Silent Syntax: The Language and Stories of Women Woven into baTonga Basketry /  by Samba Yonga

by Banji Chona for Europeana Women’s Day 2024



To commemorate the stories of women, today and always, the Women's History Museum of Zambia is celebrating the ancestral and living histories woven into the delicate telluric basketry (cisuo) of the baTonga women of the Southern Province of Zambia. Basketry has always played an integral role in the lives of baTonga women. The vessels reflect the deep symbiotic relationship batonga women have with their natural environment. The knowledge of harvesting the ilala (palm) (hyphaene coriacea) and matete (reeds) (phragmites mauritianus) for their fibres and pounding the bark of mwiinji (berchemia discolor) for it's brown pigments and dyes. The skills and artistry found woven into the geometric patterning of the baskets. The innovation illustrated in the many uses of the baskets, like the winnowing or storage of grain. 

The inquiry into the silent syntax of women is a valuable way for our museum to interpret the various forms in which alternative histories were documented and kept alive. Approaching non-written histories, such as those inscribed in the patterning and materials of the baTonga baskets allow us to foreground the silenced voices in the mainstream archive 

Silent Syntax: The Language and Stories of Women Woven into baTonga Basketry as a body of research exists as a preservation of living ancestral knowledge embedded in the patterns and materials found in the motifs and techniques in baTonga basketry. The weaving of basketry has been one of the central, practical and artistic, crafting traditions of baTonga women. For generations, baTonga women have honed their skills in the art of basket weaving, passing down techniques and knowledge from mother to daughter. The intricate patterns and designs showcased in their baskets not only serve practical purposes but also hold deep cultural significance. Each woven piece tells a story, reflecting the rich heritage and creativity of the baTonga people. 

Through this timeless craft, these women have found a way to express their identity and preserve their traditions for future generations to admire and appreciate. In a world where stories are often told through a narrow lens, it is crucial to recognize the power of diverse perspectives. The baTonga women in this narrative serve as more than just characters; they are the very essence of living archives, preserving traditions, wisdom, and experiences that shape their community. As artists, their creativity knows no bounds, weaving tales of resilience and strength through their craft. And as historians, they hold the key to unlocking a past that is rich with culture and heritage. 

In challenging the status quo, these women redefine what it means to be seen and heard in a post-colonial world. They are not merely passive subjects of history but active participants, shaping the narrative with their voices and presence. Their stories remind us of the importance of listening to those whose voices have been marginalized and overlooked, for it is in these stories that we find a reflection of our shared humanity and the endless possibilities of a more inclusive future.



All images have been sourced from our digital collection, ‘Shared Histories’ 

"Invisible Archives - Seeing, decoding and locating silences in a colonial archive" /  by Samba Yonga

by Samba Yonga for Yale’s Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage

Invisible Archives - Seeing, decoding and locating silences in a colonial archive.


The idea is that the colonial archive tells you stories… the reality is, it also creates silences. The question to consider is what stories the silences of colonial archives tell and what the archive does to biographies of objects they hold.My practice is largely on how to communicate cultures and in my contact with colonial archives I have discovered the gaps and silences that archives reveal about my own cultures.


The colonial experience was a period of acquisition of artefacts looted and “gifted” during the colonial expeditions, I speak particularly from Africa but the experience as similar in other territories. It coincided with a time when religion was also introduced as a tool to coerce, silence and control populations in these territories. This extraction of cultural heritage and the suppression of intangible heritage rendered the creation of colonial archives that have entangled histories and narratives that continue to be reproduced with violence, erasure and oppression that the objects carried with them.


The interruption, dislocation and decontextualisation that was caused by the separation of knowledge, objects and histories from their place of origin has created epistemicides in their communities of origin which the archive is blind to. This introduces the question of sovereignty, position and the power of a colonial archive. How it imposes power, takes away power and renders the “archives” it claims to hold powerless.


