Bilala people
Total population | |
---|---|
136,629 (1993) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Lake Fitri (Chad) | |
Languages | |
Naba | |
Religion | |
Islam |
The Bilala or Bulala are a Muslim people that live around
History
They first appeared in the 14th century near lake Fitri as a
At the end the Bulala conquered Kanem and forced the Kanem mais to migrate to Bornu. As a result, the Bulala put their hands on Kanem, founding in the 15th century the Muslim sultanate of Yao. The Kanem-Bornu Empire counter-attacked a century later under Ali Gazi. Kanem was retaken by Ali's son after a great battle at Garni Kiyala, forcing the Bulala to move east, where they were to remain a menace for centuries to Kanem-Bornu. It continued also to be a flourishing kingdom: the traveller Leo Africanus even thought that the Bulala's reign was richer than Kanem-Bornu for its prosperous trade with Egypt.
Their power survived in diminished forms until the onset of colonialism, when they submitted to the French.
External links
- Notes sur les Bilala du Fitri (PDF, in French)
References
- ^ ^ H. R. Palmer "History of the first twelve years of the reign of Mai Idris Alooma of Bornu (1571-1583), by his Imam Ahmed Bin Furtua"