Reclaiming heritage : alternative imaginaries of memory in West Africa ; [... first European Conference of African Studies organised by the Africa-Europe Group for Interdisciplinary Studies, 29 June - 2 July 2005, London ; a number of the papers in this v

Struggles over the meaning of the past are common in postcolonial states. State cultural heritage programs build monuments to reinforce in nation building efforts—often supported by international organizations and tourist dollars. These efforts often ignore the other, often more troubling memories preserved by local communities—markers of colonial oppression, cultural genocide, and ethnic identity. Yet, as the contributors to this volume note, questions of memory, heritage, identity and conservation are interwoven at the local, ethnic, national and global level and cannot be easily disentangled. In a fascinating series of cases from West Africa, anthropologists, archaeologists and art historians show how memory and heritage play out in a variety of postcolonial contexts. Settings range from televised ritual performances in Mali to monument conservation in Djenne and slavery memorials in Ghana. Reconsidering Heritage And Memory / Mike Rowlands And Ferdinand De Jong -- 'taking On A Tradition' : African Heritage And The Testimony Of Memory / Beverley Butler -- Slave Route Projects : Tracing The Heritage Of Slavery In Ghana / Katharina Schramm -- Picturing The Past : Heritage, Photography, And The Politics Of Appearance In A Yoruba City / Peter Probst -- Entangled Memories And Parallel Heritages In Mali / Michael Rowlands -- 'enchanting Town Of Mud' : Djenné, A World Heritage Site In Mali / Charlotte Joy -- A Masterpiece Of Masquerading : Contradictions Of Conservation In Intangible Heritage / Ferdinand De Jong -- From A Glorious Past To The Lands Of Origin : Media Consumption And Changing Narratives Of Cultural Belonging In Mali / Dorothea Schulz -- Demystified Memories : The Politics Of Heritage In Post-socialist Guinea / Ramon Sarró -- Palimpsest Memoryscapes : Materializing And Mediating War And Peace In Sierra Leone / Paul Basu. Ferdinand De Jong, Michael Rowlands, Editors. Outgrowth Of A Panel Entitled Memory And The Public Sphere Held At The First European Conference Of African Studies Organized By The Africa-europe Group For Interdisciplinary Studies, 29 June - 2 July 2005, London. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents 6 Illustrations 8 Series Editor’s Foreword 10 Acknowledgments 12 1. Reconsidering Heritage and Memory 14 Old Origins, New Imaginaries 32 2. ‘Taking on a Tradition’: African Heritage and the Testimony of Memory 32 3. Slave Route Projects: Tracing the Heritage of Slavery in Ghana 72 4. Picturing the Past: Heritage, Photography, and the Politics of Appearance in a Yoruba City 100 Materiality and Conservation 128 5. Entangled Memories and Parallel Heritages in Mali 128 6. ‘Enchanting Town of Mud’: Djenné, A World Heritage Site in Mali 146 7. A Masterpiece of Masquerading: Contradictions of Conservation in Intangible Heritage 162 Recognition and Reconciliation 186 8. From a Glorious Past to the Lands of Origin: Media Consumption and Changing Narratives of Cultural Belonging in Mali 186 9. Demystified Memories: The Politics of Heritage in Post-Socialist Guinea 216 10. Palimpsest Memoryscapes: Materializing and Mediating War and Peace in Sierra Leone 232 About the Contributors 262 Index 266 In a fascinating series of cases from West Africa, anthropologists, archaeologists and art historians show how memory, heritage, identity and conservation play out in a variety of postcolonial contexts at the local, ethnic, national and global level