Moreover, Timbuktu’s community has experienced a difficult period of conflict followed by an equally difficult phase of stabilisation, which is still not completed. The relocated manuscripts are still in Bamako and such displacement of heritage acutely affects the city’s cultural identity. Thanks to joint efforts, however, large parts of Timbuktu’s collections were covertly moved to Bamako and underwent preservation treatment carried out by Malian and international institutions, including CSMC. Over the course of military occupation, many manuscripts were burnt and destroyed. Why Timbuktu?Įver since extremist groups attacked the city of Timbuktu and its cultural heritage in 2012, the Timbuktu manuscripts have received a lot of public attention. The project takes place in Timbuktu, Mali, and is based on an innovative partnership between CSMC, the United Nations, and the Institut Ahmed Baba of Timbuktu.
Timbuktu manuscripts how to#
The aim of this project is to provide Malian instructors with training on how to conserve, digitise, and catalogue manuscripts in Arabic script.
![timbuktu manuscripts timbuktu manuscripts](https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2015/01/news_1219-890-520-20150824122548.jpg)
Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability.Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Academic Skills.Hamburg Center for University Teaching and Learning (HUL).The Cluster of Excellence Understanding Written Artefacts.The Cluster of Excellence Quantum Universe.Office of Affairs for Students with Disabilities or Chronic Diseases.beluga – Catalogue of Hamburg Libraries.Faculty of Psychology and Human Movement Science.Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences.Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
Timbuktu manuscripts archive#
In 2022 Google Arts & Culture launched an online archive of manuscripts guarded by Haidara and his team. But Haidara eventually built the Mamma Haidara Library in Bamako, naming it after his father, who was also a scholar and keeper of manuscripts. On many occasions Haidara and his allies were threatened by al Qaeda militants and accused of stealing-a crime punishable by death or mutilation. With a small team, Haidara rescued over 350,000 manuscripts from 45 different libraries in and around Timbuktu and hid them in Bamako-the capital of Mali. In 2012, militants tied to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) took over Northern Mali and began destroying anything perceived as haram or forbidden to their religious practice, including generations-old manuscripts that characterized the ancient city of Timbuktu. These were not the only attacks on the legacy of Timbuktu. But when the French arrived in West Africa in the 17th century, many of the cultural products of Timbuktu were looted and taken to Europe, ending the widespread practice of learning through the manuscripts. The city’s manuscripts were still widely used to educate in the Qur'anic schools and great mosques during the Saadian occupation of the Songhai empire. Much of Timbuktu’s centers of learning were destroyed and many people’s possessions, including important manuscripts, were lost.ĭestruction of the manuscripts by the jihadists at the Institute of Ahmed Baba in Timbuktu in 2012. But soon, Timbuktu found itself under threat when the Moroccan Saadian dynasty invaded the Songhai Empire in the late 16th century. Askia Muhammad, a military leader from the Malian city of Gao, reigned from 14 and fortified the Islamic learning tradition in Timbuktu that his predecessors had set forth. The Mali Empire declined in the 15th century, and was replaced by the Songhai Empire. Griots continue to practice today and include Malian musicians such as kora player Toumani Diabaté, who can trace his griot lineage to the Golden Age of Islam. Much like Islamic scholarship and bookmaking in Timbuktu, the role of a griot was only passed down through lineage and was acquired through extensive apprenticeship. Griots originated from the same Mandinka ethnic group that Sundiata hailed from and were responsible for composing his epic.
![timbuktu manuscripts timbuktu manuscripts](https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2017/12/21/4/4/e/44e9bf55-bc4c-4617-ae86-9571a88af386.jpg)
The practice mirrors the West African tradition of oral histories passed down by griots, esteemed West African musicians and storytellers who were the keepers of the history of the empires and royal families. It is not surprising that books in Timbuktu were prized possessions that were passed down from generation to generation.