History on its own terms

There are far richer and more complex stories to the history we believe we know. Especially missing are the perspectives of African women.





Etching of Salaga Market 1892, by ��douard Riou. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

It is difficult to��reconstruct the experiences��of African women at the close of the 19th��century when��the continent was in the liminal space between autonomy and imperialism.��This challenge��of centering women���s lives within historical processes��stems from the��dearth of contemporaneous written narratives, diaries and correspondences��by and about African women.��The most that we have,��with some��notable��exceptions,��are��glimpses of women���s aspirations, fears and daily concerns.��Therefore, we must piece together the fragments, consider the broader historical and cultural context of the time, to��re-envision��women���s��experiences.��In other words, we must speculate.��It is not an easy task, but it is��an��important��and necessary��one if we are to truly think historically��about Africa���s past.

Ayesha��Harrunah��Attah��performs this task��of historical speculation��expertly through��The Hundred Wells of��Salaga, her��captivating and richly rendered��third novel.��She��beautifully presents��women��playing��roles��in events leading up to and during the��Salaga Civil War of 1893��in what is now northern Ghana.��As she weaves her tale through well chronicled history,��she��offers a convincing argument:��there��are��far��richer and more��complex stories��to the history we believe we know, and it necessarily includes women.

Salaga��was��a regional trading hub and��the��Kpembe��polity���s most important��market town.��The powerful��Asante��kingdom to the south��conquered��Salaga��and��Kpembe��in the 18th��century and��incorporated Salaga��within��the broader West African trade network, primarily through the kola trade, but��slavery and the slave trade helped define��Salaga���s��regional��importance.��Attah���s story builds on historical events in��Salaga��and��Kpembe��after the British conquest of Asante, which left��Gonja��economically and politically independent within a neutral zone��between��competing��German, French and British��territorial interests.

These known historical events��form��the broad��context for Attah���s story.��The specifics center on��Gonja���s��Kanyase��clan��and its leaders��� responses to rival clans�����depriving them of��their place in the��rotation to��become��Kpembewura, chief of��Kpembe.��Historically, power alternated among three�����gates,�����or clans with legitimate claims to authority:��Kanyase,��Lepo��and��Singbung.��The��Kanyase��are prepared��to��seize��power by force, a fact that shapes the tension in the novel���s early chapters.

These��political troubles occurred at an inauspicious time in West Africa.��European empires were absorbing African polities of various sizes and influence.��Asante��had fallen to��the British, as would the Sokoto Caliphate farther east.��To the north,��Samory���s��Mande Empire was on the verge of collapsing��under the weight of��French assaults.��African groups contributed to the political disarray.��Directly��north of��Gonja,��the��Zabarima��sowed��political instability throughout the region with incessant raids on small towns and villages.

At the opening of��The Hundred Wells of��Salaga��Aminah��and��Wurche,��Attah���s��two main characters, seem��to��exist in��separate��worlds.��Aminah,��strikingly beautiful���everyone says as��much���and��incredibly��resourceful,��comes from a family of traders in��the village of��Botu, a rest stop along the caravan route to Salaga, where she sells food to caravan traders.

Debates on slavery and slave raiding��among traders, as they��consume the food that Aminah sells them,��distresses her.��The issue��had been widely debated for over a century throughout the Sahel, among marabouts, clerics, traders and herders: who were legitimate targets of enslavement? The traders Aminah listened to in��Botu��argued that the��Zabarima��raiders were unjust. They��blurred the lines between legitimate and illegitimate slaving, which��weakened��social stability. Evoking the changing times and prevailing insecurity, one trader laments, ���There are people who become slaves, and there are people who should be left alone. Those men come for anyone. No one���high-born or low���is safe from their raids. And they are giving people who ride horses a bad name.��� Reports of these raids come from villages that are ever closer to��Botu,��and begin to��discourage caravans from passing through��Botu.��Aminah is keen to keep her father and twin sisters close.

Wurche��is not beautiful like Aminah:�����The old ladies of��Kpembe��said��Wurche��should have been born a boy, that all she lacked was a lump between her legs. They said she had pebbles for breasts and a platter for buttocks.�����She is heroic, wise, and emotionally and physically strong. Had she been born a boy she would be leader among the��Kanyase��and, perhaps, all of��Gonja.��She��is a royal of the��Kanyase�����gate,�����the��daughter of the man who believes he��was��wrongfully deprived of the office of��Kpembewura.

The��Kanyase��face a quandary, rooted in��Gonja���s��economic and political crisis. Were Europeans an existential threat or an antidote to��Gonja���s��internal political turmoil?��Wurche���s��father often seeks her counsel. His respect for her is evident. But they see the challenge the��Kanyase��and all of��Gonja��face differently. She remains adamant that��Gonja��unity rather than civil war is��essential, and she has deep distrust of the white men��who have been visiting her father.��But��his��position has been buttressed by��his��alliance��with these white��men,��who only recently arrived in the area but quickly asserted influence and power,��and the bond he��secured with the neighboring Kingdom of��Dagbon.

Events set in motion by the handsome and enigmatic Moro, a capturer and seller of slaves���although we learn that he is much more that that���bring��Aminah��and��Wurche��together and demonstrate how intricately��bound��their lives and worlds have been all along.

I was invested in these characters after the first few pages.��I cared what happened to��Aminah��and��Wurche, and the rich cast that Attah built around them.��I fell into their world easily, as the��chapters alternated��between��Aminah���s��and��Wurche���s��points of view.��Attah��allowed them to exist within her construction of their��temporal environment. There is no hint that European conquests and colonial rule are part of��an��inevitable future awaiting��the��Gonja, the��Grunsi, the Dagomba,��and other peoples of what will become the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast.

Attah helped me imagine how these developments might have appeared to those who lived through them. She allowed me to believe, if only for a moment, that��Gonja���s��political independence might withstand Europeans��� external threat, its own internal rapidly brewing internal political conflicts, and, in the midst of this two women would succeed and fail on their own terms. With��The��Hudred��Wells of��Salaga,��through the eyes of two tenacious women, we see the region���s history, however fictionalized, on its own terms.