Papaye n° 3
IFAN
Museum : Voyage in
the folds of history
by
Mbaye
One
summer morning at the museum of Black African Fundamental Institute, the temple
of primitive art close to the National Assembly of Senegal at Soweto Place ; the
exhibition room is a real place of emotions, of superstitious fear. What a lot
of wonders also, a delicious visual and spiritual delight provides itself to the
public. Inside the room, the smell straw and dust like in paper’s archives
warns the visitor on the age of the works.
In
the first section, you are welcomed by works on the Senoufo , and their history,
their practices and social organization are illustrated. Let us take the example
of Senoufo’s funeral in Cote d’Ivoire : drums slung across the shoulder, the
head covered by a mask, the traditional musician steps across the laid body. At
the same, other traditional musicians are performing. The scene takes place in a
village, near the huts and the cereals stores. Along the left corridor, there is
a succession of masks that give information on the senoufo’s sub region and on
their society’s stratification. In the same batch, we have masks of war, of
race, of singer and hunter ; masks of judge, of fetish, of beggars and
traditional musicians, dancers hats, calabashes, baskets, pillar of shelters,
capped vessels, raffia clothes... so many masks, so much emotion and personal
enjoyment. These masks have captivated such a lot of tourists. Ariane Janson ,
fifty years old is a French citizen who has been staying in Dakar for ten days.
This dermatologist is fond of masks, what makes her visit to Cheikh Anta Diop
IFAN museum a compulsory act. “I am fascinated by African masks, what has
stricken me the most here is the perfect restitution of ceremonies. We just
deplore the absence of video. Because, we can see plastic beauty, however we
don’t know what it means” said Ariane Janson.
In
the right corridor, you can contemplate an ancestor’s altar, sanctuary’s
statuettes, a primitive baby-cover and headrest, a dancer hat ornament, a basket
work, a just- married basket. These works have been collected in West Africa, in
the ancient regions of Segou, Sonrai, Sikasso(Mali), Niafara, Tomadi (Cote d’Ivoire),
Gouin, Oubritenga, Boulgou (burkina faso). As far as the Senoufo are concerned,
“ they are divided through out four countries : Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina
Faso and Ghana”. Their language is derived the language of the voltaic family
: Seynar, also called Senombele, “they are one of the most ancient population
of the region”. PORO is their religion. The senoufo believes in Koulotiolo,
his god, “ creator of the World, a distant and out of reach divinity”.
Just
after senoufo’s funerals, you come across the coming out of mourning of
Dogons, from Mali. Who are the Dogons ? They live in the “hilly region of
Bandiagara Cliffs and in the plain
of Gondo located below and which goes over the boundaries of Burkina Faso”.
Sub-divided into four groups( Avon, Ono, Dyon and Dommo). In all occasions,
dogons invoke Amma’s mercy, the creator of the universe and of Dogon
civilization. “Amma is a distant and immaterial god”. His name gives rhythm
to their prayers.
To
the visitor, the museum provides equally the Celebration of Harvest among the
Gourousi of Burkina Faso who “ proclaim themselves the first settlers” of
their region. Yet considered as a migrant people, their supreme divinity is
called YI “ The one who left the world after creating it”. Beside the
Bambara distinguish themselves very well with the celebration of the end of
harvesting. And naturally, people are dancing under that circumstance,
delightfully.
“
A nice setting. It is well exhibited. Wonderful...!”. Marie Melin, from Paris,
won’t get out unaffected from her voyage throughout the works. “ I really
liked the scenes, the representation of ceremonies”,
stated marveled, this staff manager of a Parisian company. We are in the
second section of the public exhibition room of the museum. From one section to
another, history is told again. Here, you are introduced into the depth of
Senegal, Guinea, Bissau Guinea, and of Sierra Leone. From boy’s initiation
among the Bassaris and Boukout
among the Diolas of Senegal, passing through women’s initiation among the
Mendes of Sierra Leone and to finally reach the crop celebration among the Bogo
and Malon of Guinea.
FROM
THE RESIDENCE TO MUSEUM
The
residence of the former governor who in fact is the commander of the
circumscription of Dakar, the building can be traced back from 1931 to 1932. In
1936, it held the libraries and the archives of FWA general education
inspection. After that the Black African Fundamental Institute created in 1938,
set up its services in the edifice, before being transferred at the university
in 1960. Then the building became
the Museum of African Art. It is therefore just a lab of IFAN’s department
similarly to the Sea Museum and the Historical Museum of Goree.
LAROU DIOP
The
African Art Museum of IFAN Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar is an ethnographic museum
but with an archeological collection. This museum claims itself to be on the
trails of human being through its material culture made of pottery, of masks,
bones and oratorical tools. Dealing with traditional art , this museum
integrates various activity sectors. Conservation, documentation, the
museographic conception of exhibitions and a photo lab are included in these
activities.
Whether
exhibited or stored, the museum objects, according to the last inventory, can be
numbered around 10.000 items. These objects represent art and culture of ethnic
groups. They have been picked up in the West African area. In Senegal, the East
and South served as sites of collecting in
as much as the culture of masks and of pottery is developed in these places.
Because the impact of Islam was not very deep in these areas. Cote d’Ivoire,
Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin and Guinea are other sites of collections. However the
first collections in this museum were done by the colonizers. The rest was
acquired after, during the missions. These acquisitions were done either by
purchase or under the form of donation. But this museum doesn’t give rise to
people’s passion. The seldom local visitors are students working on one aspect
of a people’s culture, educated people... The tourist represent the potential
visitors.
In
this museum, certain objects are subjected to a degrading process. But 80 % of
the objects are nevertheless in good condition. We are also told that the
problem is not of conservation, we must rather talk about the degrading factors.
In Dakar the moisture rate is around 98 %. In addition to that, insects, dust,
even man’s action are degrading factors.
All
of this, like the high price of objects treatment products, makes the task of
conservation very difficult.
Another
difficulty related to the management of this museum is its lack own budget. It
depends on the directing office of IFAN. If missions of collection have to be
done, this office is called upon. If a treatment is required, the same procedure
is to be followed. Even the money generated by visits and exhibitions goes back
to that office’s account.
The
African Art Museum is also suffering from a lack of an isolated place where
objects can be treated. And yet, the collected works must be examined, then
treated before being stored for fear they might contaminate the other objects.
There is also problem of training of qualified staff.
The
museum Internet site didn’t last long : only three months of existence. The
telephone line is cut a long time ago. Moreover, the museum doesn’t even have
statistics. No one Knows the seasonal number of visitors.