Saki Mafundikwa: Ingenuity and elegance in ancient African alphabets

譯者: Yi-Hua Yang 審譯者: Ying Wang

I moved back home 15 years ago

15年前，我回到了故鄉

after a 20-year stay in the United States,

在那之前，我已經在美國待了20年了

and Africa called me back.

非洲希望我回去

And I founded my country's first

我創建了我國第一所

graphic design and new media college.

平面設計暨新媒體學院

And I called it the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts.

我叫它「辛巴威數位視覺藝術學院」

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

其創校理念與夢想 可以算是某種程度上的包浩斯主義

sort of school where new ideas were interrogated

包浩斯其實是一所學校 在那裡，所有新想法都會被嚴格審視

and investigated,

與研究

the creation of a new visual language

而在與非洲傳統文化的創意結合之下

based on the African creative heritage.

我們創造了一個新的視覺語言

We offer a two-year diploma

對於每位有天份的高中畢業生

to talented students who have successfully completed

每位順利完成學業的畢業生

their high school education.

我們都將頒發一張兩年畢業證書

And typography's a very important part of the curriculum

其中，「印刷術」是我們很重要的一堂課

and we encourage our students to look inward for influence.

我們鼓勵學生深入其中 找尋印刷能帶來的影響力

Here's a poster designed by one of the students

這是一個學生做的海報

under the theme "Education is a right."

主題是 "教育即權利"

Some logos designed by my students.

這些是我學生們設計的標誌

Africa has had a long tradition of writing,

非洲擁有久遠的書寫文化

but this is not such a well-known fact,

卻不是很多人知道

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

因此，我寫了一本「Afrikan 字母」來說明這件事

The different types of writing in Africa,

非洲文字有許多種書寫的方法

first was proto-writing,

最開始的是類文字系統

as illustrated by Nsibidi,

這是恩西比底 (Nsibidi) 文

which is the writing system of a secret society

這是南奈及利亞一個 Ejaham 人的神秘部落

of the Ejagham people in southern Nigeria.

所使用的書寫方式

So it's a special-interest writing system.

所以它是一已成專業學問的書寫系統

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

象牙海岸與迦納的阿肯族人

developed Adinkra symbols some 400 years ago,

在400年前創造的阿丁克拉 (Adinkra) 符號

and these are proverbs, historical sayings,

這些 [阿丁克拉(Adinkra)] 符號代表著諺語、歷史、

objects, animals, plants,

物體、動物、植物

and my favorite Adinkra system

而我最愛的阿丁克拉文字

is the first one at the top on the left.

正是這個左上角的圖案

It's called Sankofa.

叫"Sankofa"

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

它的意思是 "回到過去並帶回有用的東西" 也就是從歷史中學習

This pictograph by the Jokwe people of Angola

這個安哥拉 Jokwe 人所繪的象形圖

tells the story of the creation of the world.

象徵著世界萬物的發展過程

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

最上面的是上帝，最底下的是人類

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

而左邊是太陽，右邊則是月亮

All the paths lead to and from God.

所有的路徑皆通往並起源於上帝

These secret societies of the Yoruba, Kongo

這些剛果約魯巴的神祕部落

and Palo religions

和個別分散在奈及利亞、剛果

in Nigeria, Congo and Angola respectively,

與安哥拉的帕羅教徒

developed this intricate writing system

發展出這套複雜的文字系統

which is alive and well today in the New World

並於現今活耀於新世界中

in Cuba, Brazil and Trinidad and Haiti.

像是古巴，巴西，特立尼達島和海地等

In the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo,

在剛果民主共和國帶雨林帶

in the Ituri society,

伊圖利部落中

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

男人使勁敲打以製特殊植物所成之衣

and the women, who are also the praise singers,

女人，同時也是歌頌女歌手們

paint interweaving patterns

繪製交織的圖騰

that are the same in structure

其紋路架構正如同

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

她們唱歌所使用的和弦架構一般

a sort of a musical score, if you may.

如果硬要說的話，也可以說是一種樂譜

In South Africa, Ndebele women

在南非，恩德貝勒的女人

use these symbols and other geometric patterns

用這些符號和其他幾何圖樣

to paint their homes in bright colors,

來為她們的家漆上亮麗色彩

and the Zulu women use the symbols

而祖魯女人則將這些符號用在串珠上

in the beads that they weave

她們將其串進手鐲與項鍊之中

into bracelets and necklaces.

她們將其串進手鐲與項鍊之中

Ethiopia has had the longest tradition of writing,

依索比亞有著最悠久的書寫文化

with the Ethiopic script that was developed

在西元前四世紀時

in the fourth century A.D.

依索比亞的文字手稿便已出現

and is used to write Amharic,

並用來書寫阿姆哈拉語

which is spoken by over 24 million people.

一個超過 2400 萬人在使用的語言

King Ibrahim Njoya of the Bamum Kingdom of Cameroon

喀麥隆共和國裡 巴姆穆王國的國王 Ibrahim Njoya

developed Shü-mom at the age of 25.

在 25 歲的時候發展出 Shü-mom

Shü-mom is a writing system.