The reality is many of the items that have experienced epistemic violence were themselves archives and this entanglement and contact with colonial archives has made them lifeless. The objects dies and is deactivated when it sits on the shelf of a colonial archive and in coming into contact with the objects we have found we are not only grappling with the idea of how to restitute the object but also start decoding the life and knowledge of an indigenous archive embedded in the colonial archive and considering how the dislocation changes the indigenous coding and the prospect of codifying this unwritten language without any Western knowledge system mediation.


This is an example of this indigenous archive – The Makishi Mask and the Book of Chokwe Ancestral Knowledge



The images are of the Makishi masks and tablets with ancient ancestral symbolic language called “Tusona” that journeyed from their place of origin to a dealer, then a collector who rendered meaning to them by writing a book and then gave them back to the National museum in Lusaka as a “donation”. In the  national Lusaka Museum, where  these pictures were taken, they are stored on a shelf in a store room, gathering dust. The curators and conservators do not even know the names of these objects, they are not clear of the provenance of the object and essentially have repeated the silencing and erasure of the colonial archive that they had been “rescued” from. The entanglement, erasure and silencing continues even here.

Another part of this story is that we have done previous studies with the Makishi masks that are located in the archives of the National Museum of World Cultures in Sweden, we are working with the museum and have created digital surrogates of the masks. In the museum the Makishi is attributed to the wrong ethnic group. It is described as a mask used in a ceremony and the narrative ends there. It is mostly considered in its aesthetic nature and yet none of the features of the masks or tablets are intended for aesthetics. If I had to attempt to present these masks and tablets in its actual function it would be something in the order of the tablets used by the indigenous people as archives of knowledge of the Luvale people which perform knowledge transmission functionality when activated through ritual performance and are embedded with symbols and language that carry significant meaning.

These masks and Tusona are part of the Mukanda initiation ceremony for boys that is performed by the Luvale, Chokwe, Luchazi and Mbunda people during the Likumbi Lya MIze ceremony. The significance of this ceremony is that a ritual is performed where ancestors are reanimated through these masks through dance, rhythm, music and oral transmission and in this way pass on the ancient knowledge of the ancestors to the initiates. Symbols and markings on those tablets represent an archive of knowledge and information that is embedded into our bodies, and in that sense our bodies also become archives. I am describing an archive and how this community comes into contact with the archive, accesses the archive and interacts with it. And the practice today, as I describe it, is largely interrupted and no longer practiced as a result of this separation.

In my very rudimentary description you can already see and hear how different these same objects are presented to the world and for me it is particularly frustrating that in our own museum we perpetuate this silence… essentially still reproducing a colonised archive in a post-colonial and independent space of learning for indigenous people.

This makes us (at the museum) also consider how colonial archives change the biography of an object– for the mask and tablets, the story dies in the book, in the library, in the museum storage or on the shelf of an archive and it begs the question of how to deal with silences and ways of seeing or not seeing that the colonial archive manifests and questioning its ability to perform as an archive for these specific modified objects.

We are in deep contemplation thinking around the question of - What does contact with colonial archives do to other forms of archives? – The violence of  colonial archives. The colonial archive keeps the dead material and the community is also robbed of the archive

The power the colonial archive has to decide the fate of an indigenous archive is a power that is largely excludes indigenous communities and gives meaning mostly through the lens of the colonial archive.

On our end we then start to think and consider the question of  - What do indigenous archives and libraries look like? What are the politics of seeing this archive with a varied lens? How to make visible invisible spots in archives.

I will end with the story shared by Teju Cole to illustrate the absurdity of some items in a colonial archive, he says when you want to listen to Bach or Beethoven you would not go straight to the score and contemplate it and think “Oh great piece of music” you have to actually listen to the song or composition to fully appreciate its beauty and value and that makes complete sense, people go into an archive or museum and they will look at an object, and this case a mask, and only read the score and not have the experience of what it transmits when activated… and that stayed with me in understanding the interaction and impact of colonial archives and what we need to do to influence and change that.

