Gus Casely-Hayford: The powerful stories that shaped Africa
葛斯·凱斯里海佛: 形塑了非洲的強大故事
Gus Casely-Hayford writes, lectures, curates and broadcasts about African culture. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
這樣齊心一致地培養它的歷史,
has nurtured, has fought for,
more concertedly.
African narrative alive
of African peoples,
種族主義,以及戰爭等等,
made to hold onto narrative
所承受的艱苦、所做出的犧牲,
racism, wars and so much else
survived the assaults
and intellectual output.
捕捉了我們的歷史,
and we've captured our histories
of anywhere else on earth.
arrival of Europeans --
黑暗時代中時——
mired in its Dark Age --
和滋養歷史的技術,
in recording, in nurturing history,
for keeping their story alive.
來讓故事延續下去。
不同方式呈現。
you might remember it --
——你們可能還記得——
伊斯蘭衛士的最早的成員
而後被送到海牙。
and sent to the Hague.
就是艾哈邁德·艾法奇
was Ahmad al-Faqi,
of the instigators of a campaign
important cultural heritage.
to identify himself in court
而且他是老師。
that he was a teacher.
they engaged in a systematic campaign
一個規劃完善的活動,
人能想像出來最強大的方式來
that could be envisaged:
in destroying stories.
to hold communities together,
能將社區團結起來的力量,
通過摧毀故事,
that in destroying stories,
and their insurgency
及其圖書館所做的防禦也一樣。
of Timbuktu and its libraries.
聽著馬里帝國的故事長大;
with stories of the Mali Empire;
圖書館的影子底下。
of Timbuktu's great libraries.
關於廷巴克圖起源的歌曲,
of its origin from their childhood,
risked their lives
documents to safety,
to protect historic buildings
always successful,
都很幸運地被保存下來了,
were thankfully saved,
that was damaged during that uprising
它象徵該城市的心臟。
that is the symbolic heart of the city.
最令人沮喪的時候,
of the occupation,
就是不願意屈服於
simply would not bow
to be wiped away,
世界的那個角落的人,
that part of the world,
為什麼歷史有這麼重要。
are of such importance.
systematically assaulted over centuries,
非洲後裔而言,
迴盪在我們那段關於
across our history
而挺身抵抗的歷史當中。
for their story, for their history.
descent in the Caribbean
to celebrate Carnival,
為了慶祝狂歡節而戰,
要做出偉大的犧牲,
to make great sacrifices,
殖民活動才得以存在。
colonial campaigns were crystallized.
of one narrative over another
表現形式才得以具現。
of colonialism became palpable.
attacked the Ashanti,
捕捉了阿散蒂西里王。
and captured the Asantehene.
和制服國家領袖——
and subjugating the head of state --
the emotional authority of state
(註:阿散蒂西里王的寶座)
was absolutely critical
控制一個民族,
不肯交出寶貴的金凳子,
the precious Golden Stool,
capitulate to the British.
德國地理學家卡爾·毛赫
working in Southern Africa,
an extraordinary complex,
from what he saw:
above an empty savannah:
an astonishing feat of architecture,
architecture of Great Zimbabwe
been built by Africans.
他腳步的歐洲人一樣,
that followed in his footsteps,
might have built the city.
是仿效所羅門聖殿的,
if I suppose that that ruin on the hill
King Solomon's Temple,
complex of buildings
由純非洲的文明所建造。
African civilization
李歐·佛洛班尼爾斯
a fellow German anthropologist
伊費青銅頭像時,
for the very first time,
失落的亞特蘭提斯的文物。
from the long-lost kingdom of Atlantis.
他必須掠奪非洲的歷史。
to rob Africa of its history.
with the physical archaeology,
歐洲之間的關係,
with Enlightenment Europe,
佔用、詆毀,和控制。
and control of the continent.
to bend narrative to Europe's ends.
to find an answer to his question,
他的這個問題找到答案:
石建築是從哪裡來的?」
or that great stone building come from?"
展開他的追尋之旅,
非洲和印度洋交接的地方。
where Africa meets the Indian Ocean.
the gold and the goods
追蹤黃金和商品的來源,
of the Swahili coast to Great Zimbabwe,
as a political, cultural entity
吸引到該海岸的那個小區域,
to that bit of the coast
中國、中東等地。
and China and the Middle East.
beautiful, that building,
所形成之重要網路的中心,
nexus of economies
並不只是在對抗時間。
is not just against time.
