The armed conflict and occupation of the northern regions of Mali that occurred between 2012 and 2013, resulted in heavy damage to the country’s cultural heritage as armed groups destroyed or looted over 4,000 ancient manuscripts. These invaluable ancient manuscript collections, which date as far back as the 13th century, hold many theological and scholarly works and are written in Arabic and African languages.

Because of their great importance, a secret operation in late 2012 was organized to avoid and prevent further destruction of these manuscripts.

The operation started with support from the Prince Claus Fund, and was largely successful thanks to the trust between all the parties involved: the Malian people and authorities, project partners, the Association de Sauvegarde des Manuscrits et la Defense de la Culture Islamique (SAVAMA DCI), and international partners including the Prince Claus Fund, Global Heritage Fund, Ford Foundation, DOEN Foundation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and private donors.

For many months, the work was carried out in secret as separatist rebels, and later jihadists, moved into Timbuktu. With the help of SAVAMA-DCI and local communities, 2000 boxes – more than 95% of the manuscripts – were successfully transferred from Timbuktu to Bamako in the middle of the night. Today, as the country is recovering slowly from the crisis, about 377,000 manuscripts belonging to several families from Timbuktu are kept in safe houses in Bamako.

Despite the fact that many of these ancient texts have been saved from destruction, they still face other worrying problems, including long-term conservation. This is of paramount importance because international and scientific communities agree that these manuscripts are an inexhaustible mine of information that could contribute to the enrichment of the world.

To alleviate the problems that the manuscripts are facing today, UNESCO and other partners held an international conference from Jan 28-30, 2015, in Bamako, titled “Ancient Manuscripts Facing Modern Day Challenges” to examine the future of the manuscripts and their long-term conservation in order to safeguard them.

Amongst the most pressing measures that were discussed to better safeguard the manuscripts are:

– Strengthening the security of the manuscripts temporarily relocated to Bamako, by providing adequate storage conditions, and building capacity for conservation, digitization, and cataloging.

– Urgently mobilize all national stakeholders involved in the protection and management of manuscripts, in order to assess their distribution throughout Mali and create an action plan for their sustainable preservation.

– Create an emergency plan to safeguard the ancient manuscripts and mitigate risks of exploitation and dissemination.

Learn more: http://www.cimam-2015.org/recommandations-finales/

We hope the knowledge contained within these manuscripts will be shared with the world.

 

Sources:

Safeguarding Mali’s ancient manuscript collections, an international conference in Bamako, 21.01.2015 – UNESCOPRESS, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/safeguarding_malis_ancient_manuscript_collections_an_international_conference_in_bamako/back/9597/#.VMkz-IvcO5K

Conférence Internationale sur les Manuscrits Anciens du Mali, 28-30 janvier 2015, CICB, http://www.cimam-2015.org

More than 95% of the manuscripts evacuated from Timbuktu in Time, http://www.princeclausfund.org/en/activities/more-than-95-of-the-manuscripts-evacuated-from-timbuktu-in-time.html