Latest / The Songhai Empire: Africa's Powerful Forgotten Kingdom — Fexingo History / Songhai's Female Scholars: The Women of Timbuktu's Libraries
Transcript
- Lucas: When we think of Timbuktu's intellectual golden age under the Songhai Empire, names like Ahmed Baba usually come to mind — the great scholar who wrote the Tarikh al-Sudan. But what's less known is that women were deeply involved in that world of learning, as scholars, teachers, and even library owners. Luna: I have to admit, I've never heard of a female scholar from Timbuktu. Who were they? Lucas: The most well-documented is Aisha al-Fulaniya. She was a scholar and teacher in late 15th century Timbuktu, and according to the Tarikh al-Fattash, she owned a personal library of over 700 manuscripts — which was enormous for the time. She taught both men and women at the Sankore Madrasa. Luna: Seven hundred manuscripts — that's incredible. How did she acquire them? Lucas: Some were inherited — her father was a scholar. But she also commissioned copies and traded for them. The manuscript trade was a major economy in Timbuktu, and women were active participants. Aisha was also a poet and a jurist — she wrote commentaries on the Quran and on Maliki law. Lucas: She wasn't alone. The Tarikh al-Sudan mentions several learned women, though often briefly. There was a woman named Khadija bint al-Hasan who taught hadith at Sankore. And another, Fatima al-Sudaniyya, who ran a school for girls in her home. Luna: So these were elite women? Or was learning more widespread? Lucas: It was mostly elite. To have the time and resources to become a scholar, you needed family wealth. Most of these women were daughters or wives of scholars and merchants. But there's evidence that literacy was somewhat common among urban women in Timbuktu — at least enough to read the Quran and basic legal texts. Lucas: The historian al-Sa'di, who wrote the Tarikh al-Sudan, actually mentions a woman named Maryam bint al-Mukhtar who was known for her knowledge of medicine and astronomy. She treated patients and advised on calendar and prayer times. Luna: Wait — so women were practicing medicine in Timbuktu in the 1500s? Lucas: Yes, and it wasn't unusual. The Saharan and Sahelian societies had a tradition of female healers called 'zan' or 'kunya'. But Maryam was specifically trained in Islamic medicine and astronomy. She was consulted by the Askia's court. Luna: That's remarkable. But I also remember that Songhai society was patriarchal in many ways. How did these women navigate those restrictions? Lucas: They worked within the system. Most taught women and children, and only occasionally men. They often held classes in their homes or in mosques. The public lectures at Sankore were mostly male, but women could attend if they were behind a screen or from a balcony. The Tarikh al-Fattash mentions that Aisha al-Fulaniya taught from behind a curtain. Lucas: There were limits. Women couldn't become qadis — judges — and their public roles were circumscribed. But within the domestic and educational spheres, they had real influence. Some even endowed libraries and mosques. Luna: What happened to these libraries? Did any survive the Saadian invasion? Lucas: Many were destroyed or scattered. When Judar Pasha sacked Timbuktu in 1591, his troops ransacked homes and mosques. Manuscripts were burned or thrown into the river. But some were hidden — buried in the desert, or smuggled to family in other towns. Aisha's library was reportedly hidden by her descendants and survived into the 18th century, but was eventually lost. Lucas: The story of these women scholars is fragmentary because the chroniclers didn't see them as central. But we can piece together their presence through passing mentions, and through the manuscripts that bear their names as owners or copyists. Luna: I'd love to know more about Nana Asma'u — she's from a later period, right? Lucas: Right. Nana Asma'u was a 19th-century princess and scholar in the Sokoto Caliphate — which is further east, in what's now Nigeria. She was the daughter of Usman dan Fodio, and she created a network of female teachers called the 'Jaji' system. But she's not Songhai — she's Fulani and Hausa. Still, she's a great example of how the tradition of female scholarship continued in West Africa. Lucas: But for Songhai proper, the best evidence is the Tarikh al-Sudan and the Tarikh al-Fattash. They mention at least a dozen women by name as scholars or patrons. And there are hundreds of manuscripts that have marginal notes or ownership marks by women. Luna: And these are still being discovered? Lucas: Yes. The Timbuktu manuscripts project, starting in the 1990s, has catalogued over 100,000 manuscripts, and many have female names. A recent study identified 150 distinct women owners or copyists from the 15th to 17th centuries. That's a small number compared to men, but it shows an active female intellectual presence. Lucas: There's also the oral tradition. Some griot families in the Niger bend still sing praises of women scholars from the Songhai era. One song honors 'Aisha the Learned, whose ink never dried'. That's a living memory. Luna: I love that — 'whose ink never dried'. It's poetic and also practical. Lucas: Exactly. And it reminds us that the history of Songhai isn't just about emperors and battles — it's also about the quiet work of learning, and the women who kept that flame alive. Lucas: You know, it's conversations like this that make me grateful we can explore these stories without interruption. We deliberately don't run ads on this show. If you want to support that choice, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure — just a way for listeners who value ad-free history to keep it going. Luna: Yeah, I think that's one of the reasons people come back — it feels like a real conversation, not a product. And every bit helps. Lucas: So, back to those manuscripts. One of the most fascinating things is that some of these women were not only scholars but also poets. We have fragments of poems by a woman named Umm al-Khayr, who wrote about the pain of exile after the Saadian invasion. Luna: She was exiled? Did she survive? Lucas: She did. She was captured and taken to Marrakech, but she managed to return to Timbuktu years later. Her poetry describes the journey and her longing for the Niger River. It's one of the few personal voices we have from that period. Lucas: Another woman, Zaynab al-Kabira, was a wealthy merchant who funded the construction of a mosque in Gao. She also sponsored the copying of a complete Quran, which was donated to the Sankore library. That Quran is still in Timbuktu today. Luna: So women were patrons as well as scholars. That's a lot more agency than I expected. Lucas: Yes, especially elite women. They used their wealth to shape the intellectual landscape. And it wasn't just a Timbuktu phenomenon — in Gao and Djenne, similar patterns emerge. The Tarikh al-Fattash mentions a woman in Djenne who endowed a school for orphans. Lucas: Of course, we have to be careful not to romanticize. Most women were not scholars. The vast majority were farmers, traders, or domestic workers. But the existence of this learned minority shows that the culture valued education for women, at least in certain circles. Luna: It's a reminder that history is always more complex than the stereotypes. When we talk about 'Songhai Empire', we can't just think of warriors and emperors. Lucas: Absolutely. The intellectual life was sustained by a whole ecosystem — men and women, rich and poor, scribes and scholars. And the women we've discussed were part of that ecosystem, even if the chroniclers only gave them a line or two. Luna: I'm glad we're giving them a bit more room today. Lucas: Me too. And if you want to explore further, the works of Ahmed Baba, like the Tarikh al-Sudan, are available in translation. And there's a growing body of research on women in the Sahel. It's a rich field.