AHMAD KANI
There is ample evidence to prove that the scholars of Hausaland and Borno
were also consulting Coptic Solar Calendars in determining their economic
activities. The recovery of a book written probably in Egypt on agrarian
activities, from Bauchi in 1973 points to the fact that some aspects of of the
agricultural sciences were being diffused in this area.The book, which is copied
in a Sudanic script, contains mathematical charts dealing with agronomic
activities such as the right time of harvest; the various directions of the
wind;time of germination; and the seasons during which insects appear. A
conversion table to lunar months is also made at the beginning of the book as a
guide for the users of the chart.
It seems that some scholars in the Central Bilad al- Sudan especially the
area of Katsina, were well versed in numerology and astrology. The recovery of
some books from Katsina areas such as Borno by the late Professor M.A. al-Hajj
and other researchers suggests that the scholars of Katsina were versed in these
occult sciences .
The 19th century Jihad movement in Hausaland has been rightly described as an
intellectual revolution which threw the door of academic pursuit open in all its
ramifications. Education was a major preoccupation of the Sokoto Jihad. There is
ample evidence to suggest that Shaykh Uthman b. Fudi was teaching both simple
and advanced arithmetic (al-Yasir wa al-Gharib) to his students. Another
evidence of the incorporation of arithmetic and related sciences in the syllabi
of the schools in 19th century Hausaland is to be found with Abd al-Quadir b.
al-Mustafa who is reported to have studied medicine, astrology, arithmetic,
logic and astronomy.
Gloria Emeagwali (ed) Science and
Technology in African History, Edwin Mellen, NY, 1992
Documentary evidence at our disposal suggests that earlier in 17th century
West Africa some Ulama (scholars) of Kanem -Bornu were highly skilled in the
science of Ilm al-Awfaq (the science of magic squares). By the 18th century, the
Borno kingdom became the most important center of learning of Mathematics in the
Central Sudan attracting peoples from adjacent areas linking this at times to
the occult sciences.
Extract from
Ahmad Kani, Arithmetic in the pre-colonial Central Sudan in
Dr Kani is Professor of History. He has taught at Ahmadu Bello University and also
served as the Dean of Arts at the University of Sokoto. 
Africa-related sites on Maths (Ohio State Univ)
See related material and bibliography on African Mathematics:
The Newsletter of the Commission for the History of Mathematics in
Africa
See also works by Ron Eglash:
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