The writing on the wall: Understanding sub-Saharan Africa

By Jeff Morgan

Africa is a magical continent with rich history and diverse living heritage, but most of the countries are facing major challenges to preserve their cultural heritage sites. I recently visited the Kenyan coast to see how a relatively prosperous Kenya is managing its global heritage.

Two global heritage sites situated along the Indian Ocean were on the to-do list - Lamu Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Gede National Monument, currently on the UNESCO Tentative List.  Lamu is Kenya's oldest, continually inhabited town and Gede is an impressive Swahili settlement with hundreds of structures and fascinating public architecture from the 14-17^th centuries, still preserved in a lush jungle setting.

The state of heritage preservation can be characterized as down trodden, with some glimmers of hope where collaborative work by local communities have rallied funding, enforced better protection, and shown potential for sustainable development of heritage in Africa.

Lack of expertise and experience in heritage management on the government’s part and the workforce both plague Africa.  At the same time, Africa has few monumental archaeological sites south of the Sahara desert, and nothing on the scale of Libya, Morocco or Egypt.  Derelict Great Zimbabwe is one of the only major indigenous ancient sites in sub-Saharan Africa, twice as large as Europe entire. The African Rock Art is quite amazing if you’ve got the right guide and know where to find it, deep in the mountains; otherwise, historic towns and large-scale architecture either have been destroyed or never existed in the first place.

The sites of Lamu and Gede provide an excellent barometer of the overall state of heritage on the African continent and the challenges facing nations and local communities to ensure their long-term survival.

Lamu Old Town is one of the original Swahili settlements along coastal East Africa. Chinese ships of Zheng He's fleet were reported sinking near Lamu Island in Kenya in 1415. With more than 700 years of continuous development, it was once the most important trade centre in East Africa, before being succeeded by Zanzibar. Its stunning buildings display the long history and unique development of Swahili technology.

A massive new port is being built next to Lamu, and from what can be observed, unregulated construction is damaging the integrity and authenticity of this unique UNESCO World Heritage site.

It was hard to ignore the new concrete constructions dwarfing the indigenous architecture, which date back to the 12th century AD.  Entire historic homes have been disassembled and sold off for their rare carved doors, windows and interiors.  Lamu also faces serious water shortages due to mismanagement, lack of sanitation and pollution caused by hundreds of donkeys running through the streets and raw sewage flowing into the sea.

Many foreigners and Kenyans have taken the initiative to restore historic properties by encouraging the preservation of traditional artisan skills through the restoration of buildings by traditional craftsmen known as “fundis”. Young people are carrying on ancient traditions such as wood carving, furniture making and plasterwork because there is new and growing demand for these skills. This kind of cultural revival not only instills pride of place but adds cultural value to these traditions which are a source of income for the young generations.

Gede National Monument is under the management of the National Museums of Kenya, and is an enchanting site in a lush jungle, covering more than 45 acres within ancient perimeter walls.  In its flourishing era around the 15^th century, Gede was inhabited by thousands of people and trade with China, Asia and the Middle East is clearly evident in archaeological findings of imported porcelain, jewelry and metalwork.  Like Lamu today, Gede was abandoned due to poor water management and even the deepest of wells could not reach the water table after it was depleted.

The scale and beauty of the mosques and public buildings is unimaginable, and the site is well-run and clean despite having no signage or guidebook, and a gateway road better for donkey carts rather than visitor transport. A local community group has built a tree house platform to view the site from above, requesting only a small donation for its upkeep. The site remains very well preserved and seems to be under good care by the National Museum, with good maintenance, cleaning and visitor pathways.

Despite its size, impressive history and central location in Malindi - a popular tourist destination - there are very few visitors here. Gede remains one of Africa’s best kept and lesser known secrets - the region has only begun to take advantage of its potential for heritage-based development and employment generation.

The challenges that still stand for Sub-Saharan Africa in leveraging on its limited archaeological heritage and helping fledgling economies to benefit from sustainable development of these important assets is largely due to a huge lack of expertise and available experience.  Combining Africa’s vibrant living heritage – dance, music, food and art - into the historic towns and archaeological sites can provide additional opportunities for heritage preservation as well as economic development, a model of heritage economics that we’re seeing successfully at play at other sites across the globe.

The political instability, ongoing kidnappings and perceived security issues continue to setback the potential of heritage tourism; most visitors venturing to Africa are more focused on wildlife safaris, natural heritage and exotic beaches. Africa is quickly a topic of interesting discussion as we’ve been in recent EU summits. Better interpretation and promotion of Africa’s last remaining built heritage sites could help transform the rural landscape, preserve cultural heritage and spur local economic growth, building on the rich arts and traditions that Africa is truly famous for. While we love being off the beaten path, the road could be so much more interesting in Africa if its global heritage sites came alive through well-documented history, writings and images, and integrating living heritage to make it more relevant today.

Africa is magical; its rich indigenous history and architectural heritage need to come out of the shadows of later colonial occupation otherwise not only will we never be privileged to know them, but they may be gone for good. Look closer - Lamu Old Town and Gede National Monument are two major sites where hope for African heritage is ever strong and beckons the world to come and experience.

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