2024: Wana - Waqidi

 

Wana
Wana.  Most Wana are not Muslim.  However, as inhabitants of a remote interior region of Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi Province, the Wana offer a distinct perspective on Islamic culture.  The view from the Wana hinterlands maybe unique in details, but it illustrates a pattern widespread in island Southeast Asia, namely, the development of an ethnic self-consciousness on the part of an interior upland population in response to a coastal Muslim presence.

Before Dutch authorities entered the region in the first decade of the twentieth century, some Wana were drawn into the spheres of small Islamic sultanates that once dotted the coasts of Sulawesi.  In the last century, Wana in the southern reaches of the territory paid tribute in the form of beeswax to the Raja of Bungku, a principality located to the southwest of Wanaland.  Likewise Wana in the north presented tiny bamboo tubes filled with uncooked rice to the Raja of Tojo, a sultanate to the northwest of the Wana area.  Some Wana were appointed local representatives of these rajas and carried special titles.  While Wana homage no doubt enhanced the stature of local sultans and may have conferred certain privileges on Wana middlemen, by no means did these demonstrations of vassalage imply that coastal rulers exercised thoroughgoing suzerainty over the Wana.  Then, as now, Wana had the option of fading back into the interior forests when threatened or oppressed in their relations with coastal authorities.  For their part, the rajas occupied themselves with issues of status and prestige at political centers, not with territorial concerns in the hinterlands.  But through contact with these principalities, Wana adopted and reworked for their own purposes some key political and cosmological concepts basic to the Islamic sultanates, including the idea of baraka (magical powers associated with royalty), a tripartite social class system made up of nobles, commoner and slaves (unrealized in Wana social life, but nonetheless present in their thought) and an association of cosmic well-being and political order (a model that Indonesia’s Muslim kingdoms had in turn reworked from earlier Hindu-Buddhist constructions).  And Wana, who attribute all power to sources external to their own society, claim that their legal code was obtained from the Raja of Bungku.

Wanquli, Mehmed ibn Mustafa al-Wani
Wanquli, Mehmed ibn Mustafa al-Wani (Mehmed ibn Mustafa al-Wani Wanquli).  Sixteenth century Ottoman jurist from Van.  His translation of the Arabic lexicon of Abu Nasr Jawhari was printed in 1728 by Ibrahim Muteferriqa, as one of the first books printed in Turkey.

Mehmed ibn Mustafa al-Wani Wanquli see Wanquli, Mehmed ibn Mustafa al-Wani

Wanzo, Melvin

Melvin "Mel" Wanzo, also known as Melvin Wahid Muhammad (b. November 22, 1930, Cleveland, Ohio - d. September 9, 2005, Detroit, Michigan) was an American jazz trombonist. He is best known for his longtime association with the Count Basie Orchestra.

Wanzo received formal education in music at Youngstown University in Youngstown, Ohio, graduating in 1952. He then joined the United States Army and played in a band whose leader was Cannonball Adderley.  In the 1950s, he worked in bands behind blues and R&B singers such as Ruth Brown and Big Joe Turner, then studied music once more, at the Cleveland Institute of Music. In the 1960s, he worked with Woody Herman and Ray McKinley (then leading the Glenn Miller Orchestra), and in 1969 became a member of the Count Basie Orchestra, where he played trombone until 1980. In the early 1980s he played with Frank Capp and Nat Pierce, then re-joined Basie's orchestra after Basie died and leadership passed to Thad Jones and Frank Foster. 

Waqidi, Muhammad ibn ‘Umar al-
Waqidi, Muhammad ibn ‘Umar al- (Muhammad ibn ‘Umar al-Waqidi) (b. 747 [130 AH], Medina Abbasid Caliphate - d. 823 [207AH]).  Arab historian from Medina.  A moderate Shi‘a, he owes his fame to the Book of the Campaigns (of the Prophet), the only one of his many writings that has survived as an independent work.  His merit lies mainly in his transmission of a very large amount of material and in fixing its chronology.

Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Waqid al-Aslami (Abu ʿAbd Allah Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Waqid al-Aslami) was a historian commonly referred to as al-Waqidi. His surname is derived from his grandfather's name Waqid, and thus he became famous as al-Imam al-Waqidi. Al-Waqidi was an early Muslim historian and biographer of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, specializing in his military campaigns. He served as a judge (qadi) for the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun. Several of al-Waqidi's works are known through his scribe and student (in the field of the al-maghazi genre), Ibn Sa'd. 

Al-Waqidi was born in Medina around 747 CC (130 AH). He was the mawla (client) of ‘Abd Allah ibn Burayda of the Banu Aslam of Medina. According to Abu Faraj al-Isfahani, al-Waqidi’s mother was the daughter of ‘Isa ibn Ja‘far ibn Sa’ib Khathir, a Persian, and the great-granddaughter of Sa'ib, who introduced music to Medina. Amongst his prominent teachers were Ibn Abi Thahab Ma'mar bin Rashid, Malik ibn Anas and Sufyan ibn Anas and Sufyan al-Thawri. He lived in Medina at the time of Abu Hanifa and Ja'far al-Sadiq and studied in Al-Masjid an-Nabawi as a student of Malik ibn Anas. Al-Waqidi also had access to the grandchildren of Muhammad's companions. Al-Waqidi originally earned a living as a wheat trader, but when a calamity struck at the age of 50, he migrated to Iraq during the reign of Harun ar-Rashid. He was appointed a judge of eastern Baghdad, and Harun ar-Rashid's heir al-Ma'mun later appointed him the qadi of a military camp at Resafa. 

Al-Waqidi concentrated on history and was acknowledged as a master of the genre by many of his peers. His books on the early Islamic expeditions and conquests predate much of the Sunni and Shia literature of the later Abbasid period. His works regarding the battles of Muhammad and his companions were considered reliable by most early Islamic scholars. While still regarded as an important source for early Islamic history, later authors debated the reliability of his works. 

Al-Waqidi is primarily known for his Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi ("Book of History and Campaigns"), which is the only part of his corpus that has been fully preserved. It describes the battles fought by Muhammad, as well as Muhammad's life in the city of Medina.  The work draws upon the earlier sira of Ibn Ishaq, though it includes details not found in Ibn Ishaq's text.

A number of works chronicling the Islamic conquests have been attributed to al-Waqidi, though most of these attributions are now believed to be mistaken. Futuh al-Sham ("Book of the Conquests of Syria"), a novelization of the Islamic army's conquests of Byzantine Syria, has traditionally been ascribed to al-Waqidi. Modern scholars generally classify Futuh al-Sham as a falsely-attributed later work, dating it to around the time of the Crusades, though some scholars believe a small portion of the text may be traced back to al-Waqidi. In addition to depicting the battles of the Islamic armies, the work also details the valor of various Muslim women, including Hind bint Utbah, Khawlah bint al-Azwar, and Asma bint Abi Bakr. 

