Saki Mafundikwa: Ingenuity and elegance in ancient African alphabets

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Mladen Barešić

I moved back home 15 years ago

Prije 15 godina vratio sam se kući,

after a 20-year stay in the United States,

nakon 20-godišnjeg boravka u SAD-u.

and Africa called me back.

Afrika me pozvala natrag.

And I founded my country's first

U svojoj zemlji osnovao sam prvi

graphic design and new media college.

studij za grafički dizajn i nove medije.

And I called it the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts.

Nazvao sam ga Zimbabveanski institut za vigitalne umjetnosti.

The idea, the dream, was really for a sort of Bauhaus

Ideja, san, bio je zapravo neka vrsta Bauhausa,

sort of school where new ideas were interrogated

škole u kojoj se nove ideje

and investigated,

preispituju i istražuju.

the creation of a new visual language

Stvaranje novog vizualnog jezika

based on the African creative heritage.

zasnovanog na afričkom kreativnom naslijeđu.

We offer a two-year diploma

Nudimo dvogodišnji studij

to talented students who have successfully completed

talentiranim studentima koji su uspješno završili

their high school education.

srednjoškolsko obrazovanje.

And typography's a very important part of the curriculum

Vrlo važan dio kurikuluma je tipografija,

and we encourage our students to look inward for influence.

i mi ohrabrujemo naše studente da potraže u sebi utjecaje.

Here's a poster designed by one of the students

Evo jednog plakata kojeg je dizajnirao naš student

under the theme "Education is a right."

na temu: "Obrazovanje je pravo."

Some logos designed by my students.

Još neki logotipovi koje su dizajnirali moji studenti...

Africa has had a long tradition of writing,

Afrika ima dugu povijest pisanja,

but this is not such a well-known fact,

ali to nije baš općepoznata činjenica.

and I wrote the book "Afrikan Alphabets" to address that.

Napisao sam knjigu "Afrička pisma" kako bih na to upozorio.

The different types of writing in Africa,

Različite vrste pisanja u Africi...

first was proto-writing,

Prvo je bilo proto-pisanje,

as illustrated by Nsibidi,

kao što ga ilustrira Nsibidi,

which is the writing system of a secret society

sustav pisanja tajnog društva

of the Ejagham people in southern Nigeria.

Ejaghamskog naroda u južnoj Nigeriji.

So it's a special-interest writing system.

To je sustav pisanja od posebnog interesa.

The Akan of people of Ghana and [Cote d'Ivoire]

Akanski narod Gane i Sijera Leonea

developed Adinkra symbols some 400 years ago,

prije 400-tinjak godina razvio je Adinkra simbole -

and these are proverbs, historical sayings,

izreke, povijesne poslovice,

objects, animals, plants,

predmete, životinje, biljke...

and my favorite Adinkra system

Moj najdraži Adinkra sustav je

is the first one at the top on the left.

prvi gore slijeva.

It's called Sankofa.

Zove se Sankofa.

It means, "Return and get it." Learn from the past.

Znači: "Vrati se i ponesi." Uči iz prošlosti.

This pictograph by the Jokwe people of Angola

Ovaj piktogram naroda Jokwe iz Angole

tells the story of the creation of the world.

kazuje nam priču o stvaranju svijeta.

At the top is God, at the bottom is man, mankind,

Na vrhu je Bog, a na dnu čovjek, čovječanstvo,

and on the left is the sun, on the right is the moon.

lijevo je sunce, a desno mjesec.

All the paths lead to and from God.

Svi putevi vode prema Bogu i od Boga.

These secret societies of the Yoruba, Kongo

Ova tajna religijska društva

and Palo religions

Yoruba, Kongo i Palo

in Nigeria, Congo and Angola respectively,

u Nigeriji, Kongu i Angoli,

developed this intricate writing system

razvila su ovaj složen sustav pisanja,

which is alive and well today in the New World

živ i danas u Novom svijetu -

in Cuba, Brazil and Trinidad and Haiti.

na Kubi, u Brazilu, na Trinidadu i Haitiju.

In the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo,

U prašumama Demokratske Republike Kongo,

in the Ituri society,

u zajednici Ituri,

the men pound out a cloth out of a special tree,

muškarci izrađuju tkaninu iz posebnog drveta,

and the women, who are also the praise singers,

dok žene, koje, također, pjevaju i hvalospjeve,

paint interweaving patterns

oslikavaju mustre koje se isprepliću,

that are the same in structure

a jednake su strukture

as the polyphonic structures that they use in their singing --

kao i polifone strukture koje one koriste u svom pjevanju.

a sort of a musical score, if you may.

Neka vrsta glazbene partiture...

In South Africa, Ndebele women

U Južnoj Africi, žene Ndebele

use these symbols and other geometric patterns

koriste ove simbole i druge geometrijske obrasce

to paint their homes in bright colors,

kako bi oslikale svoje domove žarkim bojama,

and the Zulu women use the symbols

a žene Zulu ove simbole koriste

in the beads that they weave

u perlama od kojih pletu

into bracelets and necklaces.

narukvice i ogrlice.

Ethiopia has had the longest tradition of writing,

Etiopija ima najdužu povijest pisanja,

with the Ethiopic script that was developed

etiopijskim pismom, razvijenim

in the fourth century A.D.

u četvrtom stoljeću,

and is used to write Amharic,

koje se koristi u pisanju Amharika,

which is spoken by over 24 million people.

kojim govori preko 24 milijuna ljudi.

King Ibrahim Njoya of the Bamum Kingdom of Cameroon

Kralj Ibrahim Njoya Kamerunskog kraljevstva Bamum

developed Shü-mom at the age of 25.

razvio je Shü-mom u dobi od 25 godina.