Shü-mom 是一種文字書寫系統

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

它是一張字音表，而不盡然是張字母表

And here we see three stages of development

在此，我們可以看到 30 年來

that it went through in 30 years.

所經歷的三階段的發展過程

The Vai people of Liberia had a long tradition of literacy

早在西元 1800 多年 利比里亞的瓦伊人第一次接觸歐洲人之前

before their first contact with Europeans in the 1800s.

他們便已經擁有一悠久的文字文化

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

它是一個由左讀到右的字音表

Next door, in Sierra Leone, the Mende

鄰近的獅子山共和國內

also developed a syllabary,

門德人也發展出了一套字音表

but theirs reads from right to left.

但是卻是由右讀到左

Africa has had a long tradition of design,

非洲有一悠久的設計文化

a well-defined design sensibility,

並著名於其高設計敏感度

but the problem in Africa has been that,

但是，特別是現今這世代，非洲一直有個問題

especially today, designers in Africa

幾乎所有設計領域的非洲的設計者，都很艱苦

struggle with all forms of design

幾乎所有設計領域的非洲的設計者，都很艱苦

because they are more apt to look outward

因為他們通常都只習慣於

for influence and inspiration.

追求外在層面的影響與啟發

The creative spirit in Africa, the creative tradition,

要是設計家們能夠看的更加深入 看進隱藏在底下的文化與深度

is as potent as it has always been,

非洲那具有創造性的精神 和其充滿創造潛力的傳統文化

if only designers could look within.

便能如以往般，依然如此強大並具有影響力

This Ethiopic cross illustrates

這個伊索比亞的橫紋便說明了

what Dr. Ron Eglash has established:

羅恩伊格拉斯博士 (Dr. Ron Eglash) 曾經說過的，

that Africa has a lot to contribute to computing

非洲各分形的直覺型意識

and mathematics through their intuitive grasp of fractals.

為電腦運算與數學貢獻良多!

Africans of antiquity created civilization,

古非洲人創造了仍流傳至今的文明與

and their monuments, which still stand today,

與依然豎立於現代的石碑們

are a true testimony of their greatness.

再再的證明了他們的偉大

Most probably, one of humanity's greatest achievements

文字的發明可以算是人類最偉大的成就之一

is the invention of the alphabet,

文字的發明可以算是人類最偉大的成就之一

and that has been attributed to Mesopotamia

而這可追朔至西元前 1600 年

with their invention of cuneiform in 1600 BC,

美索不達米亞的楔形文字

followed by hieroglyphics in Egypt,

接著是埃及的象形文字

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

這些歷史軌跡和真相都被鑄刻在石頭上

That is, until 1998,

直到西元1998年

when one Yale professor John Coleman Darnell

一位耶魯大學的教授 約翰·科爾曼達內爾 (John Coleman Darnell)

discovered these inscriptions in the Thebes desert

在西埃及底斯比沙漠的

on the limestone cliffs in western Egypt,

石灰岩懸崖上發現了這些碑銘

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

且上面註明了美索不達米亞 楔形文字出現之前數百年，

centuries before Mesopotamia.

西元前 1800 和 1900 年的日期

Called Wadi el-Hol

稱為恐怖峽谷字母

because of the place that they were discovered,

起源於發現他們的地點

these inscriptions -- research is still going on,

在這些碑銘中 (研究仍然持續進行中)

a few of them have been deciphered,

少數字母和某些出土文字雷同，能夠辨識

but there is consensus among scholars

但是，學者們仍然一致認為

that this is really humanity's first alphabet.

這確實是人類史上最早的字母

Over here, you see a paleographic chart

在這，你能看到一古體文字表

that shows what has been deciphered so far,

他告訴我們現今我們已解碼的古文字

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

從最上面的字母A (ālep) 開始

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

中間B (bêt)，然後依序下去

It is time that students of design in Africa

現在，在非洲學設計的學生

read the works of titans like Cheikh Anta Diop,

都需閱讀的巨作，像安塔迪奧普 (Cheikh Anta Diop)

Senegal's Cheikh Anta Diop,

塞內加爾的安塔迪奧普 (Cheikh Anta Diop)

whose seminal work on Egypt is vindicated

他在埃及的半成品

by this discovery.

便正因為這個發現而被保存著

The last word goes to the great Jamaican leader

最後這段文字是來自於牙買加的偉大領導人

Marcus Mosiah Garvey

馬科斯·加維

and the Akan people of Ghana

和迦納的阿肯族人的

with their Adinkra symbol Sankofa,

阿丁克拉文字 "Sankofa"

which encourages us to go to the past

他鼓勵我們回顧過去的歷史起源與傳統文化

so as to inform our present

洞見古今，以古為鑑，

and build on a future for us and our children.

為我們與後代子孫的將來建立良好基礎

It is also time that designers in Africa

同時，也該是非洲的設計家們

stop looking outside.

停止只注重表象的時候了!

They've been looking outward for a long time,

他們停留在表象藝術的時間已經太久了

yet what they were looking for

而他們所要尋找的

has been right there within grasp, right within them.

其實一直都在他們眼前 藏在歷史文化與古文物背後!

Thank you very much.

謝謝

(Applause)

(掌聲)