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Mali’s ancient city
of Timbuktu is steeped in fable, mystique and history; and has been a
fount of knowledge for hundreds of years. Head of the town’s World
Heritage Office, Ali Ould Sidi, recently took journalists on a tour of
the historical sites. He also shared with NEXT some fascinating facts
about Timbuktu.

The meaning of Timbuktu

It means the well
of Buktu. ‘Tin’ in Tourage means ‘well’. According to tradition, there
was a lady in charge of the well. Because we were in the dessert, this
lady Bouktu was providing water and hospitality to travelers and their
animals. Over time the small encampment grew. By the 16th century, the
town had a population of over 100,000 people.

According to our
history, there were several waves of migration of people here. There
were barbarians that were occupying these lands. Two years ago, I was
working with a professor from Harvard University who discovered a new
town that is older than Timbuktu, east of this place. It is 1000 years
older than Timbuktu. Archeological work is still going on there.

Sankore Mosque and University

To give you an idea
of the extent of knowledge here, let me mention that we had the first
University in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was called Sankore University. 25,
000 students from all over were in that university. It was established
in the 14th century. We had top knowledge at that University. We had
professors from everywhere and some of them, when they got here, they
changed their minds and instead of being professors, they became
students. Others went away to gather more knowledge before returning.

We have found a
manuscript dealing with Mathematics. That course was [taught] at this
university in the 15th century. We have translated it into French and
evaluated the level. The same programme is offered at the second level
of Universities in France. This shows the level of learning.

Most of the
manuscripts are in Arabic although there are some in our local
languages – in Bambara, Fulani [and] Songhai, using Arabic scripts.
This is not surprising because Timbuktu was born and funded by Islam
and the geographical location of Timbuktu. It became an international
centre; it was the link between Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa.
Through the trans- Saharan trade, you had manuscripts moving between
the people. The architecture was also influenced by this trade and you
will see buildings that show this. Timbuktu was important because it
was a learning centre that was based on Islamic sciences so the
learning was in Arabic. However, in addition the Islamic studies, we
also had other disciplines.

We need to let
people know that here, in this land of Africa, we had knowledge. That
is why some of our partners, South Africans mostly, choose to support
Timbuktu because of our roots. The roots are here in Timbuktu.

Some historians
believe Timbuktu and the rest of Africa does not have a past [or]
history, because our tradition is oral. But in addition to the oral
tradition we also had manuscripts. You will see them. They deal with
Mathematics, Grammar, Astronomy, Astrology… This shows how important
knowledge was in this part of Africa. This is not hearsay. You will see
the manuscripts. This is something tangible. These manuscripts are the
proof. Contained in these manuscripts are all sorts of knowledge.

The Manuscript Centre

The centre is named
after Ahmed Baba. He was one of our top scholars and was against the
occupation of Timbuktu by Morocco in 1591. He was an encyclopedia. He
was involved in several fields of study. He was a serious scholar. When
Morocco occupied Timbuktu, he was deported and taught in the university
in Morocco for 14 years. Before he was allowed to return, Ahmed Baba
had a dialogue with the King of Morocco but when the dialogue started,
there was a piece of cloth between the two men. And Ahmed Baba said to
the king: only God can speak to people without being seen. If you want
to speak to me as a human being, please have that piece of cloth
removed. It was removed and they had a conversation. The king said to
him: I hear you are very knowledgeable. How can a black man have this
kind of knowledge? Ahmed Baba replied: ‘Tout blanc n’ est pas du lait,
et tout noir n’est pas du charbon’ – meaning: all white is not milk and
all black is not charcoal.

He came back to Timbuktu where he continued to teach until his death.

The main job of the
centrer is to collect the manuscripts, catalogue, record and digitalise
them, make copies and also preserve them, but that is not all. The
second phase is to explain the manuscripts.

In Africa, we have
tangible proof of our history of our past: the written sources which
are our manuscripts and the oral source through the griots or through
architecture.

I remember once we
[hosted] the Director of African studies from Harvard. He was doing a
movie on African sources and he chose Timbuktu, to show the importance
of Sankore but also our manuscripts. Some historians and even
politicians like Nicholas Sarkozy will say: Africa does not have a
history. But this of course is not correct. I have books, if you want
to check, to see the answer African scholars gave to Sarkozy. The
oldest manuscript we have is dated 1204, the beginning of the 13th
century. So from that time we had scholars in Timbuktu, who have been
writing and reading.

The traditional
education had several steps. We had what was called the Economic
School. We had the university and everyone was also required to have
some sort of [craft], to be a tailor or a shoemaker. In the past if you
want to get married, the first question they would ask is: what is your
job? Not like modern jobs but handiwork, because they use to say: if
you have money, money may be lost; and if it is knowledge, even that
can be lost so the only thing that can follow you is your handiwork. By
your handiwork you can survive no matter what. So that is why handiwork
was important in Timbuktu.

