Chronicles of Songhay Empire's Askyas (Kings) 1493-1599
Gao (Gawgaw, Kawkaw)
Title
The flautists from the caste of the blacksmiths
Short description
The Balma'a moves with his concubines who are flautists from the caste of the blacksmiths.
Text on source
فلمّا اتى محلّته وله هنالك ثلاثة من جواريه اى سرياته واربعة عشر نسوة من الحداديات الزامرات وكان معه اربع وثلاثون جملًا وحمل عليهم سرياته وحدادياته ونقائس بضاعاته وكسواته وشيئًا ممَّا اتى به من الازواد وجعلهم امامه ومعه من الفرسان سبعة عشر على خيول مختارين وخمسة خيول عليهم السروج يقادهم امامه [ص. ١٣٧]
English translation
Finally he arrived at his camp, where he had left behind three of his servants, that are his concubines, and forteen [female] flautist [zāmirāt] from the caste of the blacksmiths. As he had left thirty-four camels in this place, he set his concubines and the daughters of the blacksmiths upon some of them; on the others, he placed his most precious goods, his costumes, and a portion of the provisions that he had carried with him; then he sent them off ahead of him, keeping seventeen cavaliers near him, all mounted on horses of choice; he also brought five saddled horses before him to lead the way.
Folios/Pages
249
Date
1588 circa
Observations on the events description
The Arabic term used for the players is "zāmirāt" [muzammirāt in ms. B] from the same root of mizmār/mazāmīr, usually synonim to zurna.
The dots on the map indicate the places where sound and music events were described. They don't represent travel stages.
Participants
Name
Role
Notes
Edit
Delete
al-Ṣādiq, Muḥammad
Viewer
Balma'a
How to quote
Pintimalli A., "The flautists from the caste of the blacksmiths" (Event description), Echos. Sound Ecosystems in Travelogues. Published 2024 09 12.doi: 10.25430/echos.travels.137
This work is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 
