Timbuktu -
Cont'd
Center of Learning in the "Age of
Scholarship"
As an example of the institutions prevalent during Timbuktu's "Age
of Scholarship" Sankore stands out as significant. It had no
central administration, student registers, or prescribed courses of
study; rather, it was composed of several entirely independent
schools or colleges, each run by a single master or imam. Students
associated themselves with a single teacher, and courses took place
in the open courtyards of mosque complexes or private residences.
The primary focus of these schools was the teaching of the Qur'an,
although broader instruction in fields such as logic, astronomy,
and history also took place. Scholars wrote their own books as part
of a socioeconomic model based on scholarship. Buying and selling
of books was more profitable than gold or slaves. Among the most
formidable scholars, professors and lecturers was Ahmed Baba--a
highly distinguished historian frequently quoted in the
Tarikh-es-Sudan and other works.
The Library and
Manuscript Treasures of Timbuktu
The collection of ancient manuscripts at the University of Sankore
and other sites around Timbuktu document the magnificence of the
institution, as well as the city itself, while enabling scholars to
reconstruct the past in fairly intimate detail. Dating from the
16th to the 18th centuries, the ancient manuscripts cover every
aspect of human endeavor and are indicative of the high level of
civilization attained by West Africans during the Middle Ages. In
testament to the glory of Timbuktu, for example, an old West
African proverb states that, "Salt comes from the north, gold from the
south, but the word of God and the treasures of wisdom come from
Timbuktu."
Among the libraries which have been preserving these manuscripts
are: Institut des Hautes Etudes et de Recherche Islamique - Ahmed
Baba, Timbuktu; Mamma Haidara Library; Fondo Kati Library;
Al-Wangari Library; and Mohamed Tahar Library. These libraries are
considered part of the "African Ink Road" that stretched from West
Africa connecting North Africa and East Africa. At one time there
were 120 libraries with manuscripts in Timbuktu and surrounding
areas. There are more than one million objects preserved in Mali
with an additional 20 million in other parts of Africa, the largest
concentration of which is in Sokoto, Nigeria, although the full
extent of the manuscripts is unknown. During the colonial era
efforts were made to conceal the documents after a number of entire
libraries were stolen and taken to Paris, London and other parts of
Europe. Some manuscripts were buried underground, while others were
hidden in the desert or in caves. Many are still hidden today. The
United States Library of Congress microfilmed a sampling of the
manuscripts during an exhibit there in June of 2003.
Ravage and Decline
The city began to decline after explorers and slavers from Portugal
and then other European countries landed in West Africa, providing
an alternative to the slave market of Timbuktu and the trade route
through the world's largest desert. The decline was hastened when
it was invaded by Morisco mercenaries in the service of the
Moroccan sultan in 1591. The colonial era signaled an end to the
connection with Timbuktu's past with an emphasis on identifying
with the "home country."
In 1824, a French-based organisation offered a prize to the first
non-Muslim to reach the town -- not realising the American Robert
Adams has probably visited in 1811. Gordon Laing made it in 1826
but was killed shortly after leaving, making René Caillié the first
European to return, having visited in 1828. Only two other
Europeans reached the city before 1890: Heinrich Barth in 1853 and
Oskar Lenz in 1880.
In the 1990s, Timbuktu came under attack from Tuareg people hoping
to build their own state. The Tuareg Rebellion was symbolically
ended with an arms buring in the town in 1996.
Timbuktu Today
Today, Timbuktu is an impoverished town, although its reputation
makes it a tourist attraction. It one of the seven regions of Mali,
home to the local governor. It is the sister city to Djenne (also
in Mali) and one of the seven holy cities of Islam.
It was one of the major stops during Henry Louis Gates' PBS special
"Wonders of the African World". Gates visited with Abdel Kadir
Haidara, curator of the Mamma Haidara Library together with Ali
Ould Sidi from the Cultural Mission of Mali. It is thanks to Gates
that an Andrew Mellon Foundation Grant was obtained to finance the
construction of the library's facilities, later inspiring the work
of the Timbuktu Libraries Project. Unfortunately, no practicing
book artists exist in Timbuktu although cultural memory of book
artisans is still alive, catering to the tourist trade.
Attractions in Timbuktu include the Djinguereber Mosque, built in
1327 by El Saheli, the fifteenth century Sankore Mosque, once a
university, the early fifteenth century Sidi Yahya mosque, a
museum, the vernacular architecture, terraced gardens and a water
tower. Timbuktu has an airport and is also home to an institute
dedicated to preserving historic documents from the region.
The main language of Timbuktu is a Songhay variety termed Koyra
Chiini, spoken by over 80% of residents. Smaller groups, numbering
10% each before many were expelled during the Tuareg/Arab rebellion
of 1990-1994, speak Hassaniya Arabic and Tamashek.
Sankore Mosque.
One of the two historic mosques of Timbuktu (the other being the
Jingereber), the Sankore mosque was built during the declining
years of the Empire of Mali, in the early 15th century A.D.
Architecturally, it is remarkable for its large pyramidal mihrab.
But this is not its real claim to fame -- indeed, it is smaller and
less intricate than earlier Malian mosques including the 13th
century mosque of Djenne. Instead, it is famous for being the
center of the great Islamic scholarly community at Timbuktu during
the 16th century A.D. The medieval "University of Timbuktu," often
referred to as the "University of Sankore" was very different in
organization to the universities of medieval Europe. It had no
central administration, student registers, or prescribed courses of
study; rather, it was composed of several entirely independent
schools or colleges, each run by a single master or imam. Students
associated themselves with a single teacher, and courses took place
in the open courtyards of mosque complexes or private residences.
The primary focus of these schools was the teaching of the Koran,
although broader instruction in fields such as logic, astronomy,
and history also took place. As anyone who wished could establish
one of these colleges, standards amongst them are said to have been
very uneven. However the imams of the Sankore mosque are known to
have been the most respected. The university was adversely affected
by the Moroccan invasion of the 1590s and the deportation of its
best scholars. It never again regained its 16th century
eminence.
Images of Timbuktu
Issue #17
