The powerful stories that shaped Africa | Gus Casely-Hayford

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Melody Tang

Now, Hegel -- he very famously said

黑格爾說過一句有名言，

that Africa was a place without history,

他說，非洲是個沒有歷史的地方，

without past, without narrative.

沒有過去，也沒有敘事。

Yet, I'd argue that no other continent has nurtured, has fought for,

然而我認為，沒其他大陸像非洲 這樣齊心一致地培養它的歷史，

has celebrated its history more concertedly.

為它的歷史而戰，並頌揚它的歷史。

The struggle to keep African narrative alive

為了能够讓非洲敘事延續下去，

has been one of the most consistent

非洲的人們一直在進行着

and hard-fought endeavors of African peoples,

最持續、最艱苦的鬥爭，

and it continues to be so.

至今仍然如此。

The struggles endured and the sacrifices made to hold onto narrative

在面對被奴役、殖民主義、 種族主義，以及戰爭等等，

人民為了守住非洲敘事 所承受的艱苦、所做出的犧牲，

in the face of enslavement, colonialism, racism, wars and so much else

has been the underpinning narrative

一直就是我們歷史的核心敘事。

of our history.

And our narrative has not just survived the assaults

我們的敘事不僅在歷史

that history has thrown at it.

對它的攻擊之下存活下來。

We've left a body of material culture,

我們留下了許多物質文化、

artistic magistery and intellectual output.

藝術精華以及智慧產物。

We've mapped and we've charted and we've captured our histories

我們勘測了、繪製了、 捕捉了我們的歷史，

in ways that are the measure of anywhere else on earth.

是地球上任何其他地方的準繩。

Long before the meaningful arrival of Europeans --

遠在歐洲人意義深長的抵達之前——

indeed, whilst Europe was still mired in its Dark Age --

的確，當歐洲仍陷在 黑暗時代中時——

Africans were pioneering techniques in recording, in nurturing history,

非洲人已在開創記錄 和滋養歷史的技術，

forging revolutionary methods for keeping their story alive.

打造出革命性的方法， 來讓故事延續下去。

And living history, dynamic heritage --

而活著的歷史、動態的遺產——

it remains important to us.

它對我們而言仍然是重要的。

We see that manifest in so many ways.

我們見過它以非常多種 不同方式呈現。

I'm reminded of how, just last year -- you might remember it --

我想起了去年 ——你們可能還記得——

the first members

加入艾蓋達組織支助的 伊斯蘭衛士的最早的成員

of the al Qaeda-affiliated Ansar Dine

were indicted for war crimes and sent to the Hague.

被控告犯有戰爭犯罪， 而後被送到海牙。

And one of the most notorious was Ahmad al-Faqi,

最惡名昭彰的一位 就是艾哈邁德·艾法奇

who was a young Malian,

他是位年輕的馬里人，

and he was charged, not with genocide,

他被控的罪名不是大屠殺，

not with ethnic cleansing,

不是種族清洗，

but with being one of the instigators of a campaign

而是教唆摧毀馬里最重要的

to destroy some of Mali's most important cultural heritage.

一些文化資產的活動。

This wasn't vandalism;

那不是非故意的破壞；

these weren't thoughtless acts.

也並不是未經思考的草率行為。

One of the things that al-Faqi said

當艾馬蒂被要求在法庭上

when he was asked to identify himself in court

報出自己的身份時，他說到一點，

was that he was a graduate, that he was a teacher.

他說他是大學畢業生， 而且他是老師。

Over the course of 2012, they engaged in a systematic campaign

在 2012 年間，他們進行了 一個規劃完善的活動，

to destroy Mali's cultural heritage.

目標是要摧毀馬里的文化遺產。

這是經過深入考量後進行的戰爭，

This was a deeply considered waging of war

in the most powerful way that could be envisaged:

且進行的方式是 人能想像出來最強大的方式來

in destroying narrative, in destroying stories.

摧毀敘事，摧毀故事。

The attempted destruction of nine shrines,

他們試圖摧毀九個聖壇、

the central mosque

中央清真寺、

and perhaps as many as 4,000 manuscripts

可能還有約四千份手稿，

was a considered act.

