To show the spread of ideas as going in both directions
“Timbuctoo the mysterious” By Félix Dubois
http://books.google.com/books?id=OYELAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA285
“The scholars of Timbuctoo yielded in nothing to the saints and their miracles. During their sojourns in the foreign universities of Fez, Tunis, and Cairo, ‘ they astounded the most learned men of Islam by their erudition.’ That these negroes were on a level with the Arabian savants is proved by the fact that they were installed as professors in Morocco and Egypt. In contrast to this we find that the Arabs were not always equal to the requirements of Sankore. ‘ A celebrated jurist of Hedjaz (Arabia), arriving in Timbuctoo with the intention of teaching, found the town full of Sudanese scholars. Observing them to be his superiors in knowledge, he withdrew to Fez, where he succeeded in obtaining employment.’”
Added:
This article discusses the myth of an introduction of architecture to Mali from outsiders “Al-Sahili : the historian’s myth of architectural technology transfer from North Africa” by Suzan B. Aradeon
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/jafr_0399-0346_1989_num_59_1_2279
Read this translation of Ibn Khaldun “The Negroland of the Arabs examined and explained” page 61-65. Ibn Khaldun NEVER said architecture in west Africa was introduced by outsiders. He also makes it clear this part of Africa already had great cities and WAS NOT developed because of Arab involvement.
Page 64 in this book you see Ibn Khaldun said “showed a model for an edifice” other translations that say introduce architecture are wrong
On page 61 Ibn Khaldun starts out:
” When the conquest of the West (by the Arabs) was completed, and merchants began to penetrate into the interior, they saw no nation of the Blacks so mighty as Ghanah, the dominions of which extended westward as far as the Ocean. The King’s court was kept in the city of Ghanah, which, according to the author of the Book of Roger (El Idrisi), and the author of the Book of Roads and Realms (El Bekri), is divided into two parts, standing on both banks of the Nile, and ranks among the largest and most populous cities of the world.”
http://books.google.com/books?id=380NAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA61
Video is from “Paradise Found – Islamic Architecture from Timbuktu to Asia” by Waldemar Januszczak
The mosque of Djene goes in well as an example African art, the community together working with mud looks like fun
Can see the whole video link bellow:
http://www.videosift.com/video/Paradise-Found-Islamic-Architecture-from-Timbuktu-to-Asia
About what the narrator said regarding the age of Djene, I feel obliged to point out Kerma is thousands of years older
Duration : 0:9:38
[youtube op3qQ2z3h9k]
September 5th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Added to …
Added to descriptions box
“A celebrated jurist of Hedjaz (Arabia), arriving in Timbuctoo with the intention of teaching, found the town full of Sudanese scholars. Observing them to be his superiors in knowledge, he withdrew to Fez, where he succeeded in obtaining employment.”
September 5th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
This is to show the …
This is to show the idea of a superior colonial Arab culture supplanting African ones probably has more basis in stereotypes than fact and evidence
September 5th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Also some …
Also some translations of Ibn Khaldun have him saying that architecture was first introduced by outsiders but those translations are flawed
September 5th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
There was of course …
There was of course diffusion of ideas and technologies but as shown in the descriptions box it wasn’t that architecture was first introduced by the outside world
September 5th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I wish that the IMF …
I wish that the IMF did not hold these people down with so many restrictions.