Transliterated title: Biniiboo.
The manuscript is a long poem that praises Prophet Muhammad. It celebrates his virtues and retraces his life and the history of his family. It highlights how he overcame the numerous challenges he faced as he sought to spread Islam. According to the owner, Fode Lamine Cisse who was an important Mandinka religious scholar in Pakao, wrote the poem. He was inspired by the Arabic poetry of the Mandinka scholar Shaykh Alpha Diadji. The poem is written in Arabic with extensive interlinear and marginal glosses. A few glosses are vocalized and are written in Soninke Ajami. Red ink is used to highlight key words (including the name of Prophet Muhammad) and some key letters. The color red is also used to cross out some words and phrases. There are also small decorative illustrations in red and black ink with Arabic words written inside them. The small designs include the following shapes: square, rectangle, and circle. Watermarks have been photographed (5 pages total) but the page numbers were not recorded. The manuscript was digitized in the home of the owner (Abdou Khadre Cisse) in the neighborhood of Kandialang in Ziguinchor, Senegal.
Extent and format of original material: 354 pages.
Physical characteristics: Unbound manuscript with an antelope skin book cover. Watermarks can be foung in pages of the document (see last four images), which include designs such as: a crown, the words “Grahams Bond Registered” and the date “1822.” There are signs of water damage throughout the manuscript. On some of the pages there are ink stains, making some words difficult to read.
Owner(s) of original material: Abdou Khadre Cisse.
Author(s) of original material: Fode Lamine Cisse.
Additional script information: Soninke Ajami.