都是仔細考量過的行為。

They understood the power of narrative to hold communities together,

他們知道敘事有著 能將社區團結起來的力量，

and they conversely understood that in destroying stories,

他們藉由反向思考了解到 通過摧毀故事，

they hoped they would destroy a people.

他們就有可能摧毀一個民族。

But just as Ansar Dine and their insurgency

但正如伊斯蘭衛士和他們的暴動

were driven by powerful narratives,

是被強大的敘事所驅使的，

當地人民為廷巴克圖 及其圖書館所做的防禦也一樣。

so was the local population's defense of Timbuktu and its libraries.

These were communities who've grown up with stories of the Mali Empire;

這些社區的人 聽著馬里帝國的故事長大；

lived in the shadow of Timbuktu's great libraries.

他們住在廷巴克圖偉大的 圖書館的影子底下。

They'd listened to songs of its origin from their childhood,

他們從孩提時就在聽著 關於廷巴克圖起源的歌曲，

and they weren't about to give up on that

而他們不願意

不嘗試抵抗就放棄那一切。

without a fight.

Over difficult months of 2012,

在 2012 年的艱苦月份中，

during the Ansar Dine invasion,

在伊斯蘭衛士入侵的時期，

Malians, ordinary people, risked their lives

馬里人、平民百姓，冒著生命危險，

to secrete and smuggle documents to safety,

把文件藏起來並偷運到安全的地方，

doing what they could to protect historic buildings

盡他們所能，去保護歷史建築，

and defend their ancient libraries.

去保衛他們古老的圖書館。

And although they weren't always successful,

雖然他們不一定都能成功，

many of the most important manuscripts were thankfully saved,

許多最重要的手稿 都很幸運地被保存下來了，

and today each one of the shrines that was damaged during that uprising

今天，在那次暴動中受損的所有聖壇

have been rebuilt,

都已被重建，

including the 14th-century mosque that is the symbolic heart of the city.

包括一間十四世紀的清真寺， 它象徵該城市的心臟。

It's been fully restored.

它已經被完全復原了。

But even in the bleakest periods of the occupation,

即使在被佔領期間 最令人沮喪的時候，

enough of the population of Timbuktu simply would not bow

廷巴克圖還是有足夠的人民 就是不願意屈服於

to men like al-Faqi.

像艾馬蒂這樣的人。

They wouldn't allow their history to be wiped away,

他們不允許他們的歷史被抹滅。

and anyone who has visited that part of the world,

任何曾經造訪過 世界的那個角落的人，

they will understand why,

都能夠了解為什麼，

why stories, why narrative, why histories are of such importance.

為什麼故事，為什麼敘事， 為什麼歷史有這麼重要。

History matters.

歷史很重要。

History really matters.

歷史真的關乎緊要。

And for peoples of African descent,

對於看到數世紀來自己的故事

who have seen their narrative systematically assaulted over centuries,

不斷被有系統地攻擊的 非洲後裔而言，

this is critically important.

這是極度重要的。

這是一部份不斷重覆的共鳴， 迴盪在我們那段關於

This is part of a recurrent echo across our history

of ordinary people making a stand for their story, for their history.

平民百姓為了他們的故事及歷史 而挺身抵抗的歷史當中。

Just as in the 19th century,

就如同十九世紀

enslaved peoples of African descent in the Caribbean

在加勒比海被奴役的非洲後裔，

fought under threat of punishment,

在懲罰的威脅之下決定一戰，

fought to practice their religions, to celebrate Carnival,

為了實踐他們的宗教， 為了慶祝狂歡節而戰，

to keep their history alive.

為了延續他們的歷史而戰。

Ordinary people were prepared to make great sacrifices,

平民百姓都準備好 要做出偉大的犧牲，

some even the ultimate sacrifice,

有些人最終也為了他們的歷史

for their history.

犧牲了。

And it was through control of narrative

透過對敘事的控制，

that some of the most devastating colonial campaigns were crystallized.

