The Gourma is the land inside the great bend of the Niger, south of the river between Gourma-Rharous and Ansongo: sandy plains with seasonal pools (the later Lake Gossi), the sandstone towers of Hombori, and wooded ground toward the Bandiagara cliffs and the Burkina border.
On 1 January 1200 its peoples are not known by name in any source. Later centuries show Songhay-speaking villages (Hombori, Gossi), Kurumba to the south and Dogon to the west; the Fulbe and Tuareg herders who dominate it later arrived after 1200.
Who holds it
- Title
- village and lineage heads
- Since
- not applicable
- Confidence
- low
How things stand that morning
No lord is attested. The king of Gao holds the river edge (Gao (Kawkaw)) and the Tellem the cliffs to the west (Tellem).
Customs and assemblies
Not known; by analogy with their neighbours, villages under lineage heads and earth priests.
Overlord claims
None attested.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1200No dated event is recorded.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No written source and no dated archaeology found for the Gourma in 1200; the record exists so the ground is not written out.
On the map: The boundaries are conventions; the Gourma's people in 1200 are unknown.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.