The Timbuktu Manuscripts: Uncovering Africa's Hidden History

You may have heard the phrase, "from here to Timbuktu," which implies a far-off, hard-to-reach destination. Historically, Timbuktu was a flourishing hub of trade and learning. Established around the 5th century BC, it wasn't until the 12th century that a permanent settlement emerged, credited to the Tuareg nomads.

Timbuktu's location along the Niger River, at the southwestern edge of the Sahara, made it a key trading post. The city thrived during the 14th century, driven by the salt, ivory, and gold trade.

The Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta first documented Timbuktu in 1353, and by 1375, it was included in the Catalan Atlas. The city’s prosperity was largely attributed to Mansa Musa, one of history's wealthiest figures.

In 1324, Mansa Musa conquered Timbuktu, incorporating it into the Mali Empire. While the extent of his wealth is debated, his patronage of culture and knowledge is beyond question.

Musa initiated the construction of the Djinguereber Mosque and the Sankoré Madrasah, which along with the Sidi Yahya Mosque, formed the University of Timbuktu. This institution became a pivotal center of learning during the Middle Ages.

Scribes at the university translated works from Plato, Hippocrates, and Avicenna, covering diverse subjects such as art, medicine, religion, law, philosophy, and mathematics, including unconventional themes like human sexuality.

Among the collection was The Mukham, a comprehensive 28-volume Arabic dictionary from an 11th-century Spanish scholar. Another intriguing work, Advising Men on Sexual Engagement with Their Women, addressed subjects like aphrodisiacs and ways to strengthen marital bonds.

The Timbuktu manuscripts encompassed a wide array of topics including fortune-telling, astronomy, and herbalism, potentially numbering up to 700,000 volumes at their peak.

What set this collection apart was that, unlike libraries in Europe and Asia, these manuscripts were primarily kept in private homes. Ordinary citizens safeguarded the knowledge and passed it down through generations. However, wars, migrations, and famines scattered the manuscripts, complicating recovery efforts.

One determined individual set out to reclaim Timbuktu’s lost knowledge: Abdel Kader Haidara.

The Decline of Timbuktu

Born into a scholarly family, Haidara was familiar with Western intellectual traditions. In the 19th century, European historians largely overlooked Africa’s history outside Egypt, fostering the notion that the continent lacked a written legacy. This perspective fueled Haidara’s reverence for the Timbuktu manuscripts, as he sought to showcase the lengths to which generations of Africans had gone to preserve their intellectual heritage.

Haidara traveled throughout Mali, collecting and cataloging ancient manuscripts. He acquired books from both affluent and humble households, negotiating with individuals and encouraging donations. His relentless efforts culminated in a collection of 400,000 volumes, now housed at the Ahmad Baba Research Center.

However, on June 13, 2012, a faction of Al-Qaeda known as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb launched an attack on Timbuktu, seizing control of the city shortly thereafter.

The extremists imposed Sharia law, resulting in brutal punishments for alleged transgressions. They targeted Timbuktu’s cultural heritage, vandalizing the graves of Sufi saints and assaulting the Djinguereber Mosque. While the mosque itself remained intact, many adjacent shrines were destroyed.

Al-Qaeda deemed the Timbuktu manuscripts blasphemous due to their diverse subjects, which contradicted the narrow Wahhabi ideology. They viewed the texts as anti-Islamic and refused to tolerate any dissenting opinions.

With the library in their sights, Haidara’s lifelong work faced imminent destruction. The centuries of effort by Malians to protect their ancient wisdom were at risk of being obliterated.

Yet the "badass librarians" were not prepared to surrender their legacy without a struggle. They were ready to risk everything to rescue the manuscripts.

Mission Impossible: Smuggling the Manuscripts to Safety

In the aftermath of the Al-Qaeda takeover, Haidara convened with other families to strategize the preservation of their vulnerable manuscripts. They quickly concluded that they needed volunteers to procure large footlockers suitable for storing the texts.

Under the cover of night, Haidara and his colleagues packed the manuscripts into metal crates, careful to avoid drawing the terrorists' attention. With the atmosphere of lawlessness escalating, the librarians had to remain vigilant.

The first challenge was to discreetly package the books without attracting suspicion. Transporting them from Timbuktu to Bamako presented an even greater obstacle.

"It was very difficult. We had loads of manuscripts and needed thousands of metal boxes without the means to transport them. We required assistance from outside," stated Abdel Kader Haidara.

Securing funding for the operation was essential, as Al-Qaeda had established numerous checkpoints. One misstep could jeopardize the entire mission. The distance between Timbuktu and Bamako spans 606 miles, requiring careful navigation through perilous territory.

The German Foreign Office and the Prince Claus Foundation of the Netherlands provided crucial financial support.

Haidara and the librarians utilized trucks, canoes, and carts to transport the boxes, often concealing them beneath vegetables and fruits or disguising them as personal belongings of fleeing families.

Outsmarting Al-Qaeda was no guarantee of safe passage. The Malian government, in collaboration with French troops, aimed to thwart the extremists’ expansion. At one point, a French helicopter intercepted a canoe transporting the boxes, suspecting it was smuggling weapons.

Fortunately, the transporters managed to show the soldiers the contents, allowing them to continue their journey.

There were numerous close encounters. Haidara’s nephew, Mohammed Touré, was detained by Islamic police on charges of theft, but thanks to his knowledge of Islamic law and family connections, he was released after 24 hours.

The mission to smuggle the Timbuktu manuscripts to Bamako ultimately succeeded. Over nine months, 95% of the texts were safely relocated to a library in the capital.

By the time the extremists discovered the library in Timbuktu, most shelves were bare. Frustrated by being outsmarted, they burned 4,000 manuscripts from the initial collection of 400,000.

While Al-Qaeda aimed to obliterate all knowledge, the bravery of Haidara and his colleagues ensured that future generations could still access the invaluable wisdom of the Timbuktu manuscripts.

After their evacuation, Haidara and his team faced the urgent task of preventing degradation of the manuscripts. The NGO SAVAMA-DCI is collaborating with librarians to digitize the texts.

Many digitized manuscripts are now accessible via Google Arts and Culture, offering hope to bibliophiles worldwide that Africa's remarkable written history will endure.

Haidara sought to reveal that Africa has much to offer beyond narratives of colonialism and slavery. The digitization of the Timbuktu manuscripts allows us to appreciate a long-neglected chapter in Africa’s history.

Knowledge is a powerful antidote to ignorance, yet authoritarian regimes fear wisdom. They strive to extinguish dissenting perspectives. Fortunately, the Timbuktu manuscripts survived, unlike the countless volumes lost in the Library of Alexandria.

If you wish to learn more about the fate of the renowned library, continue reading.

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