一些最具毀滅性的 殖民活動才得以存在。

It was through the dominance of one narrative over another

透過支配一個又一個的敘事，

that the worst manifestations of colonialism became palpable.

殖民主義最糟糕的 表現形式才得以具現。

When, in 1874, the British attacked the Ashanti,

在 1874 年，當英國攻打阿善提時，

they overran Kumasi and captured the Asantehene.

他們侵佔蹂躪了庫馬西， 捕捉了阿散蒂西里王。

They knew that controlling territory and subjugating the head of state --

他們知道，控制領土 和制服國家領袖——

it wasn't enough.

是不夠的。

They recognized that the emotional authority of state

他們明白，國家情感的中心

lay in its narrative

在該國家的敘事當中，

and the symbols that represented it,

以及代表它的象徵當中，

like the Golden Stool.

比如金凳子。 （註：阿散蒂西里王的寶座）

They understood that control of story was absolutely critical

他們了解，如果要真正 控制一個民族，

對故事的控制是至關重要的。

to truly controlling a people.

And the Ashanti understood, too,

阿善提人也明白這一點，

and they never were to relinquish the precious Golden Stool,

他們始終不願放棄， 不肯交出寶貴的金凳子，

never to completely capitulate to the British.

始終沒有完全屈從於英國人。

Narrative matters.

敘事是至關緊要的。

In 1871, Karl Mauch, a German geologist working in Southern Africa,

在 1871 年，在南非工作的 德國地理學家卡爾·毛赫

he stumbled across an extraordinary complex,

偶然發現了一個非凡的建築群，

a complex of abandoned stone buildings.

由廢棄的石頭房屋組成的建築群。

And he never quite recovered from what he saw:

而他始終未能全然忘懷：

a granite, drystone city,

一個花崗岩乾砌的城市，

stranded on an outcrop above an empty savannah:

位於空蕩大草原露出的礦脈上：

Great Zimbabwe.

大辛巴威。

And Mauch had no idea who was responsible

毛赫完全不知道是誰建造了

for what was obviously an astonishing feat of architecture,

這顯然十分驚人的建築壯舉，

but he felt sure of one single thing:

但他很確定一件事：

this narrative needed to be claimed.

必須要找到這敘事的歸屬。

He later wrote that the wrought architecture of Great Zimbabwe

他後來寫道：大辛巴威的精心構思建築

was simply too sophisticated,

實在是太精密、太特別了，

too special to have been built by Africans.

因此不可能是非洲人建造的。

Mauch, like dozens of Europeans that followed in his footsteps,

毛赫，和數十位跟隨 他腳步的歐洲人一樣，

speculated on who might have built the city.

臆測了誰可能建造了這個城市。

And one went as far as to posit,

其中一個人竟然斷定說：

"I do not think that I am far wrong if I suppose that that ruin on the hill

「我猜測這山丘上的遺跡 是仿效所羅門聖殿的，

is a copy of King Solomon's Temple."

我想我應該不會錯得離譜。」

And as I'm sure you know, Mauch,

我相信你們都知道，

he hadn't stumbled upon King Solomon's Temple,

毛赫偶然發現的並非所羅門聖殿，

but upon a purely African complex of buildings

他發現的是純非洲的建築群，

constructed by a purely African civilization

在十一世紀， 由純非洲的文明所建造。

from the 11th century onward.

But like Leo Frobenius, a fellow German anthropologist

但就像幾年之後，德國人類學家 李歐·佛洛班尼爾斯

who speculated some years later,

在初次看到奈及利亞 伊費青銅頭像時，

upon seeing the Nigerian Ife Heads for the very first time,

that they must have been artifacts from the long-lost kingdom of Atlantis.

他揣測這些頭像可能是來自 失落的亞特蘭提斯的文物。

He felt, just like Hegel,

就像黑格爾一樣，

an almost instinctive need to rob Africa of its history.

他幾乎是本能地感覺 他必須掠奪非洲的歷史。

These ideas are so irrational,

這些想法非常不理性，

so deeply held,

且根深蒂固。

that even when faced with the physical archaeology,

即使面對實體的古物，

they couldn't think rationally.

