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HERITAGE: Mauritania

HERITAGE: Mauritania Cities that were once a cultural beacon in the Sahara are finally getting the attention they deserve. Mauritania has established a €2.6m ($3.5m) fund to promote UNESCO world heritage sites Chinguetti, Oudane, Tichitt and Oualata, President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz announced on February 16th. “The least we can offer to these cities is to maintain their glorious past so as to hand it over to the next generations,” the President said at the opening of the first “Festival of Ancient Cities” in Chinguetti. “We will organise this cultural event once a year in each one of these cities,” he added. The President said that a percentage of customs duties from the state budget would be earmarked for cultural development. “The festival has a profound meaning because it revives Mauritania from its depths and sheds light on its cultural identity; something that enhances the presence of society and restores trust in its originality. If these historical moments were taken advantage of, they would have cultural, economic and social dimensions,” said Mohamed Cheikh Mohammed Lemin, an imam at the oldest mosque in historic Ouadane and exhibition supervisor. Dr Hamah Allah Mayaba, a researcher of the history of the old city of Tichitt, said: “In this festival, I see an important gesture to the Mauritanian heritage which the authorities in the past were looking at from the angle of political gains only.” He added, “We have to understand that culture and heritage are a basic component of life.” “Paying attention to heritage is linked to existence, personal fulfilment, and gratitude for the people of the past who wanted culture to be the only way for the continuation of this people in the face of foreign cultural invasion,” Oualata festival co‐ordinator Sidi Ould Merzoug said. “Oualata has peculiarities that distinguish it from other ancient cities,” Ould Merzoug explained. “Such peculiarities were imposed by its geographical location that placed it on an area linking the Sahara with the Sub‐Sahara African kingdoms. Therefore, it stores the components of different ancient African civilisations that were located nearby. (Magharebia.com 18/2) Between the 13th and 18th centuries these towns were key hubs for the trans‐Saharan caravan trade, but they are now partially buried by sands. Surviving mainly off tourism, they have been hit by the threat of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( AQLIM ), landing in the “red zone” declared by France for areas which it is highly inadvisable for foreigners to visit. Six French tour operators who specialise in this area initially ignored the French Foreign Ministry’s warnings, but eventually stopped all tours in January. The funds will go towards keeping people in their desert territories, making them centres of development by restoring their “cultural treasures which are the pride of Mauritanians”, said organisers of the one week festival. (©AFP 17/2 2011) Meanwhile Egypt has re‐opened many of its museums and historical sites which had been closed since the civil uprising started in January, reported BBC News ( 21/2 ). Tourists visiting Cairo’s Egyptian Museum were welcomed by staff with roses. The museum stands on Tahrir Square, the focus of the unrest, and some artefacts were stolen or damaged. The usually busy galleries of the Museum were virtually deserted when doors opened on February 20th, Reuters news agency reported ( 21/2 ). “It was very important for us to open the museum to stop the rumours like ‘the mask of King Tutankhamun was stolen’ or there had been an orgy of looting,” said museum director Tarek El Awady. (Sources as referenced in text) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series Wiley

HERITAGE: Mauritania

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2011
ISSN
0001-9844
eISSN
1467-825X
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-825X.2011.03739.x
Publisher site
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Abstract

Cities that were once a cultural beacon in the Sahara are finally getting the attention they deserve. Mauritania has established a €2.6m ($3.5m) fund to promote UNESCO world heritage sites Chinguetti, Oudane, Tichitt and Oualata, President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz announced on February 16th. “The least we can offer to these cities is to maintain their glorious past so as to hand it over to the next generations,” the President said at the opening of the first “Festival of Ancient Cities” in Chinguetti. “We will organise this cultural event once a year in each one of these cities,” he added. The President said that a percentage of customs duties from the state budget would be earmarked for cultural development. “The festival has a profound meaning because it revives Mauritania from its depths and sheds light on its cultural identity; something that enhances the presence of society and restores trust in its originality. If these historical moments were taken advantage of, they would have cultural, economic and social dimensions,” said Mohamed Cheikh Mohammed Lemin, an imam at the oldest mosque in historic Ouadane and exhibition supervisor. Dr Hamah Allah Mayaba, a researcher of the history of the old city of Tichitt, said: “In this festival, I see an important gesture to the Mauritanian heritage which the authorities in the past were looking at from the angle of political gains only.” He added, “We have to understand that culture and heritage are a basic component of life.” “Paying attention to heritage is linked to existence, personal fulfilment, and gratitude for the people of the past who wanted culture to be the only way for the continuation of this people in the face of foreign cultural invasion,” Oualata festival co‐ordinator Sidi Ould Merzoug said. “Oualata has peculiarities that distinguish it from other ancient cities,” Ould Merzoug explained. “Such peculiarities were imposed by its geographical location that placed it on an area linking the Sahara with the Sub‐Sahara African kingdoms. Therefore, it stores the components of different ancient African civilisations that were located nearby. (Magharebia.com 18/2) Between the 13th and 18th centuries these towns were key hubs for the trans‐Saharan caravan trade, but they are now partially buried by sands. Surviving mainly off tourism, they have been hit by the threat of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ( AQLIM ), landing in the “red zone” declared by France for areas which it is highly inadvisable for foreigners to visit. Six French tour operators who specialise in this area initially ignored the French Foreign Ministry’s warnings, but eventually stopped all tours in January. The funds will go towards keeping people in their desert territories, making them centres of development by restoring their “cultural treasures which are the pride of Mauritanians”, said organisers of the one week festival. (©AFP 17/2 2011) Meanwhile Egypt has re‐opened many of its museums and historical sites which had been closed since the civil uprising started in January, reported BBC News ( 21/2 ). Tourists visiting Cairo’s Egyptian Museum were welcomed by staff with roses. The museum stands on Tahrir Square, the focus of the unrest, and some artefacts were stolen or damaged. The usually busy galleries of the Museum were virtually deserted when doors opened on February 20th, Reuters news agency reported ( 21/2 ). “It was very important for us to open the museum to stop the rumours like ‘the mask of King Tutankhamun was stolen’ or there had been an orgy of looting,” said museum director Tarek El Awady. (Sources as referenced in text)

Journal

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series – Wiley

Published: Mar 1, 2011

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