Guinean historian and intellectual Djibril Tamsir Niane is dead
Guinean intellectual Djibril Tamsir Niane in September 2018 in Conakry.
© Carol Valade / RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Guinean historian and author Djibril Tamsir Niane died this Monday morning March 8 in Dakar, at the age of 89, swept away by Covid-19, according to his family.
A major academic figure in contemporary Africa, specialist in the history of Mandingo, from the Mali Empire to the Middle Ages in particular, he is also the author of plays and participated in the writing of the " General History of Africa ”under the aegis of Unesco.
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With our correspondent in Conakry,
Carol Valade
He was if not the greatest, arguably the most famous of Guinean historians.
With great gentleness and an almost bewitching voice, Djibril Tamsir Niane knew how to tell like no one else: "
The epic of Mandigue
".
It is the subtitle of his most famous work, which has become a classic in school curricula.
"
You have to know the past in order to act in common, love for the country only exists through knowledge of history
", he liked to say.
Imprisoned for his commitment
His engagement after independence earned him being imprisoned for three years at the Boiro camp.
“
And yet, I had NO.
You too, by the way
, ”he wrote in a poem shortly before his arrest.
Forced into exile in Senegal, he tirelessly pursues his work of collecting and transcribing the story of the griots, notably within the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa.
"
It's a huge loss for our country,"
says his grandson and namesake, Djibril.
But he wrote down his knowledge.
And now, it is up to us to pass on this heritage
”.
In particular through the library that bears his name, located in front of his house in the Minière district, in Conakry.
The importance of teaching history
In September 2018, during an interview with RFI, Djibril Tamsir Niane spoke in particular about the importance of teaching Guinean history.
It is important to look back on the past and show what we have in common.
Knowledge of history seems essential to me to really establish a nation.
[…] Ignoring History, we cannot act in common.
Listen to the voice of the late Professor Djibril Tamsir Niane
Carol Valade
► Also to listen: Memory of a continent - The educational use of the General History of Africa: the challenges
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