他們也無法理性思考。

They could no longer see.

他們已經無法看清楚。

And like so much of Africa's relationship with Enlightenment Europe,

就像非洲和啟蒙時代 歐洲之間的關係，

it involved appropriation, denigration and control of the continent.

它涉及了對該大陸的 佔用、詆毀，和控制。

It involved an attempt to bend narrative to Europe's ends.

它涉及了為迎合歐洲而將敘事改變。

And if Mauch had really wanted to find an answer to his question,

如果毛赫真的想要為 他的這個問題找到答案：

"Where did Great Zimbabwe or that great stone building come from?"

「大辛巴威或是那偉大的 石建築是從哪裡來的？」

he would have needed to begin his quest

他其實必須在大辛巴威以外

a thousand miles away from Great Zimbabwe,

幾千英哩的地方， 展開他的追尋之旅，

at the eastern edge of the continent, where Africa meets the Indian Ocean.

也就是這塊大陸的東岸， 非洲和印度洋交接的地方。

He would have needed to trace the gold and the goods

他應該從斯華西里海岸的那一些

from some of the great trading emporia of the Swahili coast to Great Zimbabwe,

與大辛巴威做貿易的大型商業中心， 追蹤黃金和商品的來源，

to gain a sense of the scale and influence

來探究那神秘文化的

of that mysterious culture,

規模和影響；

to get a picture of Great Zimbabwe as a political, cultural entity

透過大辛巴威所控制的王國和文明，

through the kingdoms and the civilizations

來了解大辛巴威成為政治、

that were drawn under its control.

文化實體的真實情況。

For centuries, traders have been drawn to that bit of the coast

數世紀以來，商人都被 吸引到該海岸的那個小區域，

from as far away as India and China and the Middle East.

他們來自遠方，如印度、 中國、中東等地。

And it might be tempting to interpret,

人們可能會傾向這樣詮釋，

because it's exquisitely beautiful, that building,

因為那建築十分精緻美麗。

人們可能會傾向將它詮釋成

it might be tempting to interpret it

as just an exquisite, symbolic jewel,

一個精緻、象徵性的珠寶，

a vast ceremonial sculpture in stone.

一個巨大的儀式性石雕。

But the site must have been a complex

但這個遺跡建築群，

在過去肯定是位在許多經濟體 所形成之重要網路的中心，

at the center of a significant nexus of economies

that defined this region for a millennium.

定義了這個區域長達一千年的時間。

This matters.

這是非常重要的。

These narratives matter.

這些敘事是至關緊要的。

Even today, the fight to tell our story is not just against time.

即使現今，我們為了說出故事而戰， 並不只是在對抗時間。

It's not just against organizations like Ansar Dine.

也並不只是對抗 像伊斯蘭衛士的組織。

在經過了數世紀 一直被強加上的歷史之後，

It's also in establishing a truly African voice

after centuries of imposed histories.

我們也為了建立真正的非洲聲音。

We don't just have to recolonize our history,

我們不僅是要重新殖民我們的歷史，

but we have to find ways to build back the intellectual underpinning

我們必需要找到方法來重新建立

完全被黑格爾否認曾在那裡存在的。

that Hegel denied was there at all.

We have to rediscover African philosophy,

我們得要重新發現非洲的哲學、

African perspectives, African history.

非洲的觀點、非洲的歷史。

The flowering of Great Zimbabwe -- it wasn't a freak moment.

大辛巴威的繁榮—— 它並不是個特異的時刻。

It was part of a burgeoning change across the whole of the continent.

它是整個大陸急速改變的一部份。

Perhaps the great exemplification of that was Sundiata Keita,

很好的範例或許就是松迪亞塔可塔。

the founder of the Mali Empire,

他是馬里帝國的開創者，

probably the greatest empire that West Africa has ever seen.

而馬里帝國可能是 西非史上最偉大的帝國。

Sundiata Keita was born about 1235,

松迪亞塔可塔大約生於 1235 年，

growing up in a time of profound flux.