Shü-mom is a writing system.

Shü-mom je sustav pisanja.

It's a syllabary. It's not exactly an alphabet.

To je slovar. Nije to baš abeceda.

And here we see three stages of development

Ovdje vidimo tri stadija razvoja

that it went through in 30 years.

kroz koje je prošao u 30 godina.

The Vai people of Liberia had a long tradition of literacy

Narod Vai iz Liberije imao je dugu tradiciju pismenosti

before their first contact with Europeans in the 1800s.

prije prvog kontakta s Europljanima u 19. stoljeću.

It's a syllabary and reads from left to right.

To je slovar koji se čita slijeva nadesno.

Next door, in Sierra Leone, the Mende

U susjedstvu, u Sijera Leoneu, narod Mende

also developed a syllabary,

također su razvili slovar,

but theirs reads from right to left.

ali se njihov čita zdesna nalijevo.

Africa has had a long tradition of design,

Afrika ima dugu tradiciju dizajna,

a well-defined design sensibility,

vrlo istančanu osjećajnost za dizajn,

but the problem in Africa has been that,

ali afrički je problem taj da se

especially today, designers in Africa

posebno danas, dizajneri

struggle with all forms of design

bore sa svim oblicima dizajna

because they are more apt to look outward

jer su skloniji izvan sebe

for influence and inspiration.

tražiti utjecaje i inspiraciju.

The creative spirit in Africa, the creative tradition,

Kreativni duh u Africi, tradicija stvaranja,

is as potent as it has always been,

potentna je kao što je uvijek i bila,

if only designers could look within.

samo kad bi dizajneri potražili nadahnuće u sebi.

This Ethiopic cross illustrates

Ovaj Etiopski križ ilustrira

what Dr. Ron Eglash has established:

ono što je Dr. Ron Eglash utvrdio:

that Africa has a lot to contribute to computing

Da Afrika može mnogo doprinijeti računarstvu

and mathematics through their intuitive grasp of fractals.

i matematici svojim intuitivnim shvaćanjem fraktala.

Africans of antiquity created civilization,

Drevni Afrikanci stvorili su civilizaciju,

and their monuments, which still stand today,

a njihovi spomenici, sačuvani i do danas,

are a true testimony of their greatness.

istinsko su svjedočanstvo njihove veličine.

Most probably, one of humanity's greatest achievements

Jedno od, najvjerojatnije, najvećih postignuća čovječanstva

is the invention of the alphabet,

izum je abecede.

and that has been attributed to Mesopotamia

On se pripisuje Mezopotamcima

with their invention of cuneiform in 1600 BC,

koji su 1600 godina prije Krista izumili klinasto pismo;

followed by hieroglyphics in Egypt,

slijedili su ga hijeroglifi u Egiptu,

and that story has been cast in stone as historical fact.

i ta je priča uklesana u kamenu kao povijesna činjenica.

That is, until 1998,

Sve do 1998.

when one Yale professor John Coleman Darnell

kad je John Coleman Darnell, profesor s Yalea,

discovered these inscriptions in the Thebes desert

otkrio ove zapise na vapnenačkim liticama,

on the limestone cliffs in western Egypt,

u Libijskoj pustinji u zapadnom Egiptu.

and these have been dated at between 1800 and 1900 B.C.,

Oni datiraju između 1800. i 1900. godine prije Krista,

centuries before Mesopotamia.

stoljećima prije Mezopotamije.

Called Wadi el-Hol

Nazvani Wadi el-Hol,

because of the place that they were discovered,

po mjestu gdje su otkriveni,

these inscriptions -- research is still going on,

ovi zapisi... istraživanja još traju,

a few of them have been deciphered,

malo njih je dešifrirano,

but there is consensus among scholars

ali postoji konsenzus među učenjacima

that this is really humanity's first alphabet.

da je ovo uistinu prva abeceda u povijesti čovječanstva.

Over here, you see a paleographic chart

Ovdje vidite paleografsku tablicu

that shows what has been deciphered so far,

koja pokazuje što je dosad dešifrirano,

starting with the letter A, "ālep," at the top,

počevši sa slovom A - "alep" na vrhu -

and "bêt," in the middle, and so forth.

i "bet" u sredini, i tako dalje...

It is time that students of design in Africa

Vrijeme je da studenti dizajna u Africi

read the works of titans like Cheikh Anta Diop,

pročitaju djela velikana poput Cheikha Anta Diopa,

Senegal's Cheikh Anta Diop,

Senegalca Cheikha Anta Diopa,

whose seminal work on Egypt is vindicated

čija su ključna djela o Egiptu opravdana

by this discovery.

ovim otkrićem.

The last word goes to the great Jamaican leader

Završna riječ posvećena je velikom jamajačkom vođi

Marcus Mosiah Garvey

Marcusu Mosiahu Garveyu,

and the Akan people of Ghana

i Akanskom narodu iz Gane,

with their Adinkra symbol Sankofa,

sa Sankofom, njihovim Adinkra simbolom,

which encourages us to go to the past

koji nas potiče da pođemo u prošlost

so as to inform our present

kako bismo uobličili svoju sadašnjost

and build on a future for us and our children.

i izgradili budućnost za sebe i za našu djecu.

It is also time that designers in Africa

Ovo je i vrijeme da afrički dizajneri

stop looking outside.

prestanu inspiraciju tražiti izvan Afrike.

They've been looking outward for a long time,

Dugo je već traže izvan nje,

yet what they were looking for

ali ono što traže

has been right there within grasp, right within them.

nalazi se upravo ovdje nadohvat ruke, upravo u njima.

Thank you very much.

Puno vam hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)