that Africa was a place without history,

黑格爾說過一句有名言，

without past, without narrative.

他說，非洲是個沒有歷史的地方，

Yet, I'd argue that no other continent has nurtured, has fought for,

沒有過去，也沒有敘事。

has celebrated its history more concertedly.

然而我認為，沒其他大陸像非洲 這樣齊心一致地培養它的歷史，

The struggle to keep African narrative alive

為它的歷史而戰，並頌揚它的歷史。

has been one of the most consistent

為了能够讓非洲敘事延續下去，

and hard-fought endeavors of African peoples,

非洲的人們一直在進行着

and it continues to be so.

最持續、最艱苦的鬥爭，

The struggles endured and the sacrifices made to hold onto narrative

至今仍然如此。

in the face of enslavement, colonialism, racism, wars and so much else

在面對被奴役、殖民主義、 種族主義，以及戰爭等等，

has been the underpinning narrative

人民為了守住非洲敘事 所承受的艱苦、所做出的犧牲，

of our history.

一直就是我們歷史的核心敘事。

And our narrative has not just survived the assaults

我們的敘事不僅在歷史

that history has thrown at it.

對它的攻擊之下存活下來。

We've left a body of material culture,

我們留下了許多物質文化、

artistic magistery and intellectual output.

藝術精華以及智慧產物。

We've mapped and we've charted and we've captured our histories

我們勘測了、繪製了、 捕捉了我們的歷史，

in ways that are the measure of anywhere else on earth.

是地球上任何其他地方的準繩。

Long before the meaningful arrival of Europeans --

遠在歐洲人意義深長的抵達之前——

indeed, whilst Europe was still mired in its Dark Age --

的確，當歐洲仍陷在 黑暗時代中時——

Africans were pioneering techniques in recording, in nurturing history,

非洲人已在開創記錄 和滋養歷史的技術，

forging revolutionary methods for keeping their story alive.

打造出革命性的方法， 來讓故事延續下去。

And living history, dynamic heritage --

而活著的歷史、動態的遺產——

it remains important to us.

它對我們而言仍然是重要的。

We see that manifest in so many ways.

我們見過它以非常多種 不同方式呈現。

I'm reminded of how, just last year -- you might remember it --

我想起了去年 ——你們可能還記得——

the first members

加入艾蓋達組織支助的 伊斯蘭衛士的最早的成員

of the al Qaeda-affiliated Ansar Dine

被控告犯有戰爭犯罪， 而後被送到海牙。

were indicted for war crimes and sent to the Hague.

最惡名昭彰的一位 就是艾哈邁德·艾法奇

And one of the most notorious was Ahmad al-Faqi,

他是位年輕的馬里人，

who was a young Malian,

他被控的罪名不是大屠殺，

and he was charged, not with genocide,

不是種族清洗，

not with ethnic cleansing,

而是教唆摧毀馬里最重要的

but with being one of the instigators of a campaign

一些文化資產的活動。

to destroy some of Mali's most important cultural heritage.

那不是非故意的破壞；

This wasn't vandalism;

也並不是未經思考的草率行為。

these weren't thoughtless acts.

當艾馬蒂被要求在法庭上

One of the things that al-Faqi said

報出自己的身份時，他說到一點，

when he was asked to identify himself in court

他說他是大學畢業生， 而且他是老師。

was that he was a graduate, that he was a teacher.

在 2012 年間，他們進行了 一個規劃完善的活動，

Over the course of 2012, they engaged in a systematic campaign

目標是要摧毀馬里的文化遺產。

to destroy Mali's cultural heritage.

這是經過深入考量後進行的戰爭，

This was a deeply considered waging of war

且進行的方式是 人能想像出來最強大的方式來

in the most powerful way that could be envisaged:

摧毀敘事，摧毀故事。

in destroying narrative, in destroying stories.

他們試圖摧毀九個聖壇、

The attempted destruction of nine shrines,

中央清真寺、

the central mosque

可能還有約四千份手稿，

and perhaps as many as 4,000 manuscripts

都是仔細考量過的行為。

was a considered act.