According to Ibn al-Nadim, al-Waqidi authored a book detailing the death of Husayn ibn Ali, though this work has not survived. Other lost texts attributed to al-Waqidi include a book chronicling the last days of Muhammad's life. 

Muhammad ibn 'Umar al-Waqidi
Waqidi see Waqidi, Muhammad ibn ‘Umar al-

2024: Waraqa - Wayto

 

Waraqa ibn Nawfal ibn Asad
Waraqa ibn Nawfal ibn Asad (Waraqah ibn Nawfal) (Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Assad ibn Abd al-Uzza ibn Qusayy Al-Qurashi) (d. c. 610).  Cousin of Khadija, Muhammad’s wife.  He is said to have belonged to the Meccan group of monotheists (in Arabic, hanif).

Waraqah ibn Nawfal was the parental cousin of Khadija, Muhammad's first wife.  According to the Islamic sources, Waraqah was a Christian Ebionites priest living in Mecca, and had knowledge of the scriptures. When told of Muhammad's first revelation (when he received the first five verses of surat Al-Alaq), he immediately recognized him as a prophet. Contrariwise, some non-Islamic critics believe that Waraqah was one of the sources of these revelations, insofar as Waraqah may have taught Muhammad about the Biblical ideas and stories which later were to be found in the Qur'an.

Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn Abd-al-Uzza ibn Qusayy Al-Qurashi was an Arabian ascetic who was the paternal first cousin of Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the first wife of Muhammad. He was considered to be a hanif, one who practiced the pure form of monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia. Waraqah presumably died in 610 CC, shortly after Muhammad is said to have received his first revelation.

Waraqah and Khadija were also cousins of Muhammad: their paternal grandfather Asad ibn Abd al-Uzza was Muhammad's matrilineal great-great-grandfather. By another reckoning, Waraqah was Muhammad's third cousin: Asad ibn Abd-al-Uzza was a grandson of Muhammad's patrilineal great-great-great-grandfather Qusai ibn Kilab. Waraqah was the son of a man called Nawfal and his consort—Hind, daughter of Abi Kat̲h̲ir. Waraqah was proposed to marry Khadija, but the marriage never took place.

Waraqah is revered in Islamic tradition for being one of the first hanifs to believe in the prophecy of Muhammad.

When told of Muhammad's first revelation (which is understood to be Sura 96:1-5), Waraqah acknowledged his call to prophecy as authentic. Tradition recounts Waraqah saying: "There has come to him the greatest Law that came to Moses; surely he is the prophet of this people".

Two different narrations from Aisha give these details.

Aisha also said: "The Prophet returned to Khadija while his heart was beating rapidly. She took him to Waraqah bin Naufal who was a Christian convert and used to read the Gospel in Arabic. Waraqah asked (the Prophet), 'What do you see?' When he told him, Waraqah said, 'That is the same angel whom Allah sent to the Prophet Moses. Should I live till you receive the Divine Message, I will support you strongly.'"

Khadija then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqah bin Naufil bin Asad bin 'Abdul 'Uzza, who, during the Pre-Islamic Period became a Christian and used to write the writing with Arabic letters. He would write from the Gospel in Arabic as much as God wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadija said to Waraqah, "Listen to the story of your nephew, O my cousin!" Waraqah asked, "O my nephew! What have you seen?" God's Apostle described whatever he had seen. Waraqah said, "This was the same one who keeps the secrets whom Allah had sent to Moses (Angel Gabriel). I wish I were young and could live up to the time when your people would turn you out." God's Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqah replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly." But after a few days Waraqah died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused for a while.

Waraqah ibn Nawfal see Waraqa ibn Nawfal ibn Asad

Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Assad ibn Abd al-Uzza ibn Qusayy Al-Qurashi see Waraqa ibn Nawfal ibn Asad

War-Dyabi ibn Rabis
War-Dyabi ibn Rabis (War Jabi) (War Jaabi) (d. 1040/1041 CC [433 AH]).  Ruler of Takrur -- the first known West African kingdom to embrace Islam.  According to the chronicler al-Bakri, it was War-Dyabi who first insisted that his subjects convert to Islam, demonstrating that Islam had reached western Sudan before the Almoravid conquest of Ghana in 1076/1077.  After War-Dyabi’s death, his son allied with the Almoravids, and probably fought with them against Ghana.

War Jabi was the king of Tekrur in the 1030s. He converted to Islam. This conversion allowed Tekrur to justify its wars of expansion to the south.

War-Dyabe or War Jabi, also known as: War Jaabi or War-Dyabe, was the first Muslim king of Tekrur in the 1030s, and the first to proclaim Islam as a state religion in the Sudan. 

War Jabi was a member of the Manna dynasty that had ruled Tekrur since the early 800s. His father Rabis may be the Rai bin Rai mentioned in Arabic sources as an ally of the Almoravids and king of the Sudan. Islam had been brought to Tekrur by Soninke merchants and spread widely.

War Jabi converted to Islam and forced his subjects to convert to Islam, introducing sharia law in the Kingdom in 1035. This greatly benefited the state economically and created greater political ties with the Muslim states of North Africa that would be important in the later conflicts with the animist state of Ghana. 

War Jabi died in 433 AH (1040 or 1041 CC) and was succeeded by his son Labi.

War Jabi's enforcement of sharia law pushed the Serer people of Tekrur (landowners and "the local agricultural people"), who refused Islam in favor of their traditional religion, out of the country. That resulted in their migration to Baol and Sine.

The name "War" means "death" in the Serer language. The old Serer anti-Islamic and anti-Arab term "the spurns of War" and "the spurns of Leb" are in reference to him and his son. They are pejorative terms.

War Jabi see War-Dyabi ibn Rabis
War Jaabi see War-Dyabi ibn Rabis

Washmgir
Washmgir (Wushmaghir ibn Ziyar Abu Talib) (Vushmgir) (d. 965/967)  Ruler of the Ziyarid dynasty in Tabaristan and Gurgan (r. 935-965/967).  Under his brother Mardawij (r. 927-935), he conquered Isfahan and drove from there ‘Ali ibn Buya, the founder of the Buyid dynasty, who had taken it when he was in Mardawij’s service.  In 940, he was defeated by the Samanids who were in alliance with the Buyids.  Later Washmgir fled to the Samanid Nuh I ibn Nasr, who assisted him against the Buyids, Tabaristan thus becoming a buffer state between the Samanids and the Buyids. 

Vushmgir was a son of Ziyar. Vushmgir means "quail catcher" in the local Caspian Iranian dialects.

In 935, Vushmgir's brother Mardavij was murdered by his Turkish troops. Many of the Turks then defected. Some entered the service of the Buyid Hasan, while others traveled to the caliph in Baghdad. Hasan took advantage of this situation by stripping Isfahan from Ziyarid rule. The Dailamite and Gilite troops, however, pledged their support to Vushmgir, who was in Ray. That same year, he defeated a Samanid army, as well as the Dailamite Makan, which had together invaded Tabaristan. Vushmgir then wrested Gurgan from Samanid control.