成長於一個巨大變遷的時代。

He was seeing the transition between the Berber dynasties to the north,

他看到北邊巴巴里的改朝換代，

he may have heard about the rise of the Ife to the south

他可能也聽到南邊伊費的崛起，

and perhaps even the dominance of the Solomaic Dynasty

甚至東邊衣索比亞

in Ethiopia to the east.

所羅門王朝的統治。

And he must have been aware that he was living through a moment

他一定有意識到，他身處在一個

of quickening change,

快速改變的時刻，

of growing confidence in our continent.

對我們的大陸越來越有信心的時刻。

He must have been aware of new states

他一定意識到

新的國家在建立它們的影響力，

that were building their influence

from as far afield as Great Zimbabwe and the Swahili sultanates,

偏遠到大辛巴威 和蘇丹統治的斯華西里。

each engaged directly or indirectly beyond the continent itself,

它們都被直接或間接地 與非洲以外有所連結，

each driven also to invest in securing their intellectual and cultural legacy.

它們個別也都投入心力去 保護它們的知識和文化遺產。

He probably would have engaged in trade with these peer nations

他可能有和這些國家進行貿易。

as part of a massive continental nexus

這是偉大的中世紀非洲經濟體的

of great medieval African economies.

大規模大陸連結網的一部份。

And like all of those great empires,

如同所有偉大的帝國，

Sundiata Keita invested in securing his legacy through history

松迪亞塔可塔也投入心力 去保護他的歷史遺產，

by using story --

用的方式就是故事——

not just formalizing the idea of storytelling,

不僅是把說故事的 這個想法給正式化，

but in building a whole convention

他還建立了完整的常規習俗

of telling and retelling his story

來敘述和重述他的故事。

as a key to founding a narrative

建造敘事對於他的帝國十分關鍵。

for his empire.

And these stories, in musical form,

他的故事以音樂的形式訴說，

are still sung today.

至今仍然被唱誦著。

Now, several decades after the death of Sundiata,

在松迪亞塔死後數十年，

a new king ascended the throne,

一個新國王登上王位，

Mansa Musa, its most famous emperor.

曼薩穆薩，馬里最有名的帝王。

Now, Mansa Musa is famed for his vast gold reserves

曼薩·穆薩以儲存大量黃金而聞名，

and for sending envoys to the courts of Europe and the Middle East.

他也以派使節到歐洲 和中東的朝廷而聞名。

He was every bit as ambitious as his predecessors,

他的野心完全不輸給他的前人，

but saw a different kind of route of securing his place in history.

但他發現一種不同的方式 可以保護他在歷史上的地位。

In 1324, Mansa Musa went on pilgrimage to Mecca,

在 1324 年，曼薩·穆薩去麥加朝聖，

and he traveled with a retinue of thousands.

他此行的扈從就有數千人。

It's been said that 100 camels each carried 100 pounds of gold.

傳說有 100 隻駱駝， 每隻載著 100 磅的黃金。

It's been recorded that he built a fully functioning mosque

有記錄指出，旅程中的每個星期五

every Friday of his trip,

他都會建立一間功能完整的清真寺，

and performed so many acts of kindness,

做了非常多的仁慈之舉。

that the great Berber chronicler, Ibn Battuta, wrote,

偉大的巴巴里編年史家 伊本·巴圖塔寫到：

"He flooded Cairo with kindness,

「他用仁慈淹沒了開羅，

spending so much in the markets of North Africa and the Middle East

在北非和中東的市場花了如此多錢，

that it affected the price of gold into the next decade."

以致於影響到了接下來 十年的黃金價格。」

And on his return,

回程時，

Mansa Musa memorialized his journey

曼薩·穆薩紀念他這趟旅程的方式是

by building a mosque at the heart of his empire.

在他的帝國的心臟地帶 建立一座清真寺。

And the legacy of what he left behind,

他留給後世的遺產，

Timbuktu,

就是廷巴克圖，

it represents one of the great bodies of written historical material

它代表了由非洲學者所寫的

produced by African scholars:

最大量的書面歷史材料之一：

about 700,000 medieval documents,

大約有七十萬份中世紀文件，

ranging from scholarly works to letters,

從學術著作到信件應有盡有。

which have been preserved often by private households.

