West and south-west of Timbuktu the Niger's floods fill a chain of lakes (Faguibine, Tele, Fati, Tanda, Kabara, Horo) whose shores were farmed and fished by village peoples, Songhay-speaking farmers and fishers with Bozo and Soninke elements, round places such as Goundam, Tonka, Niafunke and Lere.
They are under no single lord in 1200; the Tuareg come to the water in the dry season.
Who holds it
- Name
- No ruler known
- Title
- Village and lineage heads
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Overlord
None; the Maghsharen Tuareg graze the lakes' edges and take what they can.
How things stand that morning
Self-governing villages.
Customs
Lineage and village government; flood-recession farming of millet and rice; fishing rights held by lineages.
Assemblies
Village elders.
Overlord claims
The Tuareg take dues; no kingdom rules here in 1200.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No written source for 1200; the picture is drawn from the region's later history and its archaeology.
On the map: Approximate.
Sources and studies
- General ethnography of the inland delta and the Sahel (Bozo masters of the water, Nono and Marka, Bamana village government), from the researcher's knowledge; used only to describe customs, not to date them
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.