Vushmgir soon decided to acknowledge Samanid supremacy, and in 936 he also turned over Gurgan to Makan. Turning against Hasan, he retook Isfahan in 938. In 939 or 940, the Samanid governor Abu 'Ali ibn Muhtaj attacked Gurgan. Vushmgir sent Makan aid, but the city fell after a long siege. Ibn Muhtaj then engaged Vushmgir in battle in Ray and defeated him, killing Makan in the process. Vushmgir fled to Tabaristan, but was faced there with a revolt by his governor of Sari, al-Hasan ibn al-Fairuzan, who was a cousin of Makan and blamed the Ziyarid for his death. Vushmgir defeated him, but al-Hasan convinced Ibn Muhtaj to invade Tabaristan. Vushmgir was forced to recognize Samanid authority again. Hasan furthered the Ziyarid's troubles by retaking Isfahan in 940.

When Ibn Muthaj left for Samanid Khurasan, Vushmgir retook control of Ray. He then lost it for good in 943, to the Buyid Hasan. Returning to Tabaristan, he was defeated there by al-Hasan, who had previously occupied Gurgan. Vushmgir fled to the Bavandids of the mountains in eastern Tabaristan, then to the court of the Samanid Nuh I. Al-Hasan meanwhile allied with Hasan, but when Ibn Muthaj took Ray from the Buyids in 945, he recognized Samanid authority. Still, in 945 Vushmgir captured Gurgan with Samanid support, but did not manage to retain his rule there. It was only in 947 when he was able to take Gurgan and Tabaristan from al-Hasan with the help of a large Samanid army.

In 948 Hasan (who after the Buyids' entrance into Baghdad in 945 had used the title Rukn al-Daula) invaded Tabaristan and Gurgan and took them from Vushmgir. While al-Hasan supported the Buyids, Vushmgir relied on his Samanid allies. Tabaristan and Gurgan changed hands several times until 955, when in a treaty with the Samanids, Rukn al-Daula promised to leave Vushmgir alone in Tabaristan. Peace between the two sides did not last long, however. In 958 Vushmgir briefly occupied Ray, which was Rukn al-Daula's capital. The Buyid struck back, temporarily taking Gurgan in 960, then taking both Tabaristan and Gurgan for a short time in 962. He may have also taken Tabaristan and Gurgan in 966, but did not hold on to them for long.

Vushmgir was killed by a boar during a hunt in 967, shortly after a Samanid army had arrived for a joint campaign against the Buyids. He was succeeded by his eldest son Bisutun, although the Samanid army attempted to put another son, Qabus, into power. A third son predeceased him in 964 in the fighting over Hausan.
Wushmaghir ibn Ziyar Abu Talib see Washmgir
Vushmgir see Washmgir
Quail Catcher see Washmgir

Washsha’, Abu’l-Tayyib Muhammad al-
Washsha’, Abu’l-Tayyib Muhammad al- (Abu’l-Tayyib Muhammad al-Washsha’).  Arabic philologist and bel esprit of the tenth century of the Christian calendar.  He wrote a handbook of rules of good society for the aristocrats of Baghdad.
Abu'l-Tayyib Muhammad al-Washsha' see Washsha’, Abu’l-Tayyib Muhammad al-

Wasi’ ‘Alisi
Wasi’ ‘Alisi ( Wasi' ‘Ali) (d. 1543).  Ottoman author, scholar and poet, stylist and calligrapher.  His fame is based on his Turkish translation of the Persian version of the Kalila wa-Dimna.
'Alisi, Wasi' see Wasi’ ‘Alisi
Wasi' 'Ali see Wasi’ ‘Alisi
'Ali, Wasi' see Wasi’ ‘Alisi

Wasif, Ahmed
Wasif, Ahmed (Ahmed Wasif) (d.1806). Official historian of the Ottoman Empire.  His four state chronicles, called appendices because they follow on to ‘Izzi’s work, cover the greater part of the period from 1783 to 1805.  He also wrote an account of Bonaparte’s invasion of Egypt.
Ahmed Wasif see Wasif, Ahmed

Wasil ibn ‘Ata’, Abu Hudhayfa al-Ghazzal
Wasil ibn ‘Ata’, Abu Hudhayfa al-Ghazzal (Abu Hudhayfa al-Ghazzal Wasil ibn 'Ata') (699/700-748).  Chief of the Mu‘tazila.  He migrated to Basra where he belonged to the circle of Hasan al-Basri, and entered into friendly relations with Bashshar ibn Burd.  His wife was a sister of ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubayd Abu ‘Uthman, next to himself the most celebrated of the earliest Mu‘tazila.  His deviation from the views of Hasan al-Basri is said to have become the starting point of the Mu‘tazila. Four theses are ascribed to him; denial of God’s eternal qualities; the doctrine of free will, which he shared with the Qadarites; the doctrine that the Muslim who commits a mortal sin enters into a state intermediate between that of a Muslim and that of an unbeliever; the doctrine that one of the parties who took part in the murder of ‘Uthman, in the battle of the Camel and in that of Siffin, was wrong.

Wasil ibn Ata was a Muslim theologian, and by many accounts is considered to be the founder of the Mutazilite school of Islamic thought.

Born around the year 700 in the Arabian Peninsula, he initially studied under Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, the son of the famous fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib. Later he would travel to Basra in Iraq to study under Hasan al-Basri (one of the Tabi‘in). In Basra he began to develop the ideologies that would lead to the Mutazilite school. These stemmed from conflicts that many scholars had in resolving theology and politics. His main contribution to the Mutazilite school was in planting the seeds for the formation of its doctrine.

Wasil ibn Ata died in 748 in the Arabian Peninsula.

He was married to the sister of Amr ibn Ubayd.
Abu Hudhayfa al-Ghazzal Wasil ibn 'Ata' see Wasil ibn ‘Ata’, Abu Hudhayfa al-Ghazzal

Wathiq bi-‘llah, Abu Ja‘far Harun al-

Wathiq bi-‘llah, Abu Ja‘far Harun al- (Abu Ja‘far Harun al-Wathiq bi-‘llah). ‘Abbasid caliph (r.842-847).  His reign was marked by troubles caused by an alleged descendant of the Umayyads, named Abu Harb, usually called al-Mubarqa’.  He also had to send the general Bugha al-Kabir to Medina in order to subdue the rebellious Bedouins around the town.  The Kharijites and the Kurds were also causing trouble, al-Wathiq was an ardent Mu‘tazili.

Abu Jaʿfar Harun ibn Muhammad (b. April 17, 812 Mecca, Abbasid Caliphate – d. August 10, 847, Samarra, Abbasid Caliphate), better known by his regnal name al-Wathiq bi-llah (lit. "He who trusts in God"), was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 842 until 847 CE (227–232 AH in the Islamic calendar).