Curating Cultural and Indigenous Knowledge Transmission: Women’s History Museum x Kasaka River Lodge Workshops /  by Guest User

The Women's History Museum of Zambia, in partnership with the Kasaka River Lodge launched a series of curated workshops that focused on transmitting cultural and indigenous knowledge through arts, academia and technology for women.

The aim of the workshops is to create a framework of understanding of our cultural and indigenous fields and to provide the women with skills, knowledge, and mentorship to enhance their careers and personal growth that is not normally taught is current learned environments.

The museum's co-founders, who have a wealth of experience and expertise in Zambia's history and culture, share their insights and perspectives with the women alongside the workshop facilitators, and encourage them to explore and celebrate their own heritage and identity.

Location

  • The workshops take place at Kasaka River Lodge which is located in the Chiawa Game Management Area bordering the Lower Zambezi National Park. The Lodge offers a fantastic riverside location on the banks of the Zambezi River, directly across from the Mana Pools in Zimbabwe. Choosing the location is deliberate. We want to take the process of learning back to the rural land where learning was done through ritual and initiation and we are testing the space of indigenous learning and what the tools, language and space was used for teaching and learning.

Workshop Structure

The workshops usually consist of a group of 12 female participants who are selected following a call for applications that is shared on the Museum’s social pages.

The workshops have a 4 day duration with each day broken up into a series of sessions, field trips and exercises.

Past Workshops

April 2023: Women in Photography

Facilitator: Richard I'Anson

https://www.richardianson.com/

Description: Richard l’Anson holds a Master of Photography and is a documentary travel photographer who has worked in this field over the past 36 years in more than 90 countries and on all seven continents. The workshop aimed to enhance the women’s skills in photography and address some knowledge gaps identified by the participants themselves. The natural landscape was used as a perfect canvas to capture and tell stories of indigenous landscapes.

Description: The women in travel writing workshop focused on equipping women in the travel industry with the skills to craft compelling travel articles and effectively pitch their stories to publications. Participants had the unique opportunity to learn from industry luminaries such as Fiona Carruthers, Tony Wheeler, and Zambia's own Discover Zambia Duo, Dorothy Walker and Chilalo Mumba. The writing focused on local narratives of the social and natural landscape and layered new perspectives of understanding on how to travel write that is outside the usual touristic lens.

This cohort was facilitated by Mazuba Kapambwe-Mizzi, who is not only a travel writer but also holds extensive knowledge of African Art. Mazuba holds a Masters degree in African Studies from the University of Albany.


Link to article by participant: https://www.africanawoman.com/post/zambian-travel-writers-in-lower-zambezi




August 2023: Women in History

Facilitator: Dr Francis B. Musonda

https://www.unza.zm/people/school-of-humanities-and-social-sciences/department-of-history/professor-francis-b-musonda

Description: The group was led by the University of Zambia’s Associate Professor of Archaeology, Dr. Francis B. Musonda. The workshop aimed to provide an opportunity for women studying or working in history to explore an undocumented site in the Lower Zambezi and conduct a preliminary survey in the identified site to ascertain whether there was a need to undertake an excavation at a later date.

October 2023: Women Creatives in Technology

Facilitators: Multiple

Sandi Chimpala (Tech Trends Zambia) - LinkedIn: https://zm.linkedin.com/in/sandichimpala Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/sandichimpala Tech Trends: https://www.techtrends.co.zm/

Liseli "Lady Light" Akayombokwa - https://linktr.ee/Lady_Light_Lsk

LRDMND - https://knownorigin.io/lrdmnd

Uzi Chinyonga - https://www.linkedin.com/in/uzi-chinyonga/

Sampa Suzie – BICOS https://www.facebook.com/BICOSZM?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Description: In the ever-evolving landscape of technology and the arts, the intersection of creativity and innovation offers endless possibilities on how to manage cultural heritage. The "Women Creatives in Tech" workshop aimed to provide women artists with the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to harness the potential of Web 3.0 technology in their artistic and cultural expression endeavours. This immersive workshop empowered participants to leverage decentralised platforms, blockchain, and interactive digital experiences to amplify their artistic expression and create impactful works in the digital age.


