Johannesburg - An argument made sharply by many radical African scholars is one against the false claim that colonialism brought all knowledge in different fields of learning into the continent. Colonial historiography is based on the fallacy that Africa and other continents – the Americas, Asia, and Australasia – were tabula rasae on which colonists scripted the gift of knowledge.
Some scholars, such as Cheikh Anta Diop (The African Origin of Civilisation: Myth or Reality) and George James (Stolen Legacy: Greek Philosophy is Stolen Egyptian Philosophy) went further, to try and show that some of the greatest philosophical and scientific knowledge systems can be traced to Africa. Of course, some of their ideas have been heavily contested as being "politically useful mythology" that fails historical and scientific scrutiny. Whether these rebuttals against Diop, James and many others are true, or a denial of African scholarship, is a matter students of history should continue to debate.
In the middle of these debates on the veracity or not of African claims to higher scholarship, there are many developments that cannot be disputed. The collections of manuscripts in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu are physical proof of the existence of higher scholarship on the continent before the onset of colonialism.
Referred to both scholarly and colloquially as the Manuscripts of Timbuktu, or the Timbuktu Manuscripts, the collections – estimated to contain over 300 000 manuscripts, held in public libraries and private collections – are a showpiece of scholarship in fields including the hard sciences, medicine, astronomy and social sciences.
The Manuscripts of Timbuktu: Secrets, Myths, and Realities, edited by Jean-Michel Djian, is one of the thousands of scholarly books and journal articles written mainly since 2000 (there were a few before then) that focus on this vast treasure as a whole, or aspects of it. In fact, any serious scholar would know that it is best to focus on a single or few aspects of the manuscripts instead of attempting the impossible feat of writing about the whole collection. Such is the vastness of the manuscripts. It will take more scholars and generations to provide a comprehensive understanding of the wisdom that is contained in the many collections spread throughout Mali.
The major contribution that the chronicling of the Timbuktu manuscript makes to African history and scholarship is that it presents irrefutable evidence that we struggle to find with the earlier civilisations, forcing us to rely on archaeology and related disciplines: ancient Carthage (Tunisia), Kemet (Egypt and Sudan), Munhumutapa (Zimbabwe), Azania (East and Southern Africa) and Mapungubwe here at home.
The book starts off by retracing modern interest in the Timbuktu manuscripts. Founded by the Tuaregs at the end of the 5th century, Timbuktu grew to become a flourishing city of trade and commerce. The two main commodities for the city were gold and salt. At the root of the scholarship that was to come out of Timbuktu was the emergence and growth in power and influence of the Songhay Empire and its ability to attract and grow trade in the land.
As economic historians would argue, cities develop out of either manufacturing or trade, or a combination of the two. This often leads to innovation and science, and other areas of human ingenuity – arts, literature, writing and sports. Djian notes: “The commerce based at Timbuktu played a role in Africa’s evolution by attracting scholars and facilitating a dynamic and unprecedented era of intellectual prosperity.”
The intellectual prosperity of Timbuktu was thus a dynamic progression, which is characteristic of similar developments on the continent. For instance, Kemet (Egypt and Sudan) owe its intellectual advancement largely to the strategic economic importance of the Nile River; Azania (East and Southern Africa) gained from agriculture and marine resources; while Munhumutapa (Zimbabwe) and Mapungubwe (Limpopo) thrived due largely to gold mining and agriculture.
The next section of the book is a selection of some of the areas treated in the manuscripts. A well-developed legislative regime comes out clearly, influenced as it were by the Islamic legal system. Of interest was the fact that legal scholars in Timbuktu did not function in isolation from others in different regions on the continent. Included in the collection is correspondence with Egyptian scholars on matters of law, theology, ethics and syntax.
The section on governance would be of interest to those wrestling with how European governance models continue to dominate the political and corporate governance theory and practices on the continent. From the Greek and Roman models through to the English Magna Carta, which was a predecessor to liberal governance models as we now know them, European models continue to be presented as the only guides that we may draw from. The Timbuktu manuscripts dispel this myth.
A treatise on good governance compiled by Abdul Karim Al Maguly, who was an advisor to one of the emperors, contains guidelines on such important and still relevant matters as "practicing good faith and why rulers must govern with wisdom and justice", measures to ensure government organisation, diplomacy, the need for rulers to stay informed on all current affairs, taxes and investments.
Let’s listen to Maguly's wisdom contained in a manuscript with relevance to our current challenges as a country. On the need to stay informed, Maguly says: “The ruler should be aware that the relative success of his administration is the direct result of his own actions: he himself will be judged according to the good or evil things that they do.”. He also says: “Only suitable candidates should be selected to replace those who are removed from office.”. Can we say with confidence that those who replaced the ones accused of corruption are more suitable? Just judge by whether the lights are on in the house as you read this review.
There are sections on property, medicine and respect for knowledge and scholarship. There was also an active exchange of scholarship between Timbuktu and other centres of knowledge in Egypt, for instance, with students coming from Egypt to learn and vice versa.
As indicated earlier, there are many books written on Timbuktu. Some are based on scientific efforts to save the manuscripts, digitise, translate, as well as analyse them. Others are produced around the myths of Timbuktu.
Like many ancient achievements, discussions on Timbuktu’s manuscripts are "peppered" with legends and exaggerations. At times these are formed to protect the image of a continent whose civilisations were ignored and suppressed for many years. At other times, they are an expression of an undying yearning for total liberation that Africa is still struggling to attain. In that regard, myths and legends have the real benefit of sustaining our resilience. For so long as they do not make us delusional!
Short and written in accessible language, The Manuscripts of Timbuktu: Secrets, Myths, and Realities is a valuable contribution to the scientific study of established ancient African knowledge systems that must be main-streamed by our universities. This and other books offer an irrefutable proof and body of knowledge that should be accessible to students of African history, anthropology, sociology, policy and governance studies.
The Manuscripts of Timbuktu: Secrets, Myths, and Realities is published by Africa World Press (Trenton, New Jersey, US) and is obtainable through online outlets.