Al-Wathiq is described in the sources as well-educated, intellectually curious, but also a poet and a drinker, who enjoyed the company of poets and musicians as well as scholars. His brief reign was one of continuity with the policies of his father, al-Mu'tasim, as power continued to rest in the hands of the same officials whom al-Mu'tasim had appointed. The chief events of the reign were the suppression of revolts: Bedouin rebellions occurred in Syria in 842, the Hejaz in 845, and the Yamamah in 846.  Armenia had to be pacified over several years, and above all, an abortive uprising took place in Baghdad itself in 846, under Ahmad ibn Nasr al-Khuza'i. The latter was linked to al-Wathiq's continued support for the doctrine of Mu'tazilism, and his reactivation of the mihna to root out opponents. In foreign affairs, the perennial conflict with the Byzantine Empire continued, and the Abbasids even scored a significant victory at Mauropotamos, but after a prisoner exchange in 845, warfare ceased for several years.

Al-Wathiq's character is relatively obscure compared to other early Abbasid caliphs. He appears to have been a sedentary ruler occupied with the luxuries of the court, a capable poet, and a patron of poets and musicians, as well as showing interest in scholarly pursuits. Al-Wathiq's unexpected death left the succession unsettled. Al-Wathiq's son al-Muhtadi was passed over due to his youth, and his half-brother al-Mutawakkil was chosen as the next caliph by a coterie of leading officials.

Al-Wathiq was born on April 17, 812 CC (various sources give slightly earlier or later dates in 811 CC –813 CC), on the road to Mecca. His father was the Abbasid prince, and later caliph, al-Mu'tasim (r. 833 CC – 842 CC), and his mother a Byzantine Greek slave (umm walad), Qaratis.  He was named Harun after his grandfather, Caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786 CC – 809 CC) and had the teknonym Abu Ja'far.

The early life of al-Wathiq is obscure, all the more since his father was initially a junior prince without prospects of succession, who owed his rise to prominence, and eventually to the caliphate, to his control of an elite private army of Turkic slave troops (ghilman). Harun ibn Ziyad is mentioned as his first teacher, and he learned calligraphy, recitation and literature from his uncle, Caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813 CC – 833 CC).  Later sources nickname him the "Little Ma'mun" on account of his erudition and moral character.

When al-Mu'tasim became caliph, he took care for al-Wathiq, as his son and heir apparent, to acquire experience in governance. Thus al-Wathiq was left in charge of the capital Baghdad in 835, when al-Mu'tasim moved north to found a new capital at Samarra. He is then mentioned in the account of al-Tabari as being sent to ceremonially welcome the general al-Afshin during his victorious return from the suppression of the revolt of Babak Khorramdin in 838 (in present-day Iran) and being left behind as his father's deputy during the Amorion campaign of the same year.

Al-Wathiq is then mentioned in 841 as bringing a bowl of fruit to al-Afshin, now disgraced and imprisoned. Fearing that the fruit was poisoned, al-Afshin refused to accept it, and asked for someone else to convey a message to the Caliph. In Samarra, al-Wathiq's residence was immediately adjacent to his father's palace, and he was a fixed presence at court. As historian John Turner remarks, these reports show al-Wathiq in the "role of a trusted agent of his father, which positioned him well to take over the reins of power". On the other hand, al-Wathiq was never given a military command and did not even participate in the Amorion campaign, in a departure from previous Abbasid practice.

Al-Tabari records that al-Wathiq was of medium height, handsome and well-built. He was fair with a ruddy complexion, commonly associated with noble descent. His left eye was paralyzed with a white fleck, which reportedly lent his gaze a stern aspect. When al-Mu'tasim died on January 5, 842, al-Wathiq succeeded him without opposition.  Inheriting a full treasury, the new caliph made generous donations to the common people, especially in Baghdad and the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina.  Al-Wathiq sent his mother, Qaratis, accompanied by his brother Ja'far (the future caliph al-Mutawakkil), to head the pilgrimage in 842. Qaratis died on the way at al-Hirah on August 16, 842, and was buried in Kufa. 

Al-Wathiq's reign was short and is generally considered to have been essentially a continuation of al-Mu'tasim's own, as the government continued to be led by men that had been raised to power by al-Mu'tasim: the Turkic military commanders Itakh, Wasif, and Ashinas, the vizier, Muhammad ibn al-Zayyat, and the chief qadi (judge), Ahmad ibn Abi Duwad. These men had been personally loyal to al-Mu'tasim but were not similarly bound to al-Wathiq. In practice, this narrow circle controlled the levers of power and thus the Caliph's independence.

In a gesture likely aimed at cementing an alliance between the caliph and his most powerful commander,  al-Wathiq bestowed a crown on Ashinas in June/July 843, and on the occasion invested him with sweeping authority over the western provinces, from Samarra to the Maghreb — an act which the 15th-century Egyptian scholar al-Suyuti considered as the first occasion when royal power (sultan) was delegated by a caliph to a subject.  Ashinas died in 844, and Itakh succeeded him in his rank as commander-in-chief and in his over-governorship of the western provinces. The new caliph also engaged in much construction in Samarra, which went a long way towards making the caliphal residence a proper city, with markets and a port adequate to its needs. This made Samarra not only more comfortable for its inhabitants but also made investment in property there economically attractive —both major considerations for the Abbasid elites and the military, who had been forced to relocate to the new capital by al-Mu'tasim.

However, in 843/44, the Caliph — allegedly at the instigation of the vizier Ibn al-Zayyat, or, according to a story reported by al-Tabari, inspired by the downfall of the Barmakids under Harun al-Rashid —arrested, tortured, and imposed heavy fines on several of the secretaries in the central government, in an effort to raise money to pay the Turkic troops. The measure was at the same time possibly aimed at driving a wedge between civilian and military elites, or at reducing the power of the leading Turkic commanders, such as Itakh and Ashinas, since most of the secretaries arrested and forced to pay were in their service.

Already during the last months of al-Mu'tasim's life, a large-scale revolt had erupted in Palestine under a certain al-Mubarqa. Al-Mu'tasim sent the general Raja ibn Ayyub al-Hidari to confront the rebels. When al-Wathiq came to power, he dispatched al-Hidari against Ibn Bayhas, who led a Qaysi tribal revolt around Damascus. The exact relationship of this uprising with the revolt of al-Mubarqa is unclear. Taking advantage of the dissensions among the tribesmen, al-Hidari quickly defeated Ibn Bayhas, and then turned south and confronted al-Mubarqa's forces near Ramla. The battle was a decisive victory for the government army, with al-Mubarqa taken prisoner and brought to Samarra, where he was thrown into prison and never heard of again.