他們知道敘事有著 能將社區團結起來的力量，

They understood the power of narrative to hold communities together,

他們藉由反向思考了解到 通過摧毀故事，

and they conversely understood that in destroying stories,

他們就有可能摧毀一個民族。

they hoped they would destroy a people.

但正如伊斯蘭衛士和他們的暴動

But just as Ansar Dine and their insurgency

是被強大的敘事所驅使的，

were driven by powerful narratives,

當地人民為廷巴克圖 及其圖書館所做的防禦也一樣。

so was the local population's defense of Timbuktu and its libraries.

這些社區的人 聽著馬里帝國的故事長大；

These were communities who've grown up with stories of the Mali Empire;

他們住在廷巴克圖偉大的 圖書館的影子底下。

lived in the shadow of Timbuktu's great libraries.

他們從孩提時就在聽著 關於廷巴克圖起源的歌曲，

They'd listened to songs of its origin from their childhood,

而他們不願意

and they weren't about to give up on that

不嘗試抵抗就放棄那一切。

without a fight.

在 2012 年的艱苦月份中，

Over difficult months of 2012,

在伊斯蘭衛士入侵的時期，

during the Ansar Dine invasion,

馬里人、平民百姓，冒著生命危險，

Malians, ordinary people, risked their lives

把文件藏起來並偷運到安全的地方，

to secrete and smuggle documents to safety,

盡他們所能，去保護歷史建築，

doing what they could to protect historic buildings

去保衛他們古老的圖書館。

and defend their ancient libraries.

雖然他們不一定都能成功，

And although they weren't always successful,

許多最重要的手稿 都很幸運地被保存下來了，

many of the most important manuscripts were thankfully saved,

今天，在那次暴動中受損的所有聖壇

and today each one of the shrines that was damaged during that uprising

都已被重建，

have been rebuilt,

包括一間十四世紀的清真寺， 它象徵該城市的心臟。

including the 14th-century mosque that is the symbolic heart of the city.

它已經被完全復原了。

It's been fully restored.

即使在被佔領期間 最令人沮喪的時候，

But even in the bleakest periods of the occupation,

廷巴克圖還是有足夠的人民 就是不願意屈服於

enough of the population of Timbuktu simply would not bow

像艾馬蒂這樣的人。

to men like al-Faqi.

他們不允許他們的歷史被抹滅。

They wouldn't allow their history to be wiped away,

任何曾經造訪過 世界的那個角落的人，

and anyone who has visited that part of the world,

都能夠了解為什麼，

they will understand why,

為什麼故事，為什麼敘事， 為什麼歷史有這麼重要。

why stories, why narrative, why histories are of such importance.

歷史很重要。

History matters.

歷史真的關乎緊要。

History really matters.

對於看到數世紀來自己的故事

And for peoples of African descent,

不斷被有系統地攻擊的 非洲後裔而言，

who have seen their narrative systematically assaulted over centuries,

這是極度重要的。

this is critically important.

這是一部份不斷重覆的共鳴， 迴盪在我們那段關於

This is part of a recurrent echo across our history

平民百姓為了他們的故事及歷史 而挺身抵抗的歷史當中。

of ordinary people making a stand for their story, for their history.

就如同十九世紀

Just as in the 19th century,

在加勒比海被奴役的非洲後裔，

enslaved peoples of African descent in the Caribbean

在懲罰的威脅之下決定一戰，

fought under threat of punishment,

為了實踐他們的宗教， 為了慶祝狂歡節而戰，

fought to practice their religions, to celebrate Carnival,

為了延續他們的歷史而戰。

to keep their history alive.

平民百姓都準備好 要做出偉大的犧牲，

Ordinary people were prepared to make great sacrifices,

有些人最終也為了他們的歷史

some even the ultimate sacrifice,

犧牲了。

for their history.

透過對敘事的控制，

And it was through control of narrative

一些最具毀滅性的 殖民活動才得以存在。

that some of the most devastating colonial campaigns were crystallized.

