ARCHIVES AND NATIONAL IDENTITY: THE AFRICAN CASE

ByNathan Mnjama

Associate ProfessorDepartment of Library and Information Studies,

University of Botswana

Email:  mnjamanm@mopipi.ub.bw

IntroductionHuman beings have a longing for belonging

and identity.Belonging brings a sense of pride and some

form of accomplishment.Belonging brings a sense of togetherness,

shared values and aspirations.Belongingness brings identification and

makes us to be known as who we are.

What is a nation?a state, or country, that has defined borders

and territory. a country in which a nation of principally the

same type of people exists, organized by either race or cultural background.

generally, everyone would speak the same language, probably practice the same or similar types of religion, and share a set of cultural, “national,” values.” (Ellis-Christensen, 2010)

What is a nation? Cont. is a group of people who feel themselves to

be community bound together by ties of history, culture and common ancestry.”

“nations have ‘objectives’ characteristics which may include a territory, a language, a religion or a common descent.” (Kellas, 1998:3)

European National Identity elements Checklist founding fathers,a history establishing the continuity of the

nation through the ages,a series of heroes embodying national values,a language,cultural and historical monuments,

European National Identity elements Checklist cont.realms of memory,a typical landscape,a folklore,traditional costumes, food and emblematic animal (Rasmussen, 2001)

Nations as Changing entitiesNations are constantly evolving and changing

- they are "imagined communities", and they are constantly re-imagining themselves.

New nations are eternally coming into being while others are declining.

New "subcultures", artifacts of modern communications technology, come into being - and every one of these has the potential to evolve into an actual nation.” (Rasmussen, 2001)

The African situationWestern concept of nation is rather problematic.Many of the nation states are a creation of

colonial powers largely Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium; and to a lesser extent Italy and Spain

they are therefore “multi-tribal in character, since tribal identities and loyalties are still more important to most of their citizens than national identities and loyalties.” (Birch, 1989:25-26)

The African SituationSome tribal groupings with common cultures

and traditions were placed under different nations- The Maasai (Kenya/Tanzania), the Somalis (Kenya/somali), the Herero (Botswana/Namibia)

Archives and National IdentityWhat are Archives?Records selected for permanent preservation

because of their enduring or continuing value.

the common memories stored and maintained in archives are not only essential for continued organizational survival but also essential to the development and maintenance of identity.

Archives and National Identitywithout a store of information, every

community would have to relearn from costly experience the rules of survival: physical, psychological, organizational, legal, philosophical and spiritual.

While archives are essential to continuity, the actual medium of storage is highly variable, having been at various times, stone, cellulose, metal, paper, celluloid, optical, magnetic, electronic or simply oral” (Bostock, n.d)

Archives and National IdentityDo archives contribute to National identity?The answer is Yes and No depending on: (i) who created the archives and for what

purpose?(ii) The Contents of the archives? What do they

document

Archives and National Identity: Case 1The Somalis of Northern KenyaA people with common language and culture,Basically pastoralists/cattle keepers,Somali speaking people had through colonial

boundary "arrangements" found themselves dismembered by colonial powers into Kenya and Somalia

1960/61 Referendum held to determine their future destiny

Archives and National Identity: Case 1Archives indicate they overwhelmingly chose

to join Somalia RepublicBritish Government refused to abide with the

results of the referendum.Result: A secessionist gorilla warfare (Shifta)

between 1963-69.Kenya govt. won the battle, inhabitants of

Northern Kenya remained Kenyan nationals

Archives and National Identity: Case 1The Archives held at the National Archives in

United Kingdom and other western capitals bear testimony on how Somali’s national identity was dismembered.

Can our archival materials be used to rebuild Somali’s national identity ?

Archives and National Identity: Case 2The archives of truth and reconciliation

Commission (TRC) South Africa. Truth and Reconciliation Commissions create

records of human rights abuses that are as complete as possible.

They often record the nature and extent of the crimes and a full record of names and fates of the victims.

