Divide 399
Appendix 1: Nineteenth-Century Events 401
Appendix 2: Pillaged Caravans Reported in Chronicles 405
Bibliography 409
Index 451