透過支配一個又一個的敘事，

It was through the dominance of one narrative over another

殖民主義最糟糕的 表現形式才得以具現。

that the worst manifestations of colonialism became palpable.

在 1874 年，當英國攻打阿善提時，

When, in 1874, the British attacked the Ashanti,

他們侵佔蹂躪了庫馬西， 捕捉了阿散蒂西里王。

they overran Kumasi and captured the Asantehene.

他們知道，控制領土 和制服國家領袖——

They knew that controlling territory and subjugating the head of state --

是不夠的。

it wasn't enough.

他們明白，國家情感的中心

They recognized that the emotional authority of state

在該國家的敘事當中，

lay in its narrative

以及代表它的象徵當中，

and the symbols that represented it,

比如金凳子。 （註：阿散蒂西里王的寶座）

like the Golden Stool.

他們了解，如果要真正 控制一個民族，

They understood that control of story was absolutely critical

對故事的控制是至關重要的。

to truly controlling a people.

阿善提人也明白這一點，

And the Ashanti understood, too,

他們始終不願放棄， 不肯交出寶貴的金凳子，

and they never were to relinquish the precious Golden Stool,

始終沒有完全屈從於英國人。

never to completely capitulate to the British.

敘事是至關緊要的。

Narrative matters.

在 1871 年，在南非工作的 德國地理學家卡爾·毛赫

In 1871, Karl Mauch, a German geologist working in Southern Africa,

偶然發現了一個非凡的建築群，

he stumbled across an extraordinary complex,

由廢棄的石頭房屋組成的建築群。

a complex of abandoned stone buildings.

而他始終未能全然忘懷：

And he never quite recovered from what he saw:

一個花崗岩乾砌的城市，

a granite, drystone city,

位於空蕩大草原露出的礦脈上：

stranded on an outcrop above an empty savannah:

大辛巴威。

Great Zimbabwe.

毛赫完全不知道是誰建造了

And Mauch had no idea who was responsible

這顯然十分驚人的建築壯舉，

for what was obviously an astonishing feat of architecture,

但他很確定一件事：

but he felt sure of one single thing:

必須要找到這敘事的歸屬。

this narrative needed to be claimed.

他後來寫道：大辛巴威的精心構思建築

He later wrote that the wrought architecture of Great Zimbabwe

實在是太精密、太特別了，

was simply too sophisticated,

因此不可能是非洲人建造的。

too special to have been built by Africans.

毛赫，和數十位跟隨 他腳步的歐洲人一樣，

Mauch, like dozens of Europeans that followed in his footsteps,

臆測了誰可能建造了這個城市。

speculated on who might have built the city.

其中一個人竟然斷定說：

And one went as far as to posit,

「我猜測這山丘上的遺跡 是仿效所羅門聖殿的，

"I do not think that I am far wrong if I suppose that that ruin on the hill

我想我應該不會錯得離譜。」

is a copy of King Solomon's Temple."

我相信你們都知道，

And as I'm sure you know, Mauch,

毛赫偶然發現的並非所羅門聖殿，

he hadn't stumbled upon King Solomon's Temple,

他發現的是純非洲的建築群，

but upon a purely African complex of buildings

在十一世紀， 由純非洲的文明所建造。

constructed by a purely African civilization

但就像幾年之後，德國人類學家 李歐·佛洛班尼爾斯

from the 11th century onward.

在初次看到奈及利亞 伊費青銅頭像時，

But like Leo Frobenius, a fellow German anthropologist

他揣測這些頭像可能是來自 失落的亞特蘭提斯的文物。

who speculated some years later,

就像黑格爾一樣，

upon seeing the Nigerian Ife Heads for the very first time,

他幾乎是本能地感覺 他必須掠奪非洲的歷史。

that they must have been artifacts from the long-lost kingdom of Atlantis.

這些想法非常不理性，

He felt, just like Hegel,

且根深蒂固。

an almost instinctive need to rob Africa of its history.