Archives and National Identity: Case 2The identities of those who gave the orders and

those who executed them.Large quantities of records unearthed showing

human rights abuses and how state machinery was used to deny citizen’s rights

The hope is that such a record, will ensure that such human rights violations do not take place in the future and

also further the development of a human rights culture in the society. (Sarkin,2001:167)

State of African ArchivesRecords keeping in many African countries

began with colonial administrationsAfrica has a wide range of documentary

materials:- from clay tablets, stone carvings, stone drawings, leather, parchment and vellum, paper, straw, tree back, rock paintings, signs patterned into dwellings, clothing, shields, markings, temporary and permanent on human bodies,” (Motsi, 2004:84)

oral histories of the people are also major historical documents.

State of African ArchivesIt is through these stories that we are able to

reconstruct the past of the Bantu of Africa. It is through these stories that intertribal friendship or hatred was kept alive and burning: that the young were told who their ancestors were, who their enemies were and who their friends were.

These stories that have shaped Africa as we know it- years and years ago (Mutwa (1985:vii),

Challenges in Using African archives for National IdentityExcept for Zimbabwe ( formerly Southern

Rhodesia) Archival services developed late in Africa.

Archival holding are unbalanced largely documenting the activities of the colonizing power and not the local communities.

How the voiceless be given a voice in such archives?

How can the ordinary citizen identify himself with such a past?

Can such records be trusted for building national cohesion and integrity?

Challenges in Using African archives for National IdentityColonial administration did not take any meaningful

practical steps to establish strong archival services in its colonies in Africa.

Colonial holding cover the following aspects: correspondence with the home governments in the form of incoming and outgoing dispatches.

Records created by organs of the central organs of colonial government , by the governor, his secretariat, and his legislature. This category may also contain correspondence with settlers and others home citizens residing in the colony.

 

Challenges in Using African archives for National IdentityRecords of specialized Departments such as

Labour, education, agriculture, meteorology, police, railways , finance, etc

Records of provincial administration and district councils. This group of records is perhaps the most valuable in documenting peoples identities as they relate to the local areas and provide detailed information on the history of the local communities with which the colonial government interacted with.

Challenges in Using African archives for National IdentityMajor gaps in the holdings of colonial archives due to: removed of some records from their countries of

origin to European capitals on the eve of independence.

Archival holding relating to a community may have been shared between different states:

After the First World War, German records held locally in Tanzania were divided between the Belgians in Rwanda - Urundi and the British in Tanganyika with the British inheriting the bulk of the records while Rwanada –Urundi taking custody of the provincial records.

Challenges in Using African archives for National IdentityUntil about 1920 Jubaland province which is

now in Somalia was part of British East Africa territory (present day Kenya).

How can archives documenting such activities be utilized in fostering national cohesion and national identity when they show how nations were disbanded?

Challenges in Using African archives for National Identitymost archival holdings only capture the

history and life of the colonizers. In Zimbabwe, it was observed that while there was a “massive amount of materials from the white community, little could be found from the black population even in the form of oral tradition” (Njovana 1993:37).

How can such archives be used to enhance national identity?

Other Challenges in Using African archives for National IdentityInadequate finding aids,Lack of recognition by national governments

of the role played by archival institutions,Outdated archival legislation which impacts

negatively on access to the collections,Inadequate number of professional archivists,

Other Challenges in Using African archives for National IdentityLack of adequate archival training schools,Poor systems of archival arrangement and

description,Understaffing of archival services,Poor storage facilities for records,Inadequate retrieval tools (Kemoni et. al,

2003)

ConclusionCan African archives be used for National Identity?Yes but with caution. “These archives can also serve as source for the latter

decades of the pre-European period. The first explorers, chiefs de mission and district officers tended to compile district books, intelligence reports, and ethnographic surveys of the new territory. The quality of these reports varies greatly, but where they are good they are one basis for reconstructing segments of African history during the half a century or more before European conquest.” (Curtin 1960:146)

Thank You