TEDGlobal 2017
Gus Casely-Hayford: The powerful stories that shaped Africa
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In the vast sweep of history, even an empire can be forgotten. In this wide-ranging talk, Gus Casely-Hayford shares origin stories of Africa that are too often unwritten, lost, unshared. Travel to Great Zimbabwe, the ancient city whose mysterious origins and advanced architecture continue to confound archeologists. Or to the age of Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire whose vast wealth built the legendary libraries of Timbuktu. And consider which other history lessons we might unwittingly overlook.
Gus Casely-Hayford - Cultural historian
Gus Casely-Hayford writes, lectures, curates and broadcasts about African culture. Full bio
Gus Casely-Hayford writes, lectures, curates and broadcasts about African culture. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
Now, Hegel -- he very famously said
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that Africa was a place without history,
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without past, without narrative.
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Yet, I'd argue that no other continent
has nurtured, has fought for,
has nurtured, has fought for,
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has celebrated its history
more concertedly.
more concertedly.
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The struggle to keep
African narrative alive
African narrative alive
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has been one of the most consistent
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and hard-fought endeavors
of African peoples,
of African peoples,
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and it continues to be so.
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The struggles endured and the sacrifices
made to hold onto narrative
made to hold onto narrative
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in the face of enslavement, colonialism,
racism, wars and so much else
racism, wars and so much else
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has been the underpinning narrative
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of our history.
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And our narrative has not just
survived the assaults
survived the assaults
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that history has thrown at it.
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We've left a body of material culture,
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artistic magistery
and intellectual output.
and intellectual output.
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We've mapped and we've charted
and we've captured our histories
and we've captured our histories
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in ways that are the measure
of anywhere else on earth.
of anywhere else on earth.
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Long before the meaningful
arrival of Europeans --
arrival of Europeans --
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indeed, whilst Europe was still
mired in its Dark Age --
mired in its Dark Age --
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Africans were pioneering techniques
in recording, in nurturing history,
in recording, in nurturing history,
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forging revolutionary methods
for keeping their story alive.
for keeping their story alive.
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And living history, dynamic heritage --
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it remains important to us.
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We see that manifest in so many ways.
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I'm reminded of how, just last year --
you might remember it --
you might remember it --
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the first members
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of the al Qaeda-affiliated Ansar Dine
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were indicted for war crimes
and sent to the Hague.
and sent to the Hague.
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And one of the most notorious
was Ahmad al-Faqi,
was Ahmad al-Faqi,
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who was a young Malian,
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and he was charged, not with genocide,
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not with ethnic cleansing,
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but with being one
of the instigators of a campaign
of the instigators of a campaign
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to destroy some of Mali's most
important cultural heritage.
important cultural heritage.
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This wasn't vandalism;
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these weren't thoughtless acts.
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One of the things that al-Faqi said
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when he was asked
to identify himself in court
to identify himself in court
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was that he was a graduate,
that he was a teacher.
that he was a teacher.
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Over the course of 2012,
they engaged in a systematic campaign
they engaged in a systematic campaign
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to destroy Mali's cultural heritage.
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This was a deeply considered waging of war
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in the most powerful way
that could be envisaged:
that could be envisaged:
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in destroying narrative,
in destroying stories.
in destroying stories.
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The attempted destruction of nine shrines,
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the central mosque
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and perhaps as many as 4,000 manuscripts
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was a considered act.
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They understood the power of narrative
to hold communities together,
to hold communities together,
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and they conversely understood
that in destroying stories,
that in destroying stories,
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they hoped they would destroy a people.
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But just as Ansar Dine
and their insurgency
and their insurgency
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were driven by powerful narratives,
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so was the local population's defense
of Timbuktu and its libraries.
of Timbuktu and its libraries.
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These were communities who've grown up
with stories of the Mali Empire;
with stories of the Mali Empire;
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lived in the shadow
of Timbuktu's great libraries.
of Timbuktu's great libraries.
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They'd listened to songs
of its origin from their childhood,
of its origin from their childhood,
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and they weren't about to give up on that
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without a fight.