Upon coming to the throne, al-Wathiq appointed Khalid ibn Yazid al-Shaybani as governor of the restive province of Armenia. At the head of a large army, Khalid defeated the opposition of the local Muslim and Christian princes at the Battle of Kawakert. Khalid died soon after, but his son, Muhammad al-Shaybani, succeeded him in office and continued his father's task.

In spring 845, another tribal rebellion broke out. A local tribe, the Banu Sulaym, had become embroiled in a conflict with the tribes of Banu Kinanah and Bahilah around Medina, resulting in bloody clashes in February/March 845. The local governor, Salih ibn Ali, sent an army against them comprising regular troops as well as citizens of Medina, but the Sulaym were victorious and proceeded to loot the environs of the two holy cities. As a result, in May, al-Wathiq charged one of his Turkic generals, Bugha al-Kabir, to handle the affair. Accompanied by professional troops from the Shakiriyyahi, Turkic, and Magharibah guard regiments, Bugha defeated the Sulaym and forced them to surrender. In early autumn, he also forced the Banu Hilal to submit. Bugha's troops took many prisoners, some 1,300 in total who were held in Medina. They tried to escape, but were thwarted by the Medinese, and most were killed in the process. In the meantime, Bugha used the opportunity to intimidate the other Bedouin tribes of the region, and marched to confront the Banu Fazara and the Banu Murra. The tribes fled before his advance, with many submitting, and others fleeing to al-Balqa. Bugha then subdued the Banu Kilab, taking some 1,300 of them as prisoners back to Medina in May 846.

A minor Kharijite uprising in 845/6 occurred in Diyar Rabi'a under a certain Muhammad ibn Abdallah al-Tha'labi (or Muhammad ibn Amr) but was easily suppressed by the governor of Mosul.  In the same year, the general Wasif suppressed restive Kurdish tribes in Isfahan, Jibal and Fars. 

In September 846, al-Wathiq sent Bugha al-Kabir to stop the depredations of the Banu Numayr in Yamamah. On February 4, 847, Bugha fought a major engagement against about 3,000 Numayris at the watering place of Batn al-Sirr. At first, he was hard pressed, and his forces almost disintegrated. Then some troops he had out raiding the Numayris' horses returned, fell upon the forces attacking Bugha and completely routed them. According to one report, up to 1,500 Numayris were killed. Bugha spent a few months pacifying the region, issuing writs of safe passage to those who submitted and pursuing the rest, before he returned to Basra in June/July 847. Over 2,200 Bedouin from various tribes were brought captive with him.

Like his father, al-Wathiq was an ardent Mu'tazilite — the sources agree that he was strongly influenced by the chief qadi, Ibn Abi Duwad — but also, like his father, maintained good relations with the Alids. In the third year of his caliphate, al-Wathiq revived the inquisition (mihna), sending officials to question jurists on their views on the controversial topic of the createdness of the Quran.  Al-Wathiq supported the Mu'tazili view that the Quran was created and not eternal, and hence fell within the authority of a God-guided imam (i.e., the caliph) to interpret according to the changing circumstances. Even during a prisoner exchange held with the Byzantine Empire in 845, the ransomed Muslim prisoners were questioned on their opinions regarding the topic, with those giving unsatisfactory answers reportedly left to remain in captivity. Thus, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali school of jurisprudence, who opposed the Mu'tazili doctrine, was forced to cease his teachings and only resumed them after al-Wathiq's death.

In 846, a well-respected notable, Ahmad ibn Nasr ibn Malik al-Khuza'i, a descendant of one of the original missionaries of the Abbasid Revolution, launched a plot in Baghdad to overthrow al-Wathiq, his Turkic commanders, and the Mu'tazilite doctrines. His followers distributed money to the people, and the date for the uprising was scheduled for the night of April 4/5, 846. However, according to al-Tabari, those who were supposed to sound a drum as the signal to rise got drunk and did so a day early, and there was no response. Khatib al-Baghdadi on the other hand reports simply that an informer gave the plot away to the authorities. The deputy governor of the city, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim — the governor, his brother Ishaq, was absent — inquired on the event, and the conspiracy was revealed. Al-Khuza'i and his followers were arrested and brought before al-Wathiq at Samarra.

The Caliph interrogated al-Khuza'i publicly, though more on the thorny theological issue of the createdness of the Quran rather than on the actual rebellion. Ahmad's answers enraged al-Wathiq so much, that the Caliph took al-Samsamah, a famous sword of the pre-Islamic period, and personally joined in the execution of Ahmad, along with the Turks Bugha al-Sharabi and Sima al-Dimashqi. Ahmad's corpse was publicly displayed next to the gibbet of Babak in Baghdad, while twenty of his followers were thrown into prison.

The same year there was a break-in at the public treasury (bayt al-mal) in Samarra. Thieves made off with 42,000 silver dirhams and a small amount of gold dinars. The sahib al-shurta (chief of security), Yazid al-Huwani, a deputy of Itakh, pursued and caught them. Turner points out that this episode may provide some premonition of the crisis to erupt in later decades: security even at the main palace was lax, and, based on the thieves' loot, the treasury appears to have been almost empty at the time.

In 838, al-Mu'tasim had scored a major victory against the Abbasid Caliphate's perennial foe, the Byzantine Empire, with the celebrated sack of Amorion. This success was not followed up, and warfare reverted to the usual raids and counter raids along the border. According to Byzantine sources, at the time of his death in 842, al-Mu'tasim was preparing yet another large-scale invasion, but the great fleet he had prepared to assault Constantinople perished in a storm off Cape Chelidonia a few months later. This event is not reported in Muslim sources.

Following al-Mu'tasim's death, the Byzantine regent Theoktistos attempted to reconquer the Emirate of Crete, an Abbasid vassal, but the campaign ended in disaster. In 844, an army from the border emirates of Qaliqala and Tarsus, led by Abu Sa'id, and possibly the emir of Malatya Umar al-Aqta, raided deep into Byzantine Asia Minor and reached as far as the shore of the Bosporus. The Muslims then defeated Theoktistos at the Battle of Mauropotamos, aided by the defection of senior Byzantine officers. At around the same time, the Paulicians, a sect persecuted as heretical in Byzantium, defected to the Arabs under their leader Karbeas. They founded a small principality on the Abbasid–Byzantine frontier, centered on the fortress of Tephrike, and henceforth joined the Arabs in their attacks on Byzantine territory.

In 845, a Byzantine embassy arrived at the caliphal court to negotiate about a prisoner exchange. It was held in September of the same year under the auspices of Yazaman al-Khadim, and somewhere between 3,500–4,600 Muslims were ransomed.  In March of the same year, however, 42 officers taken captive at Amorion were executed at Samarra, after refusing to convert to Islam. After the truce arranged for the exchange expired, the Abbasid governor of Tarsus, Ahmad ibn Sa'id ibn Salm, led a winter raid with 7,000 men. It failed disastrously, with 500 men dying of cold or drowning, and 200 taken prisoner.  After this, the Arab-Byzantine frontier remained quiet for six years. Only in the west did the Abbasids' Aghlabid clients continue their gradual conquest of Byzantine Sicily, capturing Messina (842/43), Modica (845), and Leonntini (846). In 845/46, the Aghlabids captured Miseno near Naples in mainland Italy, and in the next year their ships appeared in the Tiber River and their crews raided the environs of Rome.