像伊斯蘭衛士的組織。
organizations like Ansar Dine.
一直被強加上的歷史之後,
a truly African voice
to recolonize our history,
the intellectual underpinning
它並不是個特異的時刻。
it wasn't a freak moment.
across the whole of the continent.
was Sundiata Keita,
西非史上最偉大的帝國。
that West Africa has ever seen.
between the Berber dynasties to the north,
of the Ife to the south
of the Solomaic Dynasty
that he was living through a moment
和蘇丹統治的斯華西里。
and the Swahili sultanates,
與非洲以外有所連結,
beyond the continent itself,
保護它們的知識和文化遺產。
their intellectual and cultural legacy.
in trade with these peer nations
去保護他的歷史遺產,
his legacy through history
the idea of storytelling,
這個想法給正式化,
after the death of Sundiata,
for his vast gold reserves
和中東的朝廷而聞名。
of Europe and the Middle East.
as his predecessors,
可以保護他在歷史上的地位。
of securing his place in history.
went on pilgrimage to Mecca,
with a retinue of thousands.
每隻載著 100 磅的黃金。
each carried 100 pounds of gold.
a fully functioning mosque
伊本·巴圖塔寫到:
Ibn Battuta, wrote,
of North Africa and the Middle East
十年的黃金價格。」
into the next decade."
at the heart of his empire.
建立一座清真寺。
of written historical material
often by private households.
in the 15th and 16th centuries,
establishment in Europe,
of around 100,000 people.
世界學習中心的地位。
as a world center of learning.
kind of learning
libraries across Africa,
that Africa has no history,
with an embarrassment of history,
來收集和推行它。
for collecting and promoting it.
和有形文化的貯藏處。
of manuscripts and material culture.
of communal narrative,
of those European philosophers
intellectual tradition
知識份子對西方學習
of Africa's intellectuals
medieval philosophers
and been aware of
of Christianity, of the three wise men.
Balthazar, that third wise man,
第三隻知識之腳,
of Old World learning,
did not grow up in isolation.
之所以會發展的原因是
because the city became
跨大陸貿易路線的中心。
intercontinental trade routes.
confident continent.
they carried salt and textiles
down into West Africa
年代之後不久製做的,
after the life of Mansa Musa,
of sub-Saharan trade routes,
worth of Timbuktu
of communal narrative,
those European intellectuals
about our traditions.
like Ansar Dine and Boko Haram
如伊斯蘭衛和博科聖地,
知性的反抗精神,
dynamic, intellectual defiance
traditions in good stead.
麥第奇家族看待佛羅倫斯:
as a Medici looked upon Florence:
企業家的帝國的中心,
entrepreneurial empire
偉大點子而興盛。
wherever they came from.
保持著複雜性和多樣性,
complex and diverse,
傳統所衍生出的
that derive from indigenous,
伊斯蘭形式變得很普遍,
that developed in Mali became popular
contested discourse,
任意破壞的聖壇和清真寺
vandalized by Ansar Dine
破壞行為的人已經入獄。
of their destruction have been jailed.
of how our history and narrative
together for millennia,
如何持續扮演不可缺的角色。
in making sense of modern Africa.
面向外、具文化慘透性,
intellectual, entrepreneurial,
tariff-free Africa
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Gus Casely-Hayford - Cultural historianGus Casely-Hayford writes, lectures, curates and broadcasts about African culture.
Why you should listen
Dr. Gus Casely-Hayford is a curator and cultural historian who focuses on African culture. He has presented two series of The Lost Kingdoms of Africa for the BBC and has lectured widely on African art and culture, advising national and international bodies (including the United Nations and the Canadian, Dutch and Norwegian Arts Councils) on heritage and culture.
In 2005, Casely-Hayford deployed his leadership, curatorial, fundraising and communications skills to organize the biggest celebration of Africa that Britain has ever hosted; more than 150 organizations put on more than 1,000 exhibitions and events to showcase African culture. Now, he is developing a National Portrait Gallery exhibition that will tell the story of abolition of slavery through 18th- and 19th-century portraits -- an opportunity to bring many of the most important paintings of black figures together in Britain for the first time.
Gus Casely-Hayford | Speaker | TED.com