An exceptional testimony of the history of West Africa
The Timbuktu manuscripts refers to a collection of between 400,000 and half a million manuscripts produced in West Africa, held by families in private libraries. The oldest manuscripts date from the 11th century and the most recent from the 20th century.
Empires
The empires (Empire of Ghana between the third and 13th centuries, Empire of Mali between the 13th and 15th centuries, Songhai Empire in the 15th and 16th centuries) created an administration that governed and organized society, (ministers, advisers, judges, governors, warlords, etc.).
The richest period of production corresponds to the 15th and 16th centuries, at the height of the Songhai Empire, and to the 17th and 18th centuries. Although Timbuktu was the main production center, they are found in the Timbuktu region, across Mali, and throughout West Africa. The manuscripts bear witness to the history, memory, and culture of Mali and West Africa.
The manuscripts were produced across the territories of the empires, from the south of Morocco to the south of the Sahel. The Tarikh al-fattash by Mahmoud Kati and the Tarikh al-Sudan by Abd al-Sadi are texts written during the 16th and 17th centuries that retrace the history of the Songhai Empire up to the Almoravid conquest.
Opposite: TheTarikh al-fattash manuscript by Mahmoud Kati is a 17th-century copy of a historical reference work. It retraces the entire history of the Songhai Empire until its demise at the hands of the army of the Sultan of Morocco (the Almoravids) in the 16th century.
La mosquée Sankoré à Tombouctou by © El Hadj DjitteyeSAVAMA-DCI
The Kings that Encouraged Education and Scholarship
The University of Sankore in Timbuktu, founded in the 15th century and housed in the mosque of the same name, had up to 25,000 students. It provided several university courses (teaching grammar, jurisprudence, religion, sciences, etc.).
Une double page d'un Coran de type haoussa offert par la famille Danfofio de Sokoto à la famille Haidara à Bamba dans un sac en cuir (19ème siècle) by SAVAMA-DCI Manuscrit n° 33 667SAVAMA-DCI
Trade routes and Islamization
At the crossroads of trans-Saharan and river trade routes, Timbuktu was an important economic hub that benefited from intellectual and cultural exchange.
It became the capital of the kingdom under the Songhai Empire, the height of manuscript production (15th–16th centuries). The Islamization of West Africa began in the ninth century: travelers and traders favored the spread of the precepts of Islam and its founding texts<br>
Family libraries
The manuscripts are owned by local families and form part of the heritage of Mali and the world.
They have been kept in private libraries for centuries.
La façade de la bibliothèque Al-Imam Essayouti à TombouctouSAVAMA-DCI
They reflect the activities of family members: commerce, administration, social, religious, and scientific activities.
The Library of Imam Alassyouti in TimbuktuSAVAMA-DCI
These libraries are handed down from generation to generation, in climatic conditions favorable to their conservation. Belonging to specific families, the libraries are not merely goods to be shared. The most interested members assume responsibility for the libraries and work to preserve them for posterity.
Sidiki, copiste de Tombouctou.SAVAMA-DCI
The following phrase appears on the first pages of some of the manuscripts to prevent any deviation from this family bequest: “This book may not be shared as inheritance or sold.”
SAVAMA-DCI : Les 11 étapes de préservation des manuscrits de TombouctouSAVAMA-DCI
Some families have built up important libraries. The most learned and the richest appealed to copyists and calligraphers to enrich their libraries. The copyists were also calligraphers. Copyists still ply their trade today.
Professions
Hassan al-Wazzan, known as Leo Africanus, reported that the book trade was the most important in Timbuktu: “We sell many that come from the Berbers [Maghreb]. We receive more profit from these sales than from any other goods.” A number of professions were required in the production of manuscripts, using various manufacturing techniques and materials.
Un manuscrit relié et emboîté by SAVAMA-DCISAVAMA-DCI
Tanners worked the skins of goats, sheep, and gazelle into writing materials and bindings
Les outils du copiste : des calames by SAVAMA - DCISAVAMA-DCI
Other trades developed around this production: those devoted to making slates, feathers, reed pens, ink, and various objects required for the production of manuscripts. These also included trades involved in creating boxes, bags, crates, wardrobes, and shelves out of leather and wood to preserve the manuscripts, which were sometimes genuine works of art.
IMAGE 14-3 Manuscrit enluminéSAVAMA-DCI
Some of the manuscripts were richly decorated by illuminators who illustrated the text. The copyists would leave space for the illuminators to carry out their work.
A treasure to be preserved
The manuscripts reflect life in Timbuktu and its region in all aspects (intellectual, religious, economic, and scientific). In terms of religion, they reveal a peaceful, moderate, and open vision of Islam. In other areas, they remain benchmarks in everyday life. As such they are remarkably up-to-date.
Boîtes des manuscrits détruits par les djihadistes à l'institut Ahmed Baba à Tombouctou en 2012SAVAMA-DCI
Added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, the manuscripts are now in danger. Jihadists who entered Timbuktu in 2012 destroyed a set of manuscripts in a library.
