What Is Being Lost?

[00:00:00]The so-called Benine Bronzes were an absolute masterpiece upon their introduction to the rest of the world via European colonialism. In fact, some observers refused to believe Africans were capable of crafting such excellence. What they thought was an indictment on African intelligence was in reality an exposure of European ignorance. Brilliant works like these and especially the statues of Ephe of the Euroba people convinced some observers to posit a non-African origin story [music] for these brilliant African masterpieces. One observer referring to the statues at Ephe suggested that the Greeks themselves taught the Euroba people how to create works like these. Robbing Africans of their accomplishments [music] or outright denying them is an old formula.

[00:00:48]Thankfully, today it just doesn't have the same weight as it [music] used to.

[00:00:52]There's just too much information readily available for us to continue that nefarious tradition. In light of new discoveries put forth by some scholars, among them being the claim that Africans were the first humans to achieve iron smelting, the old world view of a backwards Africa simply cannot be sustained. [music] Despite this, there is oldw world residue that cannot be ignored. Because African achievements have been denied or attributed elsewhere for generations, at times the value that we in the diaspora place on traditional African sciences, religion, and thought isn't as potent as one would hope. Some may get the impression that traditional Africa cannot compete with the innovation of the modern world. However, the reality is a bit more complicated than that.

[00:01:38]Scholar Christopher Erit, I think rightfully so, points out that many human innovations actually began in smaller, less stratified societies. And the smelting of iron in central Africa well before anywhere else in the world, as laid out in his book, is just one proof of that. I say all this to say the so-called Benine bronzes are apparently going back to Nigeria after years of colonial possession. But the unfortunate trade-off is that the craftsmen who [music] created these brilliant artworks, the knowledge behind them are [music] disappearing.

[00:02:14][music] What's going on African world? It's home team here and I'm back at it with another video of African history, culture, [music] and worldview. I want to thank all of you guys for supporting the successful Kickstarter [music] campaign to create the African Kings book. I'm happy to say that you guys made this happen and the book is now available for purchase. [music] This book is a great resource for your kids, a gift for your friends and family, and it's also something educators and parents can use as a learning tool. If you'd like to support the work that we're doing here and pick up a copy, you can check out the link in the description [music] box below. Now, it would be one thing if the Benine bronzes were an art form our ancestors achieved a long time ago and the specialists faded along with the tradition itself, but that's not what we see. The tradition of creating these marvelous statues and [music] their specialists are still active. And the fact that their numbers are dwindling is quite [music] alarming. In other words, to have a piece of the past and know [music] it's the past is one thing, but to have a piece of the past and know that it persists today [music] just feels like something that deserves protection. Now, it's important to understand that human traditions have diminished and [music] changed over time. That's a natural process. I'm sure there's a lot of African traditions we [music] never knew existed because cultures adapt and evolve over time.

[00:03:39]There's nothing wrong with a tradition changing over time being expressed in a different way. I think [music] what we should consider is how that tradition is being replaced if it's being replaced at all. The Atlantic slave trade as a minor example interrupted African traditions in profound ways. [music] However, the many African descended people throughout the diaspora managed [music] to capture and preserve the essence of various African [music] cultural traditions that are sometimes described as Africanisms.

[00:04:10]Preservation in one way or another seems to be important to many [music] African peoples and to humans as a whole. So, I think one important question we can [music] ask is how will the Benine Bronze tradition be either replaced, evolved or [music] preserved? I'd like to think this is the thought process of those involved in that region, but only time will [music] tell. In this video, I wanted to take the opportunity to talk about traditional African innovations [music] that make things such as the Benine Bronzes possible. I think it's important to go into detail regarding the invention and impact [music] of traditional Africa. In that way, it can be popularized within our [music] communities and potentially inspire the diaspora to value this history more, leading to its preservation in memory or action. Let's talk about traditional African architecture. We have two unique examples on how African architecture [music] impacted the modern western world and even colonial practices.

[00:05:08]Perhaps the best example of how traditional African architecture impacted the modern world was the Nubian vault. The Nubian vault is an African architectural technique associated with the Nile Valley, especially the region of southern Egypt and northern Sudan.

[00:05:23]Historically known as ancient Nubia, the Nubian vault is essentially a freespanning earthn vault made with sundried bricks and clay mortar. Now, why did these Africans develop this architectural technique? While the now stretch through Nubia is relatively timber poor and the climate is hot and dry. And so a method that uses local earth to span rooms without wood is a rational locally optimized solution.

[00:05:52]What does spanning the room mean? While the earthn vault curves from wall to wall by working in compression in the Nubian system. So you don't need wooden beams or temporary scaffolding to cover that width. Essentially, the Nubian vault system makes the earth carry itself, a roof in pure compression. What makes the Nubian vault even more powerful is that this African architectural idea did not remain locked in the past. In the 20th century, the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy learned directly from Nubian masons and helped to bring the technique back into the global architectural discussion. He showed that buildings could be made from local earth raised without timber or scaffolding and designed for climate instead of fighting against it. This traditional African technology reached North America. Simone Swan apprenticed with Hassan Fathy then brought the Nubian vault tradition to the deserts of the American Southwest through the Adobe Alliance in Texas. She built and taught vaulted adobe construction, proving that an African structural idea could still solve modern problems of heat, cost, and sustainability. So, the Nubian vault flips the usual script of innovation instead of the modern technology moving from the industrial world into Africa.

[00:07:15]Here we see traditional African engineering, teaching the wider world how to build with climate and intelligence.

[00:07:23]This isn't the first time African technology influenced outsiders. During the colonial era, when Europeans faced African climates, they suddenly realize the value of African architectural ingenuity and often copied these African solutions to environmental problems. By far the most salient example of this is demonstrated by historian label Preston.

[00:07:46]She told us that early British and French colonial settlers and administrators recognizing the merit of indigenous solutions to climatic comfort emulated [music] them by raising their expatriate mansions high above the ground and by developing a wall system composed of louvered doors and screen verandas. Many examples can still be seen in Abigan, Acra, Legos, and a car.

[00:08:13]Examples like these clearly demonstrate that Africans and those in the diaspora do not have to conform to western, Asian or Middle Eastern thinking in order to produce something valuable. We have knowledge traditions that [music] can be modified or improved upon to create something relevant and useful. The Benine bronzes aren't just works of art.

[00:08:34]They're knowledge systems [music] that extend centuries into the past. They required metal workers who understood alloy and heat. Mold makers who understood clay. Artists who understood proportion and symbolism. [music] Historians who understood royal memory.

[00:08:52]A court that understood [music] the political power of images.

[00:08:57]And a society that valued specialists enough to preserve [music] their knowledge across generations. I think the growing disappearance of the Benine bronze specialists is a reminder that we have to value traditional African knowledge [music] systems. I think for the return of the Benine Bronzes to truly mean something other than physical possession in Nigeria, Africans and those in the diaspora have to see tradition as not just past [music] but also the future. Maybe this restitution can help the African world revive the cultivation of its traditional knowledge systems that have demonstrated clear utility in the past and the modern era.

[00:09:36]Well, mala guys. If you like these videos and want to help in this continued production, consider supporting the home team on patreon.com.

[00:09:44]The link is in the description box below. Know thyself. Remember your ancestors. Peace.