Chronicles of al-Sūdān (Taʾrīḫ al-Sūdān)
Timbuktu (Tombouctou, Tin Bukt)
Title
Askia Muḥammad Bonkana furbishes his court with music
Short description
Askia Muḥammad Bonkana furbishes his court with musical instruments and male and female singers. According to Hunwick (2003), the word "qayn" mostly means "blacksmith" or "artisan," but it can also imply "slave." In the area, castes such as blacksmiths, woodworkers, weavers, potters, griots, and others are considered to be subservient even though they are not legally considered slaves.
Text on source
اسكيا الحاجّ محمد [...] فقام تلك السلطنة احسن قيام فوسّعها وزيّنها واجملها بالرجال زيادة على ما كانوا قبل وبالملابس الفاخرة وانواع الات الطرب وبالقينين والقينات وكثرة العطايا والمنائح [ص. ٨٧]
English translation
Askia Muḥammad Bonkana furbished the court splendidly, enlarging, adorning it, and embellishing it with more courtiers than ever before. He supplied it with sumptuous garments, different types of musical instruments [ʾālāt al-ṭarab], and male [qaynīn] and female singers [qaynāt]. He gave out abundant largesse and benefactions
Folios/Pages
126
Date
1531 circa
Observations on the events description
In the Taʾrīḫ al-Fattāš, Askia Muḥammad Bonkana is credited with the invention of two musical instruments: a drum called gabtanda and a trumpet called fotorifo (see Event description 4 in the present travel).
The dots on the map indicate the places where sound and music events were described. They don't represent travel stages.
Participants
No other participants in this event description.
How to quote
Pintimalli A., "Askia Muḥammad Bonkana furbishes his court with music" (Event description), Echos. Sound Ecosystems in Travelogues. Published 2024 10 01.doi: 10.25430/echos.travels.139
This work is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 