Al-Wathiq died as the result of edema, likely from liver damage or diabetes, while being seated in an oven in an attempt to cure it, on August 10, 847. His age is variously given as 32, 34, or 36 in Islamic years at the time of his death. He was buried in the Haruni Palace in Samarra.

Al-Wathiq death was unexpected and left the succession open — although the near-contemporary historian al-Ya'qubi claims that an heir had been named, and the oath of allegiance given to him. Consequently, the leading officials, the vizier, Ibn al-Zayyat, the chief qadi, Ahmad ibn Abi Duwad, the Turkic generals Itakh and Wasif, and a few others, assembled to determine his successor. Ibn al-Zayyat initially proposed al-Wathiq's son Muhammad (the future caliph al-Muhtadi), but due to his youth he was passed over, and instead the council chose al-Wathiq's 26-year-old half-brother Ja'far, who became the caliph al-Mutawakkil.

This selection is commonly considered by historians to have been in effect a conspiracy to place a weak and pliable ruler on the throne, while the same cabal of officials would run affairs as under al-Wathiq. They would be quickly proven wrong, for al-Mutawakkil quickly moved to eliminate Ibn al-Zayyat and Itakh and consolidate his own authority.

Al-Wathiq is reported as having been generous to the poor of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and to have reduced taxes on maritime commerce, but he does not appear to have enjoyed any great popularity. What is told of his character shows him being a mild-mannered person, given to indolence and the pleasures of court life, to the point of becoming inebriated and falling asleep.  He was an accomplished poet — more poems of his survive than of any other Abbasid caliph — as well as a skilled composer. He also could play the oud well. Al-Wathiq was also a patron of poets, singers and musicians, inviting them to the palace. He showed particular favor to the musician Ishaq al-Mawsili, the singer Mukhariq, and the poet al-Dahhak al-Bahili, known as al-Khali (lit. 'the Debauched One').

In contrast to this picture, the 10th-century historian al-Mas'udi portrays al-Wathiq as "interested in scientific learning and facilitating disputations among physicians". The Graeco-Arabic translation movement continued to flourish under his reign, and the sources also relate some episodes that show al-Wathiq's own "intellectual curiosity", especially as related to issues that could burnish his religious credentials: he reportedly dreamed that the Barrier of Dhu'l-Qarnayn had been breached—probably resulting from news of the movements of the Kirghiz Turks at the time that caused large population shifts among the Turkic nomads of Central Asia — and sent the chancery official Sallam al-Tarjuman to journey to the region and investigate. Likewise, according to Ibn Khordadbeh, the Caliph sent the astronomer al-Khwarizmi to the Byzantines to investigate the legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. 

Al-Wathiq is one of the more obscure Abbasid caliphs.  Al-Wathiq had several concubines. The most famous of them was Qurb, also known as Umm Muhammad. In 833, she gave birth to al-Wathiq's elder son, Muhammad, the future caliph al-Muhtadi. Another known and famous concubine was Faridah, who was also a musician and al-Wathiq's favorite. When al-Wathiq died, the singer Amr ibn Banah presented her to Caliph al-Mutawakkil. He married her, and she became one of his favorites.

Abu Ja‘far Harun al-Wathiq bi-‘llah see Wathiq bi-‘llah, Abu Ja‘far Harun al-

Wattasids
Wattasids (Wattassids) (Waṭāsīyūn) (Banu Wattas) (Banu Watas).  Moroccan dynasty (r.1428-1547 [1554?]).  In the thirteenth century, the Banu Wattas established themselves in the Rif of eastern Morocco.  They became practically independent rulers when their relatives, the Marinids (Merinids), had replaced the Almohads.  Their history is at first linked with that of the Marinids and afterwards closely connected with the Christian attempts to conquer territory in Morocco and with the accession of the Sa‘di Sharifs. The descendants of a branch of the nomadic Zanata on the northern edge of the Sahara, who settled in eastern Morocco and the Rif from the 13th century.  Having come to prominence under their relatives, the Merinids, as viziers and governors they took over the regency for the Merinid child sultans (r. 1358-1374 and 1393-1458). 

The founder of the dynasty Abu Zakariyya’ Yahya (r. 1428-1448) took control of Morocco as vizier after it had lapsed into anarchy following the assassination of the Marinid Abu Sa‘id ‘Uthman III (r. 1399-1420).  He fought successfully the Portuguese who had landed on the Moroccan coasts.  His son ‘Ali, however, could not prevent the fall of al-Qasr al-Saghir, and the third Wattasid vizier, Yahya, was assassinated in 1458 with most of his family.  All but two brothers were slaughtered during the massacre.  The last Marinid ruler Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-Haqq II (r.1428-1465) then tried to govern directly, but he was killed in 1465.  The surviving Wattasid Muhammad al-Sheikh al-Mahdi (Muhammad I al-Shaykh) (r.1472-1505), in Arzila since 1465, from his base there seized power in Fez in 1472 and installed his family’s rule. 

In 1472, the Wattasid Muhammad I al-Shaykh  was able to take Fez, now under Idrisid government, and was proclaimed sultan.   His successors, Muhammad al-Burtugali (r. 1505-1524) and Abu’l-Abbas Ahmad (r. 1524-1550), had to struggle against the invading Portuguese and Spanish, to whom they lost broad coastal territories, and also against the advancing Sadites in the south.  The last Wattasid ruler fell in 1554 during the fight against the Sadites.

The Wattassids were an Amazigh dynasty of Morocco. They followed the Marinids and were followed by the Saadis.

Like the Marinids, they were of Berber Zenata descent. The two families were related, and the Marinids recruited many viziers from the Wattasids. These viziers assumed the powers of the Sultans, seizing power when the last Marinid, Abu Muhammad Abd al-Haqq, who had massacred many of the Wattasids in 1459, was murdered during a popular revolt in Fez in 1465.

Abu Abd Allah al-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Mahdi was the first Wattasid Sultan, but controlled only the northern part of Morocco as the Wattasid sultanate, the south being dominated by the Saadi dynasty.

The Wattasids were finally replaced by the Saadis in 1554.

