African prisoners made sound recordings in German camps in WW1: this is what they had to say
His recorded voice speaking in Wolof travelled back home in 2024, as a sound installation I created for the Théodore Monod African Art Museum in Dakar.
Chapter two listens to Mohamed Nur from Somalia. In 1910 he went to Germany to work as a teacher to the children of performers in a so-called Völkerschau (an ethnic show; sometimes called a human zoo, where 'primitive' cultures were displayed).
After refusing to perform on stage, he found himself stranded in Germany without a passport or money. He worked as a model for a German artist and later as a teacher of Somali at the University of Hamburg. Nur left a rich audiovisual trace in Germany, which speaks of the exploitation of men of colour in German academia as well as by artists. One of his songs comments on the poor treatment of travellers and gives a plea for more hospitality to strangers.
Stephan Bischoff, who grew up in a German mission station in Togo and was working in a shoe shop in Berlin when the war began, appears in the third chapter. His recordings criticise the practices of the Christian colonial evangelising mission. He recalls the destruction of an indigenous shrine in Ghana by German military in 1913.
Also in chapter three is Albert Kudjabo, who fought in the Belgian army before he was imprisoned in Germany. He mainly recorded drum language, a drummed code based on a tonal language from the Democratic Republic of the Congo that German linguists were keen to study. He speaks of the massive sociocultural changes that mining brought to his home region, which may have caused him to migrate.
Together these songs, stories and accounts speak of a practice of extracting knowledge in prisoner of war camps. But they offer insights and commentary far beyond the 'example sentences' that the recordings were meant to be.
Why do these sound archives matter?
As sources of colonial history, the majority of the collections in European sound archives are still untapped, despite the growing scholarly and artistic interest in them in the past decade. This interest is led by decolonial approaches to archives and knowledge production.
Sound collections diversify what's available as historical texts, they increase the variety of languages and genres that speak of the histories of colonisation. They present alternative accounts and interpretations of history to offer a more balanced view of the past.
• Anette Hoffmann: senior researcher at the Institute for African Studies and Egyptology, University of Cologne.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Bublik gamble pays off as Draper, Zverev survive scares
Alexander Zverev narrowly dodged disaster at the Halle event before Wimbledon. Photo: AFP Image: AFP Centre Court Column by Deborah Curtis-Setchell The grass-court season is in full swing, with top players spread between Halle, Germany and Queens Club, England – and even before Wimbledon starts, we've seen a handful of inspired cameos worthy of any major. Tatjana Maria, a German veteran and mother of two, was crowned 'Queen of Queens' in winning this inaugural WTA tournament as a qualifier, in front of a packed crowd, with her husband and coach, Charles Edouard, and daughters, Charlotte and Cecilia (asleep in a pram) courtside. This was a classic, in that Maria employed old-school tactics reminiscent of GOAT Martina Navratilova, slicing and dicing her way through a formidable line-up – which included both former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and Australian Open winner Madison Keys – before trumping Amanda Anisimova, half her age, 6-3 6-4 to lift the coveted trophy. She had lost 19 matches on the trot on the eve of her brave campaign. Meanwhile in Round 2, in Halle, Uzbekistani, Alexander Bublik – who'd already caused a stir at Roland Garros by beating World No 5 Jack Draper – played the match of his life in delivering a dazzling potpourri to interrupt World No 1 Jannik Sinner's relentless baseline barrage and pull off the unlikeliest victory of the season in felling the Italian 3-6 6-2 7-5. Bublik becomes the only player on Tour this year to topple the entrenched No 1, other than Sinner's official nemesis, reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz. Pre-Roland Garros, Bublik was at such a low over his ebbing career, he hit the Black Jack tables in Los Angeles in an effort to purge his troubled mind. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The gamble seems to have paid off, because in betting terms, he has now reined in some serious high rollers, not least of all World No 3 Alexander Zverev. Zverev himself narrowly dodged disaster in an event he is expected to win (Halle) in finally shaking off Lorenzo Sonego in a third-set tiebreak 6-3 3-6 7-6(7/4). Unseeded for the first time, Stefanos Tsitsipas was not as stoic. The Greek suffered the humiliation of a second defeat at the hand of big-serving American Alex Michelsen, who slayed him in four sets at the Australian Open earlier this year. On this occasion, it took only two, 7-6, 7-5. Tsitsipas and his serve didn't look convincing in his first-round match versus Luciano Darderi, and new coach Goran Ivanisevic, a former Wimbledon champion, has an uphill battle, to get the Greek No 1, to up his ante in time for the All England Club. In another Halle headliner, Brazilian teenage star Joao Fonseca squandered a match point as he tragically slipped, before hitting a slam dunk forehand volley, thus handing victory to No 24 Flavio Cobolli on a knife's edge, 5-7 7-6 7-6. Cobolli thereafter defeated Canadian former top-10 player Denis Shapovalov in yet another third-set tiebreak thriller 7-6 4-6 7-6.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- The Citizen
Nduduzo Makhathini on spiritual understandings anchoring his music and remaining modest