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Over difficult months of 2012,
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during the Ansar Dine invasion,
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Malians, ordinary people,
risked their lives
risked their lives
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to secrete and smuggle
documents to safety,
documents to safety,
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doing what they could
to protect historic buildings
to protect historic buildings
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and defend their ancient libraries.
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And although they weren't
always successful,
always successful,
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many of the most important manuscripts
were thankfully saved,
were thankfully saved,
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and today each one of the shrines
that was damaged during that uprising
that was damaged during that uprising
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have been rebuilt,
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including the 14th-century mosque
that is the symbolic heart of the city.
that is the symbolic heart of the city.
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It's been fully restored.
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But even in the bleakest periods
of the occupation,
of the occupation,
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enough of the population of Timbuktu
simply would not bow
simply would not bow
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to men like al-Faqi.
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They wouldn't allow their history
to be wiped away,
to be wiped away,
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and anyone who has visited
that part of the world,
that part of the world,
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they will understand why,
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why stories, why narrative, why histories
are of such importance.
are of such importance.
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History matters.
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History really matters.
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And for peoples of African descent,
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who have seen their narrative
systematically assaulted over centuries,
systematically assaulted over centuries,
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this is critically important.
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This is part of a recurrent echo
across our history
across our history
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of ordinary people making a stand
for their story, for their history.
for their story, for their history.
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Just as in the 19th century,
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enslaved peoples of African
descent in the Caribbean
descent in the Caribbean
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fought under threat of punishment,
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fought to practice their religions,
to celebrate Carnival,
to celebrate Carnival,
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to keep their history alive.
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Ordinary people were prepared
to make great sacrifices,
to make great sacrifices,
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some even the ultimate sacrifice,
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for their history.
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And it was through control of narrative
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that some of the most devastating
colonial campaigns were crystallized.
colonial campaigns were crystallized.
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It was through the dominance
of one narrative over another
of one narrative over another
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that the worst manifestations
of colonialism became palpable.
of colonialism became palpable.
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When, in 1874, the British
attacked the Ashanti,
attacked the Ashanti,
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they overran Kumasi
and captured the Asantehene.
and captured the Asantehene.
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They knew that controlling territory
and subjugating the head of state --
and subjugating the head of state --
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it wasn't enough.
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They recognized that
the emotional authority of state
the emotional authority of state
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lay in its narrative
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and the symbols that represented it,
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like the Golden Stool.
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They understood that control of story
was absolutely critical
was absolutely critical
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to truly controlling a people.
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And the Ashanti understood, too,
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and they never were to relinquish
the precious Golden Stool,
the precious Golden Stool,
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never to completely
capitulate to the British.
capitulate to the British.
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Narrative matters.
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In 1871, Karl Mauch, a German geologist
working in Southern Africa,
working in Southern Africa,
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he stumbled across
an extraordinary complex,
an extraordinary complex,
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a complex of abandoned stone buildings.
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And he never quite recovered
from what he saw:
from what he saw:
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a granite, drystone city,
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stranded on an outcrop
above an empty savannah:
above an empty savannah:
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Great Zimbabwe.
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And Mauch had no idea who was responsible
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for what was obviously
an astonishing feat of architecture,
an astonishing feat of architecture,
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but he felt sure of one single thing:
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this narrative needed to be claimed.
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He later wrote that the wrought
architecture of Great Zimbabwe
architecture of Great Zimbabwe
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was simply too sophisticated,
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too special to have
been built by Africans.
been built by Africans.
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Mauch, like dozens of Europeans
that followed in his footsteps,
that followed in his footsteps,
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speculated on who
might have built the city.
might have built the city.
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And one went as far as to posit,
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"I do not think that I am far wrong
if I suppose that that ruin on the hill
if I suppose that that ruin on the hill
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is a copy of King Solomon's Temple."
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And as I'm sure you know, Mauch,
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he hadn't stumbled upon
King Solomon's Temple,
King Solomon's Temple,
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but upon a purely African
complex of buildings
complex of buildings
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constructed by a purely
African civilization
African civilization
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from the 11th century onward.
