Thinking about Namibian heritage

THE University of Namibia (Unam) recently hosted a major three-day conference to consider ‘The Past, Present and Future of Namibian Heritage’ ahead of Namibian Heritage Week.

The conference was organised in collaboration with the Museums Association of Namibia (MAN) and the University of Basel of Switzerland.

It was divided into 12 sessions with the topics including the meaning of heritage in a Namibian context, the debate around collaboration, the possible repatriation of artifacts from collections abroad, the role of public art in contemporary society and the challenges behind providing suitable training to support capacity-building in the heritage sector.

The conference started with over a hundred participants being welcomed by professor Frednard Gideon, the pro-vice-chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Namibia and Dr Bennett Kangumu, the chairperson of the National Heritage Council of Namibia. Gideon emphasised the fact that the conference was one of the fruits of an official partnership Unam had forged with the University of Basel. He praised the Carl Schlettwein Stiftung Foundation, the main sponsor of the conference, for its consistent support for the development of Namibian research and noted that over 50 Namibians had already obtained post-graduate qualifications thanks to scholarships provided by the foundation.

Dr Kangumu argued that cultural heritage should not be viewed as simply part of Namibia’s tourism package, but that it lies at the heart of economic development of the country. Dr Kangumu’s argument was later taken up in presentations by Elliot Mowa and by Dr Angel Tordisillas who spoke about the ways in which the Oranjemund shipwreck and the National Maritime Museum (being developed at Lüderitz) can be magnets for economic growth at the towns.

The conference involved a diverse range of contributors with 58 people participating in 12 panels and lots of time being provided for discussions from the floor. In addition to the presentation of 40 papers, there was also a panel discussion on training and a book launch (of ‘The Genocidal Gaze’).

The conference was only advertised through the networks of the three organising institutions, but generated tremendous interest. While the original budget catered for 90 participants, it was eventually stretched to enable 120 people to participate and Diddy Muifi, the conference organiser (from the Museums Association of Namibia), said that he is sure that if it had been possible, many more people would have attended.

One of the central features of the conference was that it encouraged the breaking of boundaries. Dr Sem Shikongo and Papa Shikongeni opened the conference with an appeal that it should draw on traditional belief systems and not just be an intellectual exercise. They argued that drawing on African roots would help participants to rethink their sense of identity.

Axaro Thaniseb spoke about the way in which the government’s new arts, culture and heritage policy had been developed through a consultative process. Catherine Cole, the secretary-general of the Commonwealth Association of Museums, introduced the discussion of the ways in which museums, whose collections were often entangled with colonial history, could be refashioned for the 21st century.

The theme was taken up in the second session which included discussions about the statue of the Curt von François in Windhoek, the Swakopmund Museum, the Witbooi Bible in the Linden Museum in Stuttgart and the ways in which art might be used to ask new questions about museum collections. Discussions about the ways in which Namibian museums and communities might engage in dialogue with collections in museums and archives abroad was developed in presentations dealing with collections in Berlin, Bremen and Frankfurt in Germany, Basel and Berne in Switzerland and Vienna in Austria.

The engagement with cultural heritage covered a wide range of topics. For example, Hertha Bukasa, the culture officer for the Otjozondjupa region, spoke about the skills in making the traditional Herero dress, whilst Moses Mberiria gave a presentation on the significance of hairstyles.

Lovisa Nampala and Nehoa Kautondokwa made an appeal for the preservation of the Oompampa (traditional graves) of the Aakwaniilwa (kings) of the Owambo kingdoms of the North, using the kingdom of Ondonga as an example.

The conference also sought to break barriers by engaging the Namibian art sector with the museum community. Presenters supported the idea of the Museum of Namibian Music as a way of discussing, celebrating and preserving our intangible musical heritage. For example, there was a presentation by Welhemina Suro Ganuses and Dr Sian Sullivan about the fading tradition of flute music amongst the community of Sesfontein, while Baby Doeseb spoke about the cultural influence of South African music on Namibian popular music.

The conference closed with a bang, not a whimper, and left the participants buzzing with energy and inspired to continue their engagement with the heritage sector with its multiple possibilities.

– MAN