Take a ‘sho’t left’ on African history through these museums
Museums are a great way of learning about history and five museums in Africa offer a variety of themes to explore about the African past and people.
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Small bites
- Museums are important because they educate about a variety of historical subject matter and through different communication media.
- African museums offer very diverse and long histories of the people who have lived in the continent.
- Tourists can enjoy unique histories of African people through museums across five regions of the continent.
An unforgettable journey in time
Museums are one of the few places where you can learn about people’s history and culture in one stop. For many years, this has been achieved through stunning physical displays of objects and imagery; however, virtual reality has added a new dimension to this experience, from the creation of virtual museum tours to interactive activities that one can do without visiting the museum. Mpumi Maringa, a former museum tour guide and archaeozoologist who is currently working for GENUS, strongly advocates that African museums have much to offer in terms of these recently adopted virtual media presentations as well as deep and diverse subject matter.
In her article for ‘The Conversation,’ she nominates five museums across the African continent, where one can stop to explore the history and culture of the different regions of Africa. In the Tiskiwin Museum in Marrakech, Morocco, you can learn about the historic caravan route from Marrakech to Timbuktu, that was forged by nomadic people including the Amazigh and Tuareg. From there, head south-east to Kenya where you can explore the cultural and natural history as well as contemporary art of East Africa at the Nairobi National Museum. In West Africa, stop at the Museum of Black Civilisations in Dakar, Senegal, and browse through the history of different African civilisations, that pre-date European colonialism.
Museu Nacional de Antropologia in Luanda, Angola, is a great place to learn about Angolan and west-central African heritage. Established in 1976, the museum preserves a large collection of cultural items that date as far back as the Kingdom of Kongo. Finally, in Krugersdorp, South Africa, stop at the Maropeng Visitor Centre, where you will learn about the million-years-old journey of human evolution.
“They allow you to delve deep in the past with eye-catching displays of artefacts, ancient textiles, high quality images and short films that narrate how our ancestors lived.”
Mpumi Maringa