The Wattasid viziers were:

    * 1420-1448 : Abu Zakariya Yahya
    * 1448-1458 : Ali ibn Yusuf
    * 1458-1459 : Yahya ibn Abi Zakariya Yahya

The Wattasid sultans were:

    * 1472-1504 : Abu Abd Allah al-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya
    * 1504-1526 : Abu Abd Allah al-Burtuqali Muhammad ibn Muhammad
    * 1526-1526 : Abu al-Hasan Abu Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad
    * 1526-1545 : Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad
    * 1545-1547 : Nasir ad-Din al-Qasri Muhammad ibn Ahmad
    * 1547-1549 : Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad
    * 1554-1554 : Abu al-Hasan Abu Hasun Ali ibn Muhammad

The Wattasid dynasty (al-waṭṭāsīyūn) was a ruling dynasty of Morocco. Like the Marinid dynasty, its rulers were of Zenata Berber descent. The two families were related, and the Marinids recruited many viziers from the Wattasids. These viziers assumed the powers of the Sultans, seizing control of the Marinid dynasty's realm when the last Marinid, Abu Muhammad Abd al-Haqq, who had massacred many of the Wattasids in 1459, was murdered during a popular revolt in Fez in 1465.

Abu Abd Allah al-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya was the first Sultan of the Wattasid Dynasty. He controlled only the northern part of Morocco, the south being divided into several principalities. The Wattasids were finally supplanted in 1554, after the Battle of Tadla, by the Saadi dynasty princes of Tagmadert who had ruled all of southern Morocco since 1511.

Morocco endured a prolonged multifaceted crisis in the 15th and early 16th centuries brought about by economic, political, social and cultural issues. Population growth remained stagnant and traditional commerce with the far south was cut off as the Portuguese occupied all seaports. At the same time, the towns were impoverished, and intellectual life was on the decline.

Morocco was in decline when the Berber Wattasids assumed power. The Wattasid family had been the autonomous governors of the eastern Rif since the late 13th century, ruling from their base in Tazouta (near present-day Nador). They had close ties to the Marinid sultans and provided many of the bureaucratic elite. While the Marinid dynasty tried to repel the Portuguese and Spanish invasions and help the kingdom of Granada to outlive the Reconquista, the Wattasids accumulated absolute power through political maneuvering. When the Marinids became aware of the extent of the conspiracy, they slaughtered the Wattasids, leaving only Abu Abd Allah al-Sheikh Muhammad ibn Yahya alive. He went on to found the Kingdom of Fez and establish the dynasty to be succeeded by his son, Mohammed al-Burtuqali, in 1504.

The Wattasid rulers failed in their promise to protect Morocco from foreign incursions and the Portuguese increased their presence on Morocco's coast. Mohammad al-Chaykh's son attempted to capture Asilah and Tangier in 1508, 1511 and 1515, but without success.

In the south, a new dynasty arose, the Saadian dynasty, which seized Marrakesh in 1524 and made it their capital. By 1537, the Saadis were in the ascendent when they defeated the Portuguese Empire at Agadir. Their military successes contrast with the Wattasid policy of conciliation towards the Catholic kings to the north.

As a result, the people of Morocco tended to regard the Saadians as heroes, making it easier for them to retake the Portuguese strongholds on the coast, including Tangiers, Ceuta and Maziyen. The Saadians also attacked the Wattasids who were forced to yield to the new power. In 1554, as Wattasid towns surrendered, the Wattasid sultan, Ali Abu Hassun, briefly retook Fez. The Saadis quickly settled the matter by killing him and, as the last Wattasids fled Morocco by ship, they too were murdered by pirates.

The Wattasid did little to improve general conditions in Morocco following the Reconquista. It was necessary to wait for the Saadians for order to be reestablished and the expansionist ambitions of the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula to be curbed.

Chronology of Events

• According to the Treaty of Alcacovas (1479), and to the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), Spain recognized the kingdom as being in the Portuguese sphere of influence.
• 1485: Treaty with Spain: The sultanate agrees to not help the Kingdom of Granada, Spain agreed to not capture Moroccan ships in the Alboran Sea. 
• 1488: Portuguese conquer Safi. 
• 1491: Muhammad XIII, Sultan of Granada (El Zagal) went to Fez but was captured and blinded.
• 1492: Arrival of Spanish Muslims and Jews.
• 1497: Spain captures Melilla. 
• 1502: Portugal captures Mazagan. 
• 1505: Portugal captures Agadir. 
• 1506: Portugal captures Mogador. 
• 1511: Saadians capture Rabat.
• 1524: Saadians capture Marrakesh. 
• 1541: Saadians capture Agadir. 
• 1541: Saadians capture Safi.
• 1542: Hasan Hâsim captures Tetuan.
• 1548: The last wattasid king is captured by the Saadians.
• 1550: Saadians conquer Fez.

Banu Wattas see Wattasids
Waṭāsīyūn see Wattasids
Wattassids see Wattasids
Banu Watas see Wattasids

Watwat, Rashid al-Din
Watwat, Rashid al-Din (Rashid al-Din Watwat) (Rashid al-Din Vatvat) (Rashid al-Din Muhammad Umar-i Vatvat) (b. c. 1088/1089 CC, Balkh or Bukhara - d. 1182/1183 CC, Khwarazm) was a Persian poet.  He left a Persian translation of the 100 sayings of ‘Ali, and a treatise on rhetoric.

Rashid al-Din Muhammad Umar-i Vatvat was a 12th century royal panegyrist and epistolographer of Persia.

Serving at the court of Khwarazmshah Kings, he is not to be mistaken for a later physician by the name Amin al-Din Rashid al-Din Vatvat.

He also composed qasidehs, but his rhetorical work Hada'iq 'us-sihr ("The Gardens of Magic") is in prose.

Rashid al-Din Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Jalil al-Umari (better known by his nickname of Vatvat ("the swallow"), was a secretary, poet, philologist in the Khwarazmian Empire. In addition to being a prolific author in Arabic and Persian, he also occupied high-ranking offices, serving as the chief secretary and propagandist under the Khwarazmshahs Atsiz (r. 1127/8–1156) and Il Arslan (r. 1156–1172).

Although Vatvat spent most of his life in the Khwarazmian capital of Gurganj, he was himself a native of Balkh or Bukhara. He mainly composed panegyric qasidehs, but his rhetorical work Hada'iq al-sihr fi daqa'iq al-shi'r ("Gardens of Magic in the Subtleties of Poetry") is in prose.

Vatvat was born in 1088/1089 CC in either the city of Balkh or Bukhara, to a Sunni Persian family, which claimed descent from the second Caliph Omar (r. 634–644). Vatvat was educated at a Nizamiya madrasa in Balkh, where he became well-read in the Arabic philological tradition. There he became a katib (scribe) by craft, and moved to the Central Asian region of Khwarazm, where he remained the rest of his life under the service of the ruling Khwarazmshahs. There Vatvat distinguished himself as a court poet, and as a result was given the post of sahib divan al-insha (chief secretary) by Khwarazmshah Atsiz (r. 1127/1128–1156), which he retained under the latter's son and successor, Il-Arslan (r. 1156–1172). Under the two Khwarazmshahs, Vatvat also served as a propagandist, circulating rumors that the Seljuk Empire was near its end, and the Khwarazmshahs were in the ascendancy. Vatvat's loyalty towards Atsiz earned him the hostility of the latter's overlord, the Seljuk ruler Ahmad Sanjar (r. 1118–1157), who, at one point, was determined to have Vatvat cut into 30 pieces, but was talked out of it by his chief secretary Muntajab al-Din Juvayni. Vatvat died in 1182/1183 in Khwarazm.