這些大都被私人保存下來。

And at its peak, in the 15th and 16th centuries,

在巔峰時期，在十五及十六世紀時，

the university there was as influential

那裡的大學的影響力完全不輸給

as any educational establishment in Europe,

歐洲的任何教育機關，

attracting about 25,000 students.

吸引了約兩萬五千名學生。

This was in a city of around 100,000 people.

這個城市在那時的人口約為十萬人。

It cemented Timbuktu as a world center of learning.

它奠定了廷巴克圖成為 世界學習中心的地位。

But this was a very particular kind of learning

但那裡的學習非常特別，

that was focused and driven by Islam.

以伊斯蘭為主，並由伊斯蘭驅使。

And since I first visited Timbuktu,

自從我初次造訪廷巴克圖以後，

I've visited many other libraries across Africa,

我走訪了全非洲許多其他的圖書館。

and despite Hegel's view that Africa has no history,

儘管黑格爾認為非洲沒有歷史，

not only is it a continent with an embarrassment of history,

它不只是有著龐大歷史的大陸，

it has developed unrivaled systems for collecting and promoting it.

它還發展出無敵的體制 來收集和推行它。

There are thousands of small archives,

那裡有數以千計的小檔案館，

textile drum stores,

紡織桶商店，

that have become more than repositories of manuscripts and material culture.

變成了不只是手稿 和有形文化的貯藏處。

They have become fonts of communal narrative,

它們變成了共有敘事的泉源

symbols of continuity,

和延續的象徵。

and I'm pretty sure that many of those European philosophers

我非常肯定，許多曾經質疑

who questioned an African intellectual tradition

非洲知識傳統的歐洲哲學家，

must have, beneath their prejudices,

在他們的偏見之下，

been aware of the contribution of Africa's intellectuals

一定也有意識到非洲 知識份子對西方學習

to Western learning.

所做的貢獻。

They must have known

他們一定知道

of the great North African medieval philosophers

偉大的北非中世紀哲學家

驅動了地中海。

who had driven the Mediterranean.

They must have known about and been aware of

他們一定知道且有意識到

that tradition that is part of Christianity, of the three wise men.

基督教傳統中的三位智者。

And in the medieval period, Balthazar, that third wise man,

在中世紀，第三位智者，伯沙撒，

是以非洲國王的形象出現。

was represented as an African king.

And he became hugely popular

他變得非常有名，

as the third intellectual leg of Old World learning,

被視為舊世界（東半球）的 第三隻知識之腳，

alongside Europe and Asia, as a peer.

與歐洲和亞洲齊名。

These things were well-known.

這些事都是眾所皆知的。

These communities did not grow up in isolation.

這些社區並沒有在孤立中成長。

Timbuktu's wealth and power developed because the city became

廷巴克圖的財富和權力 之所以會發展的原因是

a hub of lucrative intercontinental trade routes.

這城市變成了有利可圖的 跨大陸貿易路線的中心。

This was one center

這是在沒有邊界、

in a borderless, transcontinental,

橫貫大陸、有野心、

ambitious, outwardly focused, confident continent.

著重對外的自信大陸的一個中心。

Berber merchants, they carried salt and textiles

巴巴里商人，帶著鹽和織物、

and new precious goods and learning down into West Africa

新的珍貴商品，以及知識，

from across the desert.

越過沙漠，來到西非。

But as you can see from this map

但各位可以在這張地圖上看到，

that was produced a little time after the life of Mansa Musa,

這張圖是在曼薩·穆薩的 年代之後不久製做的，

there was also a nexus of sub-Saharan trade routes,

上面也有撒哈拉以南的貿易路線圖，

along which African ideas and traditions

沿著這些路線，非洲想法和傳統

added to the intellectual worth of Timbuktu

增加了廷巴克圖的知識價值，

and indeed across the desert to Europe.

且的確跨越了沙漠到達歐洲。

Manuscripts and material culture,

手稿和