Makhathini was recently awarded the Deutscher Jazzpreis, the German Jazz Prize, in the Live Act of the Year International category. Makhathini was recently awarded the Deutscher Jazzpreis, the German Jazz Prize, in the Live Act of the Year International category. Picture: Supplied (Robert Winter) South African artist Nduduzo Makhathini is one of the world's most recognised pianists, composers and live performers. His live performances are capable of taking you on both a spiritual and artistic journey. He is calm, soft-spoken and quite unassuming. Like Rihanna, he is appreciated at home and beyond the borders of his home country. But like an unknown session musician, he has the humility to remain in the background while simultaneously contributing to some renowned bodies of work, without making a fuss about it. Makhathini was recently awarded the Deutscher Jazzpreis, the German Jazz Prize, in the Live Act of the Year International category. The awards shine the spotlight on the diversity and creativity of the German and international jazz scene. ALSO READ: SA Gen Z's love for new-age Maskandi and Americans' craze over Amazayoni music Modest Makhathini However, in his acquisition of these accolades, Makhathini has remained modest, saying Ubuntu informs this. 'I feel very strongly that when we get these rewards, they are responding to moments that have really past for us artistically,' says the 42-year-old. '…they give me a sense of humility and acceptance that all things we are doing now can only be seen or acknowledged much later and some of it when we're not in this world and that just gives me so much humility.' Makhathini is the first South African artist to be signed to revered international Blue Note Records. Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds, his debut album under Blue Note Records, was named one of the best Jazz Albums of 2020 by The New York Times. He has won the South African Music Awards (Sama), a Metro FM award, and a slew of other accolades. The award-winning musician is a former Head of the Music Department at Fort Hare University and left the role in 2023 to join the University of KwaZulu-Natal as an educator and researcher. ALSO READ: DJ Doowap takes SA street culture to Germany and France Makhathini's musicality He says all of his work is anchored in spiritual understandings. 'It's just really a way of making sense of the intangibility of sound and music and the fact that it is something that we feel [or] sense but do not really see or can even touch. That for me is enough to suggest that music has a transcendental quality.' This transcendental quality, he says, is what people are sensing all around the world. 'So I feel very honoured to receive an award for something that resides within the realms of the intangible, which makes a confirmation that it is really something that is felt and people gather around it all around the world,' he shared. Makhathini has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, including both young and established artists, such as the late Zim Ngqawana, Thandiswa Mazwai, and the younger Tumi Mogorosi. 'I've been blessed to collaborate with some of the best musicians from around the world,' says Makhathini. He mentions names like Wynton Marsalis and Billy Harper. Collaboration is fundamental to jazz music, and most acts are comprised of a band, which necessitates collective effort. 'Collaboration is very fundamental in jazz, this music in itself originated as communal music and communal because it was a musical of displacement, a music of homelessness and music of protest during catastrophic moments where people were commodified as slaves,' shares Makhathini. ALSO READ: Siphephelo Ndlovu on his hiatus from music, getting into the family business of TV, as he returns to stage Live at Untitled On Friday, he will share the stage with South African trumpeter Ndabo Zulu and the Soweto Central Chorus. He says the show is part of a project he's been working on, where he challenges himself as an artist to break new sonic barriers. 'I challenged myself by stepping into unfamiliar territory by way of configuration, by way of sound, by way of repertoire,' he says. 'So this is one of those, and I'm really excited to keep going with this idea of an ongoing rehearsal because it liberates the ways we think about being in the world, forgiveness, continuity, space and time concepts and expanded notions of being in the world.' NOW READ: 'Bucket list checked': Zakes Bantwini graduates from Harvard
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- TimesLIVE
‘If you haven't been in the child's life for many years, you are no longer the father' — Kelly Khumalo's message to absent dads
Kelly Khumalo delivered a hard-hitting Father's Day message when speaking about parenthood. The singer is the mother of three children — her firstborn son Christian from her relationship with Jub Jub, who she has publicly accused of abuse, and her two daughters, Tingo, who she shared with the late soccer star Senzo Meyiwa, and Luna, who she reportedly shared with former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Mthokozisi Yende. Kelly, who has been adamant she would not allow Jub Jub into Christian's life until he turns 18, took to her TikTok to chastise fathers who claim they want to be in their children's lives but have never made an attempt, even legally, to get access. 'Fathers are celebrating the fruits of being fathers, not social media dads who are social media sperm donors, who are only fathers on social media. There is no trace of their existence in their children's lives and their excuse is 'the mother of my children doesn't want me to see the children'. If you haven't been in the child's life for many years you are no longer the father of the child, even if you decide to resurface and take responsibility. You are going to be the uncle. My husband and I will father and mother our children. You will be the uncle.'
