Dosso Kingdom
Dosso Kingdom | |||||||
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c. 1750–c. 1890 | |||||||
Capital | Late Modern Period | ||||||
• Established | c. 1750 | ||||||
• Disestablished | c. 1890 | ||||||
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The Dosso Kingdom is a precolonial state in what is now southwest Niger which has survived in a ceremonial role to the modern day.
Early history
The
French colonialism
French colonial forces first entered the area in the 1890s and found Dosso allied with local Fula communities and small states like
Zarmakoy
Independence
As independence approached in the 1950s, Niger was one of the few areas of French West Africa without a growing political class. The Zarmakoy of Dosso, as patron of the Djerma region, became a powerful political king maker for the coming order. Political parties vied for the support of the Zarmakoy and the powerful Hausa leaders in the east and the then Zarmakoy, Issoufou Seydou, played a leading role in Nigerien politics at the time of independence. Zarmakoy Seydou was a founder of the PPN, and later the UNIS parties, and was Vice-President and Minister of Justice from December 1958-October 1959. Today the Dosso aristocracy continue to hold influential positions throughout Nigerien government, with a majority of post independence leaders having been drawn from the Djerma.[citation needed]
The city of Dosso also retains an important place, with a large population of aristocratic class Djerma who rely on the patronage of the Zarmakoy, as the more traditional ruling class reject modern careers.[5]
Rulers chronology
- c.1750– ?; Zarmakoy Aboubacar
- ?–?; Zarmakoy Laouzo
- ?–?; Zarmakoy Gounabi
- ?–?; Zarmakoy Amirou
- 1856–1865; Zarmakoy Kassam/Kossom Baboukabiya
- 1865–1890; Zarmakoy Abdou Kyantou Baba
- 1890–1897; Zarmakoy Alfa Atta
- 1897–1902; Zarmakoy Attikou
- 1902–1913; Zarmakoy Aoûta/Awta
- 1913–1924; Zarmakoy Moussa
- 1924–1938; Zarmakoy Saidou
- 1938–1953; Zarmakoy Moumouni
- 1953–1962; Zarmakoy Hamani
- 1962–1998; Zarmakoy Abdou
- 1998–2000; Zarmakoy Issoufou
- 2000–current; Zarmakoy Maïdanda Saidou [6]
References
- ISBN 0-521-25268-7
Kimba Idrissa, Les populations du "Niger" occidental au XIXe siecle et leurs reactions face a la colonisation (1896-1906). Paris (1981). - ^ The traditional ruler of Dosso is called Zarmakoy or Djermakoye, an autochthonous title meaning literally "King of Djermas", where koy means "ruler", "lord", or "king" in Zarma (or Djerma) language. See Peace Corps/Niger, "An Introduction to the Zarma Language".
- ISBN 0-89410-861-1pp. 168-9
- ^ Paul E. Lovejoy and J. S. Hogendorn. Revolutionary Mahdism and Resistance to Colonial Rule in the Sokoto Caliphate, 1905-6. The Journal of African History, Vol. 31, No. 2 (1990), pp. 217-244.
- ^ Decalo (1979), p.95: "Most of the population of the town claims chiefly descent and hence is 'forbidden' to work or pay taxes, or to engage in commerce, living off the generosity of the Djermakoy who receives a variety of gifts from his commoner subjects."
- ^ Dosso: Accueil populaire réservé au Sultan Maïdanda Saidou Djermakoye. nigerinter.com. December 2nd, 2015.
- James Decalo. Historical Dictionary of Niger. Scarecrow Press/ Metuchen. NJ - London (1979) ISBN 0-8108-1229-0
- Finn Fuglestad. A History of Niger: 1850-1960. Cambridge University Press (1983) ISBN 0-521-25268-7
- Christian Lund. Law, Power and Politics in Niger: Land Struggles and the Rural Code in Niger. LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster (1998). ISBN 3-8258-3405-0p. 66
- Andreas Neef. "Ethnic Groups in Niger". in Adapted Farming in West Africa: Issues, Potentials and Perspectives. F. Graef, P. Lawrence and M. von Oppen (Editors). Verlag Ulrich E. Grauer, Stuttgart, (2000). ISBN 3-86186-315-4
- Much of this article was translated from French language Wikipedia's fr:Djermas.