Ford Foundation Supports Preservation of West Africa's Rich Literary Traditions
Ancient Timbuktu manuscripts reveal region's substantial
intellectual legacy
4 March 2008—The Ford Foundation is supporting an ambitious effort to preserve hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts in Timbuktu, Mali. Mostly written in Arabic, the documents provide a detailed record of the daily and intellectual life of Timbuktu from the 12th century onward. These manuscripts are part of the world's collective memory and provide great insight into African history and culture. With support from the Ford Foundation, long-term efforts are underway to protect, restore and open up these scholarly works to researchers. Throughout our history, we have supported those working to build understanding and preserve the diversity of human wisdom and knowledge.
Historic Timbuktu
Located at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert in present-day Mali, Timbuktu was once a major center of academic and religious learning, attracting Muslim scholars from around the world. By the late 16th century, the city began to decline. Gradually the Niger River changed course and the city lost its hold on trade and the wealth that accompanied it. Timbuktu has been listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. Today, researchers are working to document the rich history of this "lost city," preserving more than 700,000 ancient manuscripts rescued from deterioration.
Literary Treasures
The fragile manuscripts, found in Timbuktu and surrounding desert areas, are being translated, studied, catalogued and preserved with support from the Ford Foundation and several other organizations, universities and individuals. The projects are a collaborative effort between the custodians of these library collections—local families and descendants of ancient scholars who have held the manuscripts for generations—and international institutions. The time-worn pages are wrapped in leather and wood covers, some adorned with intricate engravings or elaborate calligraphy. They document a range of subjects from medicine, mathematics and astronomy, to Islamic law, sermons, music, art and architecture.
The first concerted efforts to preserve the manuscripts began nearly 40 years ago. Since then, research centers and private libraries have been working to restore and digitize the manuscripts and make them accessible to scholars worldwide and new generations in Timbuktu. Some of the texts have been acquired from families who recognize the value of preserving the traditions of learning inherited from their ancestors, but most of them remain in private hands. Over the centuries, the manuscripts have been susceptible to termites, humidity, fire and flood damage. Many of the ancient documents have been irreparably damaged, lost or stolen.
Preserving Culture Worldwide
The Ford Foundation's support of Timbuktu manuscript projects reflects our longstanding commitment to celebrating the diversity of human wisdom and building global awareness of intellectual and cultural legacies. The foundation works with a range of grantees dedicated to preserving the history and culture of people in the United States and around the world.
Over the years, the foundation has funded a number of other manuscript projects, including efforts in Ethiopia, Indonesia and India. We have also supported preserving, cataloguing and binding documents from the Federal Writers' Project, part of the Depression-era Works Progress Administration.
Recent grants have also supported:
- Design and development of the Smithsonian Institution's planned National Museum of African-American History in Washington, D.C.
- Production of "The Last Epos Teller," a documentary film about the Entsy, a indigenous ethnic group living in Siberia
- Post-production of "Tootie's Last Suit," a documentary tribute to New Orleans' Mardi Gras Indian culture
- The Chiapas Photography Project to preserve and promote indigenous culture in Mexico
- Rennie Harris Puremovement's production of festivals, workshops and other activities aimed at preserving and disseminating hip-hop culture
- ANO Creative Association's series of expeditions to document and record the traditional music and folklore of Udmurt communities in the central Volga region of Russia
- China's Shaanxi History Museum for research on policies and practices for protecting cultural heritage sites
In addition, the foundation is the largest supporter of Native American arts and culture in the United States, having invested more than $80 million in Native American programs over the last 20 years.
Timbuktu Manuscripts
Since 2000, the Ford Foundation has provided more than $3.3 million to preserve the rich heritage of Timbuktu. A grant from our West Africa office in Lagos, Nigeria, helped the Ahmed Baba Institute for Advanced Study and Islamic Research train local residents in manuscript preservation. We also provided funding to establish the Institute for the Study for Islamic Thought in Africa at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The institute has developed a network of African scholars to analyze Timbuktu manuscripts and ascertain what they reveal about how Islam developed in Africa.
Recent grantees include:
SAVAMA-DCI
A $590,335 grant provides continued support to Association Tombouctienne de Sauvegarde et de Valorisation des Manuscrits et pour la Defense de la Culture Islamique (SAVAMA-DCI), a Malian association of private Islamic libraries, to raise awareness about the poor condition of the manuscripts; restore documents and renovate storage environments; encourage the scholarly exchange necessary to interpret and learn from the manuscripts; and provide sustainable funding for SAVAMA-DCI.
Aid Transparency
A $200,000 grant enables Aid Transparency to provide technical support to SAVAMA-DCI's conservation of and advocacy for Mali's ancient manuscripts and to promote Africa-wide exchanges and collaboration among various communities working with ancient manuscripts.
University of Cape Town
The university's Timbuktu-UCT Manuscripts Project began in 2004 with a grant from our Southern Africa office in Johannesburg. A new $250,300 grant supports the second phase of the project, which includes translating, analyzing and digitizing pre-colonial manuscripts, and training researchers in South Africa, Mali and other African countries, as well as post-graduate students, in the documentation process.
Dogged Films
A $196,000 grant supports the production of "The Scribes of Timbuktu," a documentary film about South African and Malian researchers translating and preserving manuscripts that detail the achievements of medieval African astronomers and other scholars.
View slide show on Timbuktu manuscript restoration efforts.
Read more about the origin and legacy of Timbuktu manuscripts on page 6 of Ford Reports.
Photo:
Ami Vitale