JC Niala, University of Oxford
African history tends to be characterised by its silences. The history that is known internationally is often framed in relation to European history meaning that tragic events and contested histories are foregrounded. In contrast, many diasporic African historians work to tell a history that is centred on the view from the continent itself. One that both celebrates the contributions made by Africans and lifts the lid on the so-called silences. I am no different. In my practice, I work to incorporate two traditions: African oral history which uses embodied and distributed archives centred in the community and the European academic history in which I have been trained. Both traditions value rigorous research. Thus, a key methodology which I work with is Community Action Research.
Community Action Research involves training community members to follow their research interests to increase and diversify knowledge and to effect institutional change. From 2019-2021, I was working at the Horniman Museum & Gardens and was interested to see what Community Action Research could do to illuminate the anthropology collections that were in my care. There was not enough known about the thousands of objects in the African and Caribbean collections. Once the Community Action Research project began, it became clear that the stories that were being uncovered by curators and researchers at the Horniman were connected to a wide range of African histories. We began to publish some of them on the Horniman website, but I felt they needed a wider audience.
This feeling intensified following the renewed interest in Black Histories. We were getting invitations to talk about our work and what people of all backgrounds really wanted to know more about, were the histories we were working with. The solution seemed to me, to use a contemporary version of an ancient African technology. Griots are (amongst other things) West African storytellers and oral historians. Across the continent every African community has their version of griots. It became apparent that podcasts are a technology mediated contemporary version of the way in which griots work. People listen to podcasts to hear stories and learn about many different things including history. The Horniman was open to hosting the podcast if I was able to produce it.
This is where my membership of the Social History Society made it possible. I have always found the society to be friendly and supportive. To this, I now add practical, by way of the Joint BME events and Activities Small Grant which I was awarded in 2020. The grant enabled me to purchase all the requisite software and equipment to be able to produce the podcast. Due to the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire 10-episode podcast series was produced remotely using an online studio. We even had to post headsets to Community Action Researchers and contributors as we worked to create a uniform sound. At time of going to press, I still have not met my co-producers Tom Fearon and Sian Brett in person. The whole grant application process was straightforward and even supported me to increase my ambitions for the podcast series, which is now also available on iTunes and Spotify, and has listeners from over 30 countries with every continent represented (apart from Antarctica).
We decided to work with the idiom of movement to reflect the diversity and dynamism of the African continent. All the histories that were featured emerged from the research carried out on the collections held at the Horniman Museum and Gardens. The first three episodes feature my research on the Swahili East African Coast triggered by an ornate chair called Kiti cha Enzi or the seat of power. The medieval trade routes along the Indian Ocean from the Swahili Coast were busier than the old Silk Road, but are less well known because they did not involve Europe. These three episodes are followed by Sherry Davis’ (a Community Action Researcher) special episode looking at the erasure of African archaeologists’ contributions. The next three episodes focused on religion – Islam, Ifá and African Christianity which flourished even before the arrival of European missionaries to the continent. The final three episodes focused on different technologies – crafting, mobile milk processing and headrests.
The response we have had to the podcasts has been overwhelmingly positive. All the people involved have gone on to make unexpected and fruitful connections. Importantly, now that the entire series is ‘out in the world’ it not only adds to the growing body of work of African centred histories, it will also hopefully encourage others to also share their research. I would certainly recommend both joining the Social History Society and applying for the grant. I found my experience to be one that stimulated me to deepen my practice whilst providing the opportunity for the work to have greater reach.
You can listen to the Afro Historyscapes podcast series here.
About the author:
JC Niala is a doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford. She is a historian of the Great War, whose work examines the lives of African peoples in global contexts. You can read more about her research and writing here https://www.jcniala.com/