For those interested in learning more about this transformative initiative, please contact Ms. Kondwani Vwalika, Cultural and Projects Coordinator at kgvwalika@gmail.com or hello@whmzambia.org

Fractures Returns to Alliance Française by Dr. Andrew Mulenga /  by Samba Yonga

Dr Andrew Mulenga, in his column ‘Mulling Over Art’ in The Mast newspaper has published a review of our Trajectories exhibition- the 2nd installation of our series of travelling exhibitions- in collaboration with Alliance Française de Lusaka @aflusaka •

The article, written by Dr Mulenga for his art and culture column: Mulling over art, shines a light on our ethos and continued desire to explore Zambian artistry through the support of local creatives. Delve further into what artistry and creative visions our residents can conjure through this iteration. Read the background of our artists and curators while gaining a glimpse into their expressive worlds and how the crux of reparation and displacement of indigenous culture can be reenvisioned, modernised and used as a clutch to create a substantive and evocative commentary on our cultural climate while reclaiming heritage.

Thank you to Dr. Mulenga for expanding our journey.

NOW SHOWING: Fractures Exhibition /  by Guest User

Monday - Friday

09:00- 17:00

Saturday

9:00 - 13:00

Alliance Française de Lusaka

Plot 22725 Alick Nkhata Avenue Longacres Lusaka ZM, 10101

Fractures, in collaboration with Alliance Français, is the collective name for a series of roundtables, workshops and exhibitions (physical and virtual) which are dedicated to the examination of the palpable tension experienced between the past and the present.

The Fracture is representative of extraction, presentation, disruptions and

silence; of the indigenous and the occident;

It is representative of the process of the (re)creation of meaning and the reorientation of the fragments of the many Zambian pasts which have been dispersed across spectrums of existence and understanding.


Artists: Masili, Tasila Mwale, Nchawaka Kanyama, Mwamba Chikwemba, Edith Chiliboy, Hannah Siliya

Curator: Banji Chona

Museums Lab Fellowship /  by Guest User

TheMuseumsLab is a platform for joint learning, exchange and continuing education on the future of museums in both Africa and Europe. The programme started in 2021 has the aim to establish close and lasting networks between future shapers of museum concepts on both sides.

Our co-founder @sambayonga was selected as one of the Museums Lab 2022 fellow. During the fellowship distinguished scholars and Museum experts congregated in countries in Europe and Africa to build the future of African and European museums, integrating technology, indigenous knowledge and culture. She will be representing Zambia and sharing work developed around validation and restitution of African objects and indigenous knowledge

The Africa object restitution debate is at an all time high globally. At the ongoing @themuseumslab fellowship, fellows were selected to represent and participate in a panel discussion that focused on the "how" of restitution and the "who". The panel was held at a public event at the Museum Für Naturkunde and attended by German museum and government officials including the Minister of Culture Claudia Roth and representatives from the Ministry of Economic Cooperation. We are so proud that our co-founder @sambayonga represented the fellowship and the lab. Watch the full YouTube video here.

Nangoma The Rainmaker /  by Guest User

What an incredible story! This week's #LeadingLadiesZM focused on Nangoma, a rainmaker that understood that an environment with healthy regenertaing plants, water and animal life was necessary for a community to have stable families, peaceful lives, prosperity, adequate food and security.

Perhaps the most fascinating part of Nangoma's story is how she treated numerous people with traditional medicine and saved more lives during the smallpox and influenza outbreaks than the clinics.

She's a clear example of how our indigenous knowledge can solve the problems we face in our communities.

Follow her story on #LeadingLadiesZM season 4 episode 3!

Leading Ladies: Eco-Feminism /  by Guest User

The Women's History Museum of Zambia has launched a new season of “Leading Ladies”, a short animated Zambian podcast web series that tells the story of historical women who held significant positions of leadership in a variety of fields. This is the 4th installment of 4 seasons that have included narratives from Zambia, Malawi and South Africa which have highlighted stories of regional leading ladies such as Winnie Mandela. The animated podcast is a collaboration between the Women’s History Museum and the Dutch cultural fund HIVOS-Southern Africa Region.