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But like Leo Frobenius,
a fellow German anthropologist
a fellow German anthropologist
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who speculated some years later,
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upon seeing the Nigerian Ife Heads
for the very first time,
for the very first time,
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that they must have been artifacts
from the long-lost kingdom of Atlantis.
from the long-lost kingdom of Atlantis.
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He felt, just like Hegel,
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an almost instinctive need
to rob Africa of its history.
to rob Africa of its history.
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These ideas are so irrational,
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so deeply held,
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that even when faced
with the physical archaeology,
with the physical archaeology,
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they couldn't think rationally.
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They could no longer see.
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And like so much of Africa's relationship
with Enlightenment Europe,
with Enlightenment Europe,
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it involved appropriation, denigration
and control of the continent.
and control of the continent.
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It involved an attempt
to bend narrative to Europe's ends.
to bend narrative to Europe's ends.
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And if Mauch had really wanted
to find an answer to his question,
to find an answer to his question,
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"Where did Great Zimbabwe
or that great stone building come from?"
or that great stone building come from?"
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he would have needed to begin his quest
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a thousand miles away from Great Zimbabwe,
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at the eastern edge of the continent,
where Africa meets the Indian Ocean.
where Africa meets the Indian Ocean.
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He would have needed to trace
the gold and the goods
the gold and the goods
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from some of the great trading emporia
of the Swahili coast to Great Zimbabwe,
of the Swahili coast to Great Zimbabwe,
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to gain a sense of the scale and influence
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of that mysterious culture,
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to get a picture of Great Zimbabwe
as a political, cultural entity
as a political, cultural entity
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through the kingdoms and the civilizations
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that were drawn under its control.
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For centuries, traders have been drawn
to that bit of the coast
to that bit of the coast
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from as far away as India
and China and the Middle East.
and China and the Middle East.
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And it might be tempting to interpret,
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because it's exquisitely
beautiful, that building,
beautiful, that building,
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it might be tempting to interpret it
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as just an exquisite, symbolic jewel,
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a vast ceremonial sculpture in stone.
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But the site must have been a complex
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at the center of a significant
nexus of economies
nexus of economies
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that defined this region for a millennium.
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This matters.
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These narratives matter.
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Even today, the fight to tell our story
is not just against time.
is not just against time.
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It's not just against
organizations like Ansar Dine.
organizations like Ansar Dine.
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It's also in establishing
a truly African voice
a truly African voice
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after centuries of imposed histories.
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We don't just have
to recolonize our history,
to recolonize our history,
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but we have to find ways to build back
the intellectual underpinning
the intellectual underpinning
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that Hegel denied was there at all.
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We have to rediscover African philosophy,
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African perspectives, African history.
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The flowering of Great Zimbabwe --
it wasn't a freak moment.
it wasn't a freak moment.
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It was part of a burgeoning change
across the whole of the continent.
across the whole of the continent.
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Perhaps the great exemplification of that
was Sundiata Keita,
was Sundiata Keita,
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the founder of the Mali Empire,
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probably the greatest empire
that West Africa has ever seen.
that West Africa has ever seen.
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Sundiata Keita was born about 1235,
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growing up in a time of profound flux.
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He was seeing the transition
between the Berber dynasties to the north,
between the Berber dynasties to the north,
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he may have heard about the rise
of the Ife to the south
of the Ife to the south
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and perhaps even the dominance
of the Solomaic Dynasty
of the Solomaic Dynasty
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in Ethiopia to the east.
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And he must have been aware
that he was living through a moment
that he was living through a moment
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of quickening change,
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of growing confidence in our continent.
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He must have been aware of new states
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that were building their influence
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from as far afield as Great Zimbabwe
and the Swahili sultanates,
and the Swahili sultanates,
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each engaged directly or indirectly
beyond the continent itself,
beyond the continent itself,
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each driven also to invest in securing
their intellectual and cultural legacy.
their intellectual and cultural legacy.
