Agurumyela's art of connection
Christopher Azaare's project of curating Gurensi history and culture
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2103567 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anatoli Ignatov (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 90 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 649-666 |
| Publication date | 2020-08-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Africa (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-9720 • E-ISSN: 1750-0184 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s000197202000025x |
| OpenAlex | W3047122239 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
This article explores the innovative and hybrid intellectual project of Christopher Azaare Anabila. Since 1976, Azaare has been documenting the histories of the Gurensi and Boosi people of northern Ghana and has crafted genealogical maps of whole villages and clans. He has written manuscripts on taboos, totems, proverbs, missionary activities, cultural institutions and anti-colonial resistance. Because of this work, people have begun to refer to Azaare asAgurumyela, which in Gurene means 'a person who digs into people's past'. Central to this lifelong endeavour is the museum of Gurensi culture that Azaare has been building in Gowrie. I present Azaare's views of this wide-ranging process of collection and re-casting and reflect on his motivation to reclaim history and curating authority from professional academics. I argue that Azaare's project allows us to recognize the ubiquitous existence of a vibrant strand of African intellectual creativity that combines multiple repertoires and draws on overlapping and diverse productions in different modes and media. Next, I turn to Azaare's manuscript on the institution oftindaanaship(earth custodians). I explore his genealogical method as anart of connectionthat highlights his role as an engaged community intellectual, weaving extensive networks between Gurensi communities, officials and academics
Archaeology · Art · Clan · Colonialism · Creativity · Custodians · Institution · Media studies · Political science · Resistance (ecology · Social science · Sociology · Visual arts · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Anthropology · History · Land Rights and Reforms · Law
Endogenous knowledge
Local Politics and the Dynamics of Property in Africa
Silencing the Past
The tribes of the Ashanti hinterland
Archive Fever
Re‐inventing traditional land tenure in the era of land commoditization
The archaeology of knowledge
Gandah-Yir
The Dynamics of Clanship among the Tallensi—being the First Part of an Analysis of the Social Structure of a Trans-Volta Tribe
A Critique of Postcolonial Reason
African Political Systems
Decolonizing Methodologies
| Highly cited | No |
|---|