即使面對實體的古物，

These ideas are so irrational,

他們也無法理性思考。

so deeply held,

他們已經無法看清楚。

that even when faced with the physical archaeology,

就像非洲和啟蒙時代 歐洲之間的關係，

they couldn't think rationally.

它涉及了對該大陸的 佔用、詆毀，和控制。

They could no longer see.

它涉及了為迎合歐洲而將敘事改變。

And like so much of Africa's relationship with Enlightenment Europe,

如果毛赫真的想要為 他的這個問題找到答案：

it involved appropriation, denigration and control of the continent.

「大辛巴威或是那偉大的 石建築是從哪裡來的？」

It involved an attempt to bend narrative to Europe's ends.

他其實必須在大辛巴威以外

And if Mauch had really wanted to find an answer to his question,

幾千英哩的地方， 展開他的追尋之旅，

"Where did Great Zimbabwe or that great stone building come from?"

也就是這塊大陸的東岸， 非洲和印度洋交接的地方。

he would have needed to begin his quest

他應該從斯華西里海岸的那一些

a thousand miles away from Great Zimbabwe,

與大辛巴威做貿易的大型商業中心， 追蹤黃金和商品的來源，

at the eastern edge of the continent, where Africa meets the Indian Ocean.

來探究那神秘文化的

He would have needed to trace the gold and the goods

規模和影響；

from some of the great trading emporia of the Swahili coast to Great Zimbabwe,

透過大辛巴威所控制的王國和文明，

to gain a sense of the scale and influence

來了解大辛巴威成為政治、

of that mysterious culture,

文化實體的真實情況。

to get a picture of Great Zimbabwe as a political, cultural entity

數世紀以來，商人都被 吸引到該海岸的那個小區域，

through the kingdoms and the civilizations

他們來自遠方，如印度、 中國、中東等地。

that were drawn under its control.

人們可能會傾向這樣詮釋，

For centuries, traders have been drawn to that bit of the coast

因為那建築十分精緻美麗。

from as far away as India and China and the Middle East.

人們可能會傾向將它詮釋成

And it might be tempting to interpret,

一個精緻、象徵性的珠寶，

because it's exquisitely beautiful, that building,

一個巨大的儀式性石雕。

it might be tempting to interpret it

但這個遺跡建築群，

as just an exquisite, symbolic jewel,

在過去肯定是位在許多經濟體 所形成之重要網路的中心，

a vast ceremonial sculpture in stone.

定義了這個區域長達一千年的時間。

But the site must have been a complex

這是非常重要的。

at the center of a significant nexus of economies

這些敘事是至關緊要的。

that defined this region for a millennium.

即使現今，我們為了說出故事而戰， 並不只是在對抗時間。

This matters.

也並不只是對抗 像伊斯蘭衛士的組織。

These narratives matter.

在經過了數世紀 一直被強加上的歷史之後，

Even today, the fight to tell our story is not just against time.

我們也為了建立真正的非洲聲音。

It's not just against organizations like Ansar Dine.

我們不僅是要重新殖民我們的歷史，

It's also in establishing a truly African voice

我們必需要找到方法來重新建立

after centuries of imposed histories.

完全被黑格爾否認曾在那裡存在的。

We don't just have to recolonize our history,

我們得要重新發現非洲的哲學、

but we have to find ways to build back the intellectual underpinning

非洲的觀點、非洲的歷史。

that Hegel denied was there at all.

大辛巴威的繁榮—— 它並不是個特異的時刻。

We have to rediscover African philosophy,

它是整個大陸急速改變的一部份。

African perspectives, African history.

很好的範例或許就是松迪亞塔可塔。

The flowering of Great Zimbabwe -- it wasn't a freak moment.

他是馬里帝國的開創者，

It was part of a burgeoning change across the whole of the continent.

而馬里帝國可能是 西非史上最偉大的帝國。

Perhaps the great exemplification of that was Sundiata Keita,

松迪亞塔可塔大約生於 1235 年，

the founder of the Mali Empire,

成長於一個巨大變遷的時代。

probably the greatest empire that West Africa has ever seen.