Season 4 of Leading Ladies is centred around the notion of Eco-Feminism and its existence within the Zambian and wider African context. In our history, climate- related risks and climate-driven stress have been managed and hedged by women in a network of system-wide activities and roles. This series explores historical female personalities that played a role in climate resilience, climate peace and environmental protection. The series will contribute to better awareness of how women in our history played environmental management roles, through economic and community activities and leadership. The series will contribute to creating awareness about how women participated in the environment they lived in and occupied roles in the full spectrum of livelihood, knowledge production and leadership possibilities it represented.The series explores characters that represent sub-themes around climate change, conservation and the environment. Some of the subthemes include, climate and the forest, climate and the soil and climate and water. 


“The assumption in our past has been that women were not leaders in promoting environmental justice.” The premier episode of the season tells the story of Dr. Musonda Mumba, the wetland eco-warrior, a leading lady that was unphased by her unequal treatment in relation to her male counterparts.


All new episodes of Leading Ladies have been released today on 9th March with a fresh line up of phenomenal women in our Zambian history who contributed to the narrative of eco-feminism!


Stay glued to our social media platforms as we officially launch Season 4 this Women's Month!



Episode 1



THE FIGHT TO DECOLONIZE THE MUSEUM, The Atlantic /  by Guest User

written by Adam Hothschild

“Textbooks can be revised, but historic sites, monuments, and collections that memorialize ugly pasts aren’t so easily changed. Lessons from the struggle to update the Royal Museum for Central Africa, outside Brussels.”

One of europe’s loveliest urban journeys begins as you step aboard a trolley at the Montgomery Metro station in Brussels. Its tracks quickly emerge from underground to travel along a grand, tree-shaded boulevard lined with elegant mansions a century old or more, many of them now embassies. Then the route leaves the street traffic behind to run through a leafy forest of beech and oak, a former hunting ground for the dukes of Brabant that becomes a symphony of fluttering green light on a spring day. Finally the tracks end near a palatial stone edifice whose very existence embodies some of the unresolved tensions of our globalized world.

Welcome to the Royal Museum for Central Africa. Although one of the largest museums anywhere devoted exclusively to Africa, it is thousands of miles from the continent itself. The tall windows, pillared facade, rooftop balustrade, and 90-foot-high rotunda of the main building give it the look of a chateau. That impression is only enhanced by an inner courtyard and a surrounding park: formal French gardens, a reflecting pool and fountain, ponds with ducks and geese, wide lawns laced with hedges, and carefully groomed paths that sweep away to majestic trees in the distance.

Read more here:



Meet the Environmental Scientist Who Wants to Decolonize Conservation /  by Guest User

Indigenous communities 'are seen as research subjects rather than researchers.'

Jessica Hernandez found her way to conservation science and environmental justice through her grandmother—and her knowledge about the natural world, accumulated over generations.

Maria de Jesus, a member of southern Mexico’s Zapotec community, showed her granddaughter how to tend the family milpa, the plot where they harvested beans, corn, squash, medicinal plants and even grasshoppers. She led Hernandez on hikes through the mountains surrounding her house, explaining how plants and animals interact in the local ecosystem. “She instilled in me the kinships that we carry on as Indigenous peoples,” Hernandez said. 