We have people who
were working for ten and twenty years as scribes. We also had scribes
whose work was to write out manuscripts using paper that was from
China. We also used food.

The new centre is
thanks to the generosity of Thabo Mbeki and the South Africans. He came
to visit and decided to help. A trust was set up with the help of Mr
Mbeki and some South African business people. Malians are also being
trained in how to care for the manuscripts.

Content of Manuscripts

You have Islamic
Laws, History, Geography, Astrology, Astronomy. You have Human Rights.
We have manuscripts here dealing with the Rights of Women in Africa; it
is not a new start in Africa. We also have manuscripts dealing with
governance: how to govern and not get corrupted. Some of the scholars
here did not share the same views as the kings. Let me give you one
example. When the Moroccans occupied Timbuktu, they chose one of the
professors from another University here in Timbuktu, Sidi Yahaya
University. Mohammed Bagayogo was made the Kadi, the Chief Judge. But
he said his forefinger only stood witness to God and could not be the
witness to wrong things: “I am a true scholar, I cannot lie”. For
refusing to bear false witness, they put him in jail because he refused
to cooperate with the invaders.

We also have
manuscripts dealing with Traditional Medicine. Now we have people
talking about Sida, AIDS; we have manuscripts dealing with Sida. The
Prophet Mohamed talked about it. He said there will be a bad sexual
disease called Siba, which is the Arabic word for AIDS. In this
manuscript dealing with traditional medicine, the first section talks
about the climate and the environment and vegetation. The second part
deals with disease – the kind of diseases found in the area and how to
find solutions. The book dealing with Siba and other issues was written
in the 14th century. Another book dealing with Pharmacology (17th
century) called Shifa aul Aztav. If you want a source of knowledge, you
come here.

Endangered

The manuscripts
face threats from terminates and other small insects. Fire is also a
threat as is water. But the climate is a desert climate and so it is
not humid and helps with preserving the manuscripts in good condition.
Let me remind you of the nomadic way of preserving manuscripts. When an
encampment is moving, all the manuscripts are gathered and put in a bag
made from animal skin and then we dig a hole and put the bag inside the
hole and we cover it with sand. Then we leave, following our animals
for grass. Then when we come back, we dig the bag out. Sometimes it is
for three months, sometimes six. Most of the manuscripts here are
originals although there are a few copies too. Look at the type of ink
used. Some use black ink, for chapters and observations they use either
green or red ink. Sometimes for new chapters they use a good design.
And since people were wealthy in the past they also used gold. I
remember one such manuscripts was exchanged in Fez, Morocco.

Meaning of the Turban

When you come to
get a degree, once you pass your exam, in addition to the diploma, you
get a turban. The way the turban is tied determines its meaning. For
example, there is the letter A, L and H; the way the Turban is tried on
your head spells Allah, which means you are qualified to speak about
meaning of the Koran. The way it is wrapped will tell people what you
have majored in, Mathematics, Literature, Grammar and so on.

The turban also has
a social meaning. When the turban is going over your ears, it means:
’Please, now you are a teenager, do not listen to everything people are
saying’. A turban over your mouth means: ‘Please, do not say bad
things’. The ties over the head refer to your duties and
responsibilities in society, now that you are a teenager. Once you get
the turban, it also means you are allowed to lead prayers and be a
Chief in the society

The Great Mosque

The [Djingareyber]
Mosque was built in 1325 by Kanka Moussa. He brought in an Egyptian
architect , Abu Es Haq Es Saheli to do the work and paid him 200kg of
gold. Since 1325, the mosque has not changed. The first row is about
100 meters long and there are nine rows. The place is cool and one
could think it is air-conditioned, but it is not. The style adopted was
the Sudanese style with wide walls and heat does not get through this
kind of walls; that is why it is cool all day. All the restoration work
done try to maintain the same style. The floor is graduated as you can
see and during the rainy season the water flows down so there is a
natural drainage. Four new rows were added to the original mosque built
by Kanka Moussa. This extension was in the 15th century, so you can see
the different architectural styles if you look carefully. It is also
believed that this mosque was built on the ruins of another mosque.
Archaeologists came and did some digging, four metres down and found
evidence of that mosque. There were some transcriptions on the wall
that we still have not been able to decipher. Although the writing is
Arabic, we still have not been able to understand [it].

Peace Monument

It was here that
the Toureg rebellion ended on the 26 March, 1990. Over 2000 guns were
burned here in the presence of former president Omar Konare and former
Ghananian president, Jerry Rawlings. When they burned the guns, the ash
was used to build the peace monument. The handful of rebel groups who
refused to sign the peace agreement are represented by the stones.