他看到北邊巴巴里的改朝換代，

Sundiata Keita was born about 1235,

他可能也聽到南邊伊費的崛起，

growing up in a time of profound flux.

甚至東邊衣索比亞

He was seeing the transition between the Berber dynasties to the north,

所羅門王朝的統治。

he may have heard about the rise of the Ife to the south

他一定有意識到，他身處在一個

and perhaps even the dominance of the Solomaic Dynasty

快速改變的時刻，

in Ethiopia to the east.

對我們的大陸越來越有信心的時刻。

And he must have been aware that he was living through a moment

他一定意識到

of quickening change,

新的國家在建立它們的影響力，

of growing confidence in our continent.

偏遠到大辛巴威 和蘇丹統治的斯華西里。

He must have been aware of new states

它們都被直接或間接地 與非洲以外有所連結，

that were building their influence

它們個別也都投入心力去 保護它們的知識和文化遺產。

from as far afield as Great Zimbabwe and the Swahili sultanates,

他可能有和這些國家進行貿易。

each engaged directly or indirectly beyond the continent itself,

這是偉大的中世紀非洲經濟體的

each driven also to invest in securing their intellectual and cultural legacy.

大規模大陸連結網的一部份。

He probably would have engaged in trade with these peer nations

如同所有偉大的帝國，

as part of a massive continental nexus

松迪亞塔可塔也投入心力 去保護他的歷史遺產，

of great medieval African economies.

用的方式就是故事——

And like all of those great empires,

不僅是把說故事的 這個想法給正式化，

Sundiata Keita invested in securing his legacy through history

他還建立了完整的常規習俗

by using story --

來敘述和重述他的故事。

not just formalizing the idea of storytelling,

建造敘事對於他的帝國十分關鍵。

but in building a whole convention

他的故事以音樂的形式訴說，

of telling and retelling his story

至今仍然被唱誦著。

as a key to founding a narrative

在松迪亞塔死後數十年，

for his empire.

一個新國王登上王位，

And these stories, in musical form,

曼薩穆薩，馬里最有名的帝王。

are still sung today.

曼薩·穆薩以儲存大量黃金而聞名，

Now, several decades after the death of Sundiata,

他也以派使節到歐洲 和中東的朝廷而聞名。

a new king ascended the throne,

他的野心完全不輸給他的前人，

Mansa Musa, its most famous emperor.

但他發現一種不同的方式 可以保護他在歷史上的地位。

Now, Mansa Musa is famed for his vast gold reserves

在 1324 年，曼薩·穆薩去麥加朝聖，

and for sending envoys to the courts of Europe and the Middle East.

他此行的扈從就有數千人。

He was every bit as ambitious as his predecessors,

傳說有 100 隻駱駝， 每隻載著 100 磅的黃金。

but saw a different kind of route of securing his place in history.

有記錄指出，旅程中的每個星期五

In 1324, Mansa Musa went on pilgrimage to Mecca,

他都會建立一間功能完整的清真寺，

and he traveled with a retinue of thousands.

做了非常多的仁慈之舉。

It's been said that 100 camels each carried 100 pounds of gold.

偉大的巴巴里編年史家 伊本·巴圖塔寫到：

It's been recorded that he built a fully functioning mosque

「他用仁慈淹沒了開羅，

every Friday of his trip,

在北非和中東的市場花了如此多錢，

and performed so many acts of kindness,

以致於影響到了接下來 十年的黃金價格。」

that the great Berber chronicler, Ibn Battuta, wrote,

回程時，

"He flooded Cairo with kindness,

曼薩·穆薩紀念他這趟旅程的方式是

spending so much in the markets of North Africa and the Middle East

在他的帝國的心臟地帶 建立一座清真寺。

that it affected the price of gold into the next decade."

他留給後世的遺產，

And on his return,

就是廷巴克圖，

Mansa Musa memorialized his journey

它代表了由非洲學者所寫的

by building a mosque at the heart of his empire.

最大量的書面歷史材料之一：

And the legacy of what he left behind,

大約有七十萬份中世紀文件，