BOKARI, MARLAY
- 3 Min Read
Marlay Bokari (circa 1800-circa 1900) was ruler over the Mara clan of the Koranko in Sierra Leone in the second half of the 19th century and was a direct descendant of one of the earlier great leaders. Though his authority did not cover the entire Koranko territory, his influence extended well beyond his clan and he was described as ruler of all the Koranko.
He was the great-great-grandson of Mansa Morifing of the Koranko Mara clan, who led the earliest Koranko migrants from Sankaran in the present Republic of Guinea into northeastern Sierra Leone, and who gave his name to Morifindug (now part of the Mongo chiefdom). Tinalei, Marlay Bokari’s father, to whom he was born about the beginning of the 19th century, is described in Koranko traditions as the first ruler of all Ferensola (all territory inhabited by that ethnic group), and his son is described as a ruler even greater than his father.
Based on the town of Yindekuma, located in the present Mongo chiefdom, Koinadugu district, Marlay Bokari ruled the Mara of the northern half of Koranko country in Sierra Leone from about the middle of the 19th century, and his influence reached lower Koranko as well. The Koranko Mara of Barawa (now a section of Nieni chiefdom in Koinadugu), and Sengbe (a chiefdom in Koinadugu) continued to accept his authority until the early 1890s, just before the British occupation of the Sierra Leone hinterland. The ruler of Kama-dugu, Mori Musa (also called Fina Bala) is described as his nephew. When the expansionist campaigns of the Mandinka emperor, Samori, reached the Sierra Leone hinterland in the 1880s, Marlay Bokari’s domain at Morifindugu was threatened. In 1890, he was captured by the Sofa general, Kemoko Bilali, and taken to Samori. Later he was kept prisoner at Heremakono in Sankaran country, close to his original homeland, but recognising his importance Kemoko Bilali gave him good treatment.
Meanwhile, his son, Kumba Wulen Lai, was acknowledged as his deputy over the Koranko, while Mori Musa and Boltamba of the Barawa Koranko round Kabala implored the British to intercede with the Sofa for his release. In 1893, Bokari was set free. He founded a new capital at Kombili, but the unsettled state of the country led him to seek temporary refuge with his lieutenant, Boltamba, in the Wara Wara hills.
By 1895 Morifindug was recovering from the effects of the Sofa invasion. Under Marlay Bokari’s supervision, some 15 new towns were built, and though by then a very old man, from all reports, his authority was still respected. In 1899 he appears as the first paramount chief of Morifindugu, but apparently died the following year to be succeeded by his son Kumba Wulen Lai, then also an old man.
C. MAGBAILY FYLE.