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He probably would have engaged
in trade with these peer nations
in trade with these peer nations
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as part of a massive continental nexus
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of great medieval African economies.
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And like all of those great empires,
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Sundiata Keita invested in securing
his legacy through history
his legacy through history
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by using story --
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not just formalizing
the idea of storytelling,
the idea of storytelling,
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but in building a whole convention
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of telling and retelling his story
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as a key to founding a narrative
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for his empire.
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And these stories, in musical form,
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are still sung today.
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Now, several decades
after the death of Sundiata,
after the death of Sundiata,
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a new king ascended the throne,
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Mansa Musa, its most famous emperor.
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Now, Mansa Musa is famed
for his vast gold reserves
for his vast gold reserves
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and for sending envoys to the courts
of Europe and the Middle East.
of Europe and the Middle East.
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He was every bit as ambitious
as his predecessors,
as his predecessors,
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but saw a different kind of route
of securing his place in history.
of securing his place in history.
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In 1324, Mansa Musa
went on pilgrimage to Mecca,
went on pilgrimage to Mecca,
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and he traveled
with a retinue of thousands.
with a retinue of thousands.
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It's been said that 100 camels
each carried 100 pounds of gold.
each carried 100 pounds of gold.
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It's been recorded that he built
a fully functioning mosque
a fully functioning mosque
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every Friday of his trip,
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and performed so many acts of kindness,
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that the great Berber chronicler,
Ibn Battuta, wrote,
Ibn Battuta, wrote,
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"He flooded Cairo with kindness,
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spending so much in the markets
of North Africa and the Middle East
of North Africa and the Middle East
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that it affected the price of gold
into the next decade."
into the next decade."
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And on his return,
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Mansa Musa memorialized his journey
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by building a mosque
at the heart of his empire.
at the heart of his empire.
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And the legacy of what he left behind,
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Timbuktu,
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it represents one of the great bodies
of written historical material
of written historical material
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produced by African scholars:
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about 700,000 medieval documents,
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ranging from scholarly works to letters,
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14:30
which have been preserved
often by private households.
often by private households.
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And at its peak,
in the 15th and 16th centuries,
in the 15th and 16th centuries,
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the university there was as influential
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as any educational
establishment in Europe,
establishment in Europe,
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attracting about 25,000 students.
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This was in a city
of around 100,000 people.
of around 100,000 people.
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It cemented Timbuktu
as a world center of learning.
as a world center of learning.
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14:55
But this was a very particular
kind of learning
kind of learning
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14:59
that was focused and driven by Islam.
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15:03
And since I first visited Timbuktu,
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I've visited many other
libraries across Africa,
libraries across Africa,
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and despite Hegel's view
that Africa has no history,
that Africa has no history,
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15:14
not only is it a continent
with an embarrassment of history,
with an embarrassment of history,
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15:18
it has developed unrivaled systems
for collecting and promoting it.
for collecting and promoting it.
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There are thousands of small archives,
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15:26
textile drum stores,
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15:28
that have become more than repositories
of manuscripts and material culture.
of manuscripts and material culture.
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15:33
They have become fonts
of communal narrative,
of communal narrative,
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15:36
symbols of continuity,
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15:38
and I'm pretty sure that many
of those European philosophers
of those European philosophers
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15:41
who questioned an African
intellectual tradition
intellectual tradition
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15:45
must have, beneath their prejudices,
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15:48
been aware of the contribution
of Africa's intellectuals
of Africa's intellectuals
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15:53
to Western learning.
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15:54
They must have known
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1238
15:56
of the great North African
medieval philosophers
medieval philosophers
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15:59
who had driven the Mediterranean.
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16:01
They must have known about
and been aware of
and been aware of
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16:04
that tradition that is part
of Christianity, of the three wise men.
of Christianity, of the three wise men.
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16:09
And in the medieval period,
Balthazar, that third wise man,
Balthazar, that third wise man,
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16:14
was represented as an African king.
