Chapters › Christian Nubia · Sudan – Darfur & Kordofan

Daju kingdom

1100 CE – 1400 CE Arabic under review

Dating note

Very approximate; known mainly from oral tradition (O'Fahey 2008, 'Daju and Tunjur'). Jebel Marra point is a regional marker.

Key events

• Early recorded dynasty of Darfur (dates uncertain)

Capitals / sites

Jebel Marra region

Geopolitics

Balfour-Paul (as summarised by Theobald 1965, reported by Takana 2016, p.51) says the Dajo sultanate controlled the southern part of Darfur, while the Tunjur held the north. Its founders were immigrants from abroad, and power passed between the Dajo, Tunjur and Fur 'without much bloodshed'. Arkell went further and called the Dajo and Tunjur kingdoms extensions of Borno (Takana 2016, p.6). That claim is contested and is reported here only second-hand. Dates and limits are not given in these sources.

Culture

Dajo oral traditions claim a migration into Darfur from the east (the Nile), although the Dajo also have clans around Lake Chad (Takana 2016, p.68). Takana says all the Darfur kingdoms, including the Dajo, 'were associated with the Arabs from the beginning' (Takana 2016, p.52). He dates Darfur's customary law to 'the rise of the early Darfur sultanates of Dajo and Tunjur' (p.109). Oral tradition, reported second-hand.

Economy

Hasan & Ogot report the oral tradition that the Daju kingdom 'flourished during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries' and that, 'on losing control over the trade', the Daju were succeeded by the Tunjur early in the 15th century (GHA V ch.7, p.187). Which trade is not specified. Oral tradition, reported second-hand.

Regional power

Research in progress We have not yet read a source for this section. It will be added once one is checked; nothing is filled in by guesswork.

Open data flags

• regional_power: no actors scored
• Pass 17 text: [WORKING TRANSLATION – needs native Arabic review] for every Arabic field
• SINGLE-SOURCE (Takana 2016, which reports al-Tunisi, Nachtigal, Arkell and Balfour-Paul second-hand; O'Fahey 2008 not read)
• CONTESTED – Arkell's 'extension of Borno' thesis (reported in Takana p.6); Dajo dating not given in sources read
• Pass 20 text: [WORKING TRANSLATION – needs native Arabic review] for every Arabic field
• SINGLE-SOURCE – Daju economy rests on oral tradition reported in GHA V p.187

Sources

1. Yousif Suliman Saeed Takana (trans. Awad Al Awad) (2016) Darfur – Struggle of Power and Resources, 1650–2002: An Institutional Perspective Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen link [en]
2. Y.F. Hasan and B.A. Ogot (1992) The Sudan, 1500–1800, ch.7 (General History of Africa V) UNESCO / Heinemann / University of California Press link [en]
3. R.S. O'Fahey (2008) The Darfur Sultanate: A History Hurst / Columbia University Press link [en]
4. Wikipedia contributors Daju people Wikipedia link [en]
5. Wikipedia contributors History of Darfur Wikipedia link [en]

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