Kano Chronicle
The Kano Chronicle is an Arabic-language manuscript that lists the rulers of Kano.
Summary
The Kano Chronicle is a list of rulers of Kano stretching back to the 10th century AD. It tells of eleven clans of animists who were warned by their spiritual leader that a stranger would come and cut down their sacred tree and wrest their dominion from them: “If he comes not in your time, assuredly he will come in the time of your children, and will conquer all in this country”. Indeed, a man named Bagauda arrived soon after, conquered, and became the first king of Kano according to the chronicle.Authorship
The existing Kano Chronicle was probably written in the 1880s by Malam Barka, a Dan Rimi who worked for Muhammad Bello, the Sarkin Kano who reigned as emir from 1882–1893.The chronicle may represent the amalgamation of earlier works. The original copy is still with the descendants of Malam Idris al-Khilawiy in Kano.
Translations
The best-known translation is Sir Richmond Palmer's 1908 English translation, which was derived from a manuscript obtained at Sabon Gari near Katsina, northern Nigeria.There is also a 1933 translation into Hausa by Rupert M. East, titled Labarun Hausawa da Makwabtansu: Littafi na biyu. Since this translation made use of a different source than Palmer's translation, East's text has some differences from Palmer's text.