The river villages, islands and fishing camps of the Niger below the Fafa rapids: Ayorou, Firgoun, Tillaberi, the later Niamey and Say, down to the stretch the Songhay later called Dendi ('downstream') round Gaya.
Songhay-speaking farmers and fishermen (Do and Sorko), related to the people of Kukiya. Cissoko writes that the Za kingdom ran 'from Dendi to Gao', so the king of Kawkaw may claim them; nothing shows his rule here on 1 January 1200. The Bura culture of the lower valley, known from funerary jars and the region's earliest terracotta horsemen, is dated by radiocarbon from the third to the thirteenth century.
Who holds it
- Title
- masters of the water and of the earth in each village
- Since
- not applicable
- Confidence
- low
How things stand that morning
Self-governing river villages; the Gurma hold the right-bank interior, unnamed peoples the left-bank interior (Left-bank peoples). Borgu begins south of the Dendi (yor).
Customs and assemblies
Village heads and masters of the water and earth cults.
Overlord claims
The king of Kawkaw (not attested for 1200).
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: Chronicle statements about the Za kingdom's extent; the Bura archaeology; nothing dated to 1200.
On the map: A corridor about 20 km to each side of the river.
Sources and studies
- UNESCO General History of Africa IV (1984): Niane ch. 6, Cissoko ch. 8 (the Songhay), Izard ch. 9 (the Niger bend and the Volta basin), Lange ch. 10
- Bura culture (Wikipedia)
- Gao Empire (Wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.