According to 15th-century biographer Dawlatshah Samarqandi, Vatvat was given the nickname "Vatvat" (the swallow) due to his small size and eloquent words. He was disliked by several poets and courtiers due to his bad temper, which led them to mock him at court meetings for his small size and baldness. Vatvat successfully defended himself against these taunts with his rhetorical skills.

The divan of Vatvat, written in Persian, contains 8,500 verses, mainly panegyric qasidas often dedicated to Atsiz. Due to his position as a poet laureate of the court, Vatvat was in extensive poetic correspondence with the leading poets of his time, such as Khaqani, Adib Sabir, and Anvari, who all praised him. Vatvat also praised them (particularly Adib Sabir) in his own poems, but his panegyrics were often written in a satirical way either due to the change in political climate or because of his notably bad temper.

Rashid al-Din Vatvat see Rashid al-Din Watwat

Rashid al-Din Watwat see Watwat, Rashid al-Din
Rashid al-Din Muhammad Umar-i Vatvāt see Watwat, Rashid al-Din
Rashid al-Din Vatvat see Watwat, Rashid al-Din

Wayto
Wayto (Weyto).  The Wayto of Lake Tana in north central Ethiopia are one of the rare remnants of the pre-agricultural African peoples (hunters, gatherers and fishermen) and constitute one of the few instances in the world of Muslim hunters.  They live in scattered settlements on the Tana shore and dispersed among Amhara peoples further inland.  Wayto in both locations may total as many as 2,000, but they are constantly “passing” and disappearing into the society of the Amhara peoples, the dominant people of Ethiopia.  They spoke their own indigenous language and possessed an aboriginal religion in the late eighteenth century, but since at least the mid-nineteenth century the Wayto speak only Amharic (an Ethno-Semitic language) and profess to be Muslims.

The Weyto people were a group of hippopotamus hunters who once spoke the Weyto language. They lived in Ethiopia near Lake Tana. They were never a large community, but they were not always endangered. Their language is now an extinct language. Ninety-three percent (93%) of these people speak Amharic, the dominating language. Since Weyto has been extinct for quite some time, it is little known and considered an unclassified language.

The Weyto (also Wayto) are a caste living in the Amhara region along the shore of Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia. They worship the Nile River. They currently live in Bahir Dar, Abirgha, Dembiya and Alefa. The Weyto also make up part of the population of the Blue Nile Falls and Fogera. 

The Weyto are thought to have been one of the Konso tribes that migrated to northern Ethiopia, assimilating through time as a caste among the dominant Amhara people. Their endogamous stratum has existed in the hierarchical Amhara society, one of the largest ethnic groups found in Ethiopia and neighboring regions. Their hereditary occupation was hunting and leather work (tanning).

The general term for hunter-gatherers in Ethiopia is Wayṭo/Woyṭo in Amharic (Uoïto in Italian records), Watta (pl. Watto) in Oromo, Fuga in the Gurage, and Manjo (Mangio in Italian records) in Kafa. At least one group is reported to have called themselves Addo or Addoye, though that may be the Oromo word for 'potters', another minority caste. Despite being lumped under common terms for hunter-gatherer, the Amharic-speaking Wayṭo of Lake Tana are a distinct people from the Kafa-speaking Manjō of the Keffa Zone, as well as from other Wayṭo/Watta/Fuga groups elsewhere in Ethiopia.

The Weytos’ livelihood strongly depends on Lake Tana. The Weytos used to fish and hunt hippopotamus.  The Weytos were organised autonomously and equally divided their catch. In the 20th century, the demand for ivory tusks increased. Combined with the introduction of rifles, this led to a rapid decrease of the hippo population, and the Weyto were compelled to turn to fishing and agriculture. By the 1960s, the fish catches decreased also and many Weyto reverted to stone crushing and “tankwa” reed boat preparation. 

Currently, the Weyto rely on the lake (Lake Tana) for fish, papyrus grass, and regression agriculture on the shores. The men produce reed boats for sale, and the women do basketry. Petty trade is a further source of income. The Weyto people are described in historical texts as a group of hippopotamus hunters in Ethiopia around Lake Tana, Lake Zwai, and Bahir Dar.  Due to their diet on hippopotamus meat, the Weyto have been considered an outcast people and despised by the Amhara and other ethnic groups. 

The Weyto have been a small part of a more elaborate Amhara caste system, ranked higher than slaves in its social stratification system. The caste system depended on: endogamy; hierarchical status; restraints on commensality; pollution concepts; traditional occupation; inherited caste membership. Scholars accept that there has been a rigid, endogamous and occupationally closed social stratification among Amhara and other Afro-Asiatic-speaking Ethiopian ethnic groups. 

The Weyto are reported to have once spoken a Weyto language, likely belonging to the Cushitic family. The language became extinct at some point in the 19th century. According to the 1994 national census, 1172 individuals were reported belonging to this ethnic group; it was not an ethnic choice in the 2007 census. The Weyto language was last documented in 1928. It has now disappeared and was replaced by Amharic. 

The Weytos’ religion was related to water. “Abinas” was the God of the Blue Nile and provided resources and health. In return, the people sacrificed animals for Abinas. The Weyto converted to Islam, while continuing to worship the Nile.

The Amhara people consider the Weyto impure, because they eat catfish and supposedly hippopotamus, though the last hippo hunt dates back to the 1960s. The Weyto population has long been marginalized by the Amharas settled on Lake Tana's shores.  For instance, in Bahir Dar, the Weyto are outcasts because their traditional lifestyle is considered impure. For the Orthodox Christians, Weyto food habits are impure, and the Muslim community does not recognize them as true Muslims because they continue worshipping the Nile. Hence, the majority of the population remains wary of the Weyto. Scholarly disregard and the everyday culture of other ethnic groups also causes the dismissal of the Weyto culture.

The health of the Weyto community in Bahir Dar is strongly affected because they continue drinking the lake's water, which has become heavily polluted.

In 1938, an Italian tourist guide noticed well established Weyto villages on Bahir Dar's lakeshore. Currently, the Weyto live in three distinct villages within Bahir Dar's city boundaries; the buildings are made of clay with thatched roofs and have a lifespan of about five years. The Weyto villages need regularly to change their place by order of the authorities for several reasons:

• ritual places are contested by other population groups
• the Amhara have greater financial power to obtain the land
• the Weyto do not hold land titles
• overall, they have a weak position in negotiation

Weyto see Wayto