Read more here:

Silenced and Invisible Historical Figures in Zambia /  by Guest User

Silenced and Invisible Historical Figures in Zambia: An Analysis of the Visual Portrayal of Women in Senior Secondary School History Textbooks by Edward Mboyonga

Abstract

“Despite their significant contribution to the country’s historical development, women’s influence is commonly underestimated and ignored in Zambian history literature. Subsequently, their role remains undocumented in secondary school textbooks to the extent that the sex blindness of traditional historiography, which sustains male dominance in history, remains unchallenged in the books. Through a qualitative approach and purposive sampling of two Zambian secondary school Grade 12 learners’ history textbooks, the study examined the portrayal of women. Located within the decoloniality paradigm, it counters the coloniality of power manifested through the insularity of dominant patriarchal historical narratives entrenched in the secondary school history curriculum, largely reflecting the remnants of colonial epistemologies and historiographical traditions. The findings in both textbooks reveal that the female characters are silenced and invisible compared to their male counterparts, reflecting the patriarchy hegemony in the secondary school Zambian history curriculum. In decolonising colonial power manifested in the curriculum, the study recommends mainstreaming gender equality in the history curricula and teaching and learning materials, mainly the learners’ textbooks, to reflect women’s achievements.”

read the full article here

KK Legacy Series /  by Guest User

KK LEGACY IN EDUCATION

We hosted a webinar in collaboration with Mulungushi University in honour of our founding father, Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda, and his legacy in the field of Education.


Education and the teaching profession were the bedrock from which he launched his political career. As First Republican president of Zambia, KK channelled a lot of resources and immense energy towards education. KK is a living embodiment of the versatility of the teaching profession.


Join us for a discussion focusing on aspects of KK’s legacy such as:


1. How did education and the teaching profession personally shape the man?

2. What developments in education did Kaunda lead and what are some of these legacies today?

3. The memorialisation of Kaunda in the education field through our curriculums from primary to tertiary level and in other knowledge spaces like our museums.

4. What is taught at these different levels on our histories in general and Kaunda contribution to this nation specifically?

5. Given that the relevance of history and history teaching increasingly comes under attack, we invite discussion on prospects for history teaching and learning and how we can improve the teaching of histories such as Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s legacies and the history of our nation in general.


The panellists include:

Mutale Mazimba - Kaunda-Historian and Writer

Dr Charity Meki Kombe - Lecturer and Researcher Mulungushi University

Mary Mbewe Mazimba - Lecturer of History

Victoria Phiri Chitungu - Cultural Expert and Curator, National Museums Board of Zambia


KK LEGACY IN ECONOMY

Dr Kaunda was known for numerous accomplishments, among them being a unifier and excellent statesman.


Mulungushi University and the Women’s History Museum discussed Kenneth Kaunda’s economic legacy and the foundation he laid for the establishment of economic fundamentals that shaped the economy of the country in the years to come.


On the panel we have:

Prof. Oliver Sassa, Prof. Helicy N'gambi, Dr Grieve Chelwa and Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba


Hosted by Christabel Ngongola-Reinke (Economics Lecturer; Mulungushi University ), Victoria Phiri Chitungu ( Cultural Expert and Curator, National Museums Board of Zambia) and Mary Mbewe Mazimba (History Lecturer; Mulungushi University).

WATCH WEBINAR

KK LEGACY IN ARTS

we hosted a webinar in association with Mulungushi University in honour of our late Founding Father and First Republican President, Dr Kenneth David Kaunda.


Our discussion will focus on how K.K has been portrayed in literary texts, music and film; how his nationalist policies influenced the publishing industry in Zambia; and get to know him as an author and musician.


On our panel we have lecturer, researcher and consultant, Dr. Mwaka Siluonde; writer and former National Arts Council Chairperson, Mulenga Kapwepwe; lecturer and writer, Dr. Chilala; writer and consultant, Marita Banda; filmmaker, the late Frank Kasonde.

WATCH WEBINAR


KK AND WOMEN OF INFLUENCE

we hosted a webinar in honour of our late founding father and first Republican President, Dr Kenneth David Kaunda.


Feel free to join us as we will discuss the significant role of specific women who had influence in his life and political career live on Zoom.


On our panel we will have cultural consultant and lecturer, Chanda Penda; historian, Mutale Mazimba-Kaunda; Lecturer of History, Mary Mbewe-Mazimba; and from the Women's History Museum we will have cultural experts, Mulenga Kapwepwe and Victoria Chitungu.

WATCH WEBINAR