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16:16
And he became hugely popular
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16:19
as the third intellectual leg
of Old World learning,
of Old World learning,
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16:23
alongside Europe and Asia, as a peer.
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16:27
These things were well-known.
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16:31
These communities
did not grow up in isolation.
did not grow up in isolation.
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3624
16:35
Timbuktu's wealth and power developed
because the city became
because the city became
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16:39
a hub of lucrative
intercontinental trade routes.
intercontinental trade routes.
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16:43
This was one center
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16:45
in a borderless, transcontinental,
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16:48
ambitious, outwardly focused,
confident continent.
confident continent.
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3887
16:52
Berber merchants,
they carried salt and textiles
they carried salt and textiles
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3922
16:56
and new precious goods and learning
down into West Africa
down into West Africa
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17:00
from across the desert.
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2556
17:03
But as you can see from this map
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17:06
that was produced a little time
after the life of Mansa Musa,
after the life of Mansa Musa,
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4245
17:10
there was also a nexus
of sub-Saharan trade routes,
of sub-Saharan trade routes,
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4602
17:15
along which African ideas and traditions
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3260
17:18
added to the intellectual
worth of Timbuktu
worth of Timbuktu
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3623
17:22
and indeed across the desert to Europe.
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2980
17:26
Manuscripts and material culture,
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3730
17:30
they have become fonts
of communal narrative,
of communal narrative,
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4927
17:35
symbols of continuity.
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2043
17:37
And I'm pretty sure that
those European intellectuals
those European intellectuals
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17:41
who cast aspersions on our history,
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3734
17:45
they knew fundamentally
about our traditions.
about our traditions.
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3915
17:50
And today, as strident forces
like Ansar Dine and Boko Haram
like Ansar Dine and Boko Haram
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4710
17:54
grow popular in West Africa,
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1913
17:56
it's that spirit of truly indigenous,
dynamic, intellectual defiance
dynamic, intellectual defiance
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5610
18:02
that holds ancient
traditions in good stead.
traditions in good stead.
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2954
18:05
When Mansa Musa made Timbuktu his capital,
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3199
18:08
he looked upon the city
as a Medici looked upon Florence:
as a Medici looked upon Florence:
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3978
18:12
as the center of an open, intellectual,
entrepreneurial empire
entrepreneurial empire
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18:17
that thrived on great ideas
wherever they came from.
wherever they came from.
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18:21
The city, the culture,
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2249
18:23
the very intellectual DNA of this region
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18:26
remains so beautifully
complex and diverse,
complex and diverse,
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3693
18:30
that it will always remain, in part,
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2669
18:32
located in storytelling traditions
that derive from indigenous,
that derive from indigenous,
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4312
18:37
pre-Islamic traditions.
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1765
18:39
The highly successful form of Islam
that developed in Mali became popular
that developed in Mali became popular
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18:44
because it accepted those freedoms
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18:46
and that inherent cultural diversity.
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18:49
And the celebration of that complexity,
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18:51
that love of rigorously
contested discourse,
contested discourse,
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18:55
that appreciation of narrative,
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1844
18:57
was and remains, in spite of everything,
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19:00
the very heart of West Africa.
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3410
19:04
And today, as the shrines and the mosque
vandalized by Ansar Dine
vandalized by Ansar Dine
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4582
19:08
have been rebuilt,
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1157
19:10
many of the instigators
of their destruction have been jailed.
of their destruction have been jailed.
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3827
19:13
And we are left with powerful lessons,
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2902
19:16
reminded once again
of how our history and narrative
of how our history and narrative
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19:21
have held communities
together for millennia,
together for millennia,
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3907
19:25
how they remain vital
in making sense of modern Africa.
in making sense of modern Africa.
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3726
19:29
And we're also reminded
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1510
19:31
of how the roots of this confident,
intellectual, entrepreneurial,
intellectual, entrepreneurial,
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5024
19:36
outward-facing, culturally porous,
tariff-free Africa
tariff-free Africa
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4784
19:41
was once the envy of the world.
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19:44
But those roots, they remain.
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19:46
Thank you very much.
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(Applause)
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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