Africa as a destination for history

Apart from North Africa the continent is rarely seen as a destination for lovers of history, that needs to change.

Like me you’re probably enduring the interminable state of lockdown, wondering when it will ever end, perpetually scrolling through social media in search of more crumbs of distraction. Well, help is at hand travel fans. The BBC have kindly posted to YouTube a fifteen part documentary on the history of Africa that will comfortably use up over eleven hours of your currently unfulfilled time. Your previous excuses for avoiding devoting such an inordinate amount of time to more edifying viewing, such as the pub being open or having to catch the latest episode of some Netflix drama, are looking pretty flimsy by now. If the series doesn’t give you some travel inspiration, nothing will.

Sudanese born, British news presenter, Zeinab Badawi takes us from the dawn of humanity to the age of colonialism. Whilst stopping off at some of the historical highlights of Africa, she ties events to the present by interviewing Africans about their culture. She particularly gives voice to women, both the ordinary and influential, in a way that a male presenter would struggle to – a vital balance when history is so often seen as a matter of kings, warriors and battles.

Permeating the series are some important themes rarely touched on in mainstream coverage of Africa: – how African history has so often been written by outsiders, colonialists and orientalists; its extensive interaction with outside cultures; the devaluation of oral culture and how the continent’s people and its diaspora have often been disconnected with their past by slavery and colonialism. This series rightly and unashamedly uses only African sources, historians and film crew to present a far truer representation of the history.

While the great architectural heritage of sub Saharan Africa, such as the churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia and the stone structures of Great Zimbabwe are rightly celebrated and worthy of any tourists itinerary, the series amply demonstrates that the history is so often contained within the people themselves. Its true that many popular destinations may offer more in terms of history expressed in architecture that can be impressive even without explanation. However, cultural forms like songs, drums and dance, found throughout Africa, are so much more than entertainment: they communicate history, culture, values, myths and faith in a way that the carved stone of buildings never can. They might require a bit more effort to appreciate as an outsider but their value is no less significant than the medieval cathedrals of Europe or the temples of Asia.

One of the churches of Lalibela carved from solid rock

Especially when you get out into villages and more remote areas you find that much of the past is alive and well in a way it rarely is in the West. You can find history by interacting with people rather than looking at something preserved in a case in a museum. Islam and Christianity may have come to dominate the religious identity of Africa but life is still infused with the values and concepts of traditional religions and spirituality that existed millennia before these imported faiths. It is these values in the people that have made my travels in Africa such a rewarding experience, which will always draw me back again.

Having presented and produced the series, Zeinab has made a valuable contribution to the popular understanding of not just African but world history. In this TED talk she discusses her inspirations behind the project and is well worth checking out as a compliment to the series.