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[^0]:    3 Dalia is an Arabic name meaning 'gentle' or 'flower'.  
Said spent most of his childhood in Kukawa with his parents. In his narrative, he describes the customs, economic activities, geographical and political conditions in Kukawa and other parts of Borno and, in the process, confirms what we know about Borno in those years. In addition, he tells us that, as a child, he interacted with the sons of influential people, enjoyed hunting and took part in sham battles. It is clear that his childhood coincided with many important events. After the death of his father, Said continued his Islamic education in a leading school in Kukawa, under one Malam Katory. Furthermore, he indicates that it was during his third year in Malam Katory's school that he was enslaved.  
As noted elsewhere, however, questions arise about one significant detail in his account. Who was the European whom he said he saw in Kukawa in the early 1850s, the British diplomat, Heinrich Barth, as he claimed, or someone else? In his autobiography, he indicates that he met Barth in London, which may be true, but in any event, he clearly knew who Barth was when he published his autobiography in 1873. Barth was not exactly a household name at the time and hence a question arises as to how Said had access to Barth's publications in English, which had only appeared in the United States in 1859 (Lovejoy, 2017). Was Said influenced by Barth's account of his homeland? Further study is required here.