Telling the African story through ‘western eyes’?

Summary

Prior to the art of writing, memory and oral presentation were amongst the tactics by which history was preserved in people’s minds, whether of the same generation or those who were still younger. This never nor was it intended to reflect the truthful and objective version, as truth does not exist. However, history was always told from the platform of power and dominance within the society.  Following modernisation, the integral part of the African way of life has taken a backseat. Rather than the fire-side tale, books and the construction of monuments remind people about the past events. In this paper, I offer an African voice by reflecting on the debates on whether there is a distinction between inscribed history and memory in the African context. Central to this is the discussion on what history actually is, and whether it can ever be an objective representation of previous occurrences.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013   •
• History, archaeology, and memory work in African contexts

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 746