Note on Rulers/God among the Zanj.
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Taken from: Al-Mas'udi (916) Muruj al-Dhahab wa-Manadin al-Jawhar (Meadows of gold and mines of gems).
…… they call God by the name of Maklandjalu, which means supreme Master (er-rabb el-kebir)...
…… they elected whom they called Waklimi (or Flimi) (or Ouaqlimi) (the word means son of the supreme Lord "ibn er-Rabb el-Kebir"). This name… has always been that of their sovereigns. The Waklimi has under him all the other Zanj kings,………..
These few words from the local language Masudi picked up at the East African coast. Have been used to try to prove that the people were Bantu.
Neville Chittick in The People of the East African Coast p24: The case for equating this word waqlimi or waflimi with the Bantu mfalme (king)is strengthened by the similarity of the Zanj word for God, mklnjlu (mkulunjulu?) which is said by Masudi to mean Great Lord, to a Southern Bantu word for God u-nkulu-nkulu. It might equally be related to the Bantu mkuu (great person)or juu (above). However even if these words are Bantu, we cannot go on to deduce that Swahili was being spoken.
Taken from: The Shona and Ndebele of Southern Rhodesia by Kuper, Highes and Van Velsen 1954:p103
Masudi’s name for the High God, Namkulunjulu, ‘the Great One Above’, may be compared to that of present-day Nguni language of the Ndebele: Unkulunkulu. ( They live in the western parts of Southern Zimbabwe.)
Taken from: Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere - Volumes 17-20 - P115 1989
The title of the ruler waqlimi / 'son of the great Lord’. The term lord' is undoubtedly to be interpreted as a compound that consists of Oromo waak'a meaning 'god' and ilma 'son' and indirect confirmation that Mas'udi speaks of peoples, which can be found in present-day Ethiopia.
Note: this has Daniel Ayana in 2019 to make waklimi to be the transposed form of Ilma Waak.
Note2: As Masudi mentions that he speaks about the Sofala area; an explanation involving the Oromo in Ethiopia will not do.
Taken from: Man in Southern Africa The Southern Nguni by Shaw and Davison 1973:p12
The Southern Nguni were still riding cattle in the nineteenth century.
LIST WITH NAMES OF RULERS AMONG THE ZANG
Masudi (916): The king of Zanj is called Flimi.
Al-Khwarizmi: (d997) Almehraj: King Alzabaj and Zinj.
Abu Ubayd Al Bakri (1067): And the Flymy (title of king) has three hundred thousand cavalry.
Al-Raghib al-Isfahani (1109): Al Buhraja: sahib al Zunj.
Al-Qazwini(d. 1283). Atar al Bilad: And they have a King named Aokulaim.
Muhammad al Fasi, Maliki: (d1429-30): Al Hyaj: the king of Zinj and Ghana.
Wasif Shah (1209): Their principal king is called Kunah; he resides on the shore of the sea, in a place called Kandu.
Ibn al jawzi (1257): Al-Jahez said: The king of Zinj is called: falimin, meaning the Son of the Great Lord.
Al-Dimashqi (1325): The supreme king is called Touqlim (or tuqlim or buqlim) meaning 'son of the Lord'
Al-Bakuvi (1430) a king called Aklim
Note: Charles Guillain: ( Documents sur l'histoire, la géographie et le commerce de l'Afrique…. P173) gives several versions on how different translators translated the word Flimi (King) of Masudi (916): M. Reinaud: Oklimen; M. Quatremère: Wakliman; M. Sprenger: Afliman; Deguignes: Phalimi and Aphlimi.
Taken from: Ethiopia oriental, Volume 1 By João dos Santos. (d1622); His book is about 1580-1600.
P68-69
(When talking about the religion of the Kaffir people in the Sofala coastal area).
…… in conversation they only know, confusingly, that there is a great God whom they call Molungo but they do not pray to him or order from him. When they suffer from some need or infertility, they come to the king for aid, taking firm care that he is able to give them all the things they desire and need (by giving him gifts) and that he can achieve everything from the dead, their ancestors with whom he speaks. ………
Note: In Swahili the name for God is Mungu.
From other medieval authors: Among the Zanj God is called: Al Masudi (916): Maklandjalu; Nuwairi (1333) Maklandjalu; Ibn al-Fakih al Hamadhani (903): Lamaklujlu; Abou'l Maali (1092): Falkouy Halouy; Abu Nasr Mutahhar al-Maqdisi (966): Malalori and Djahr; Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1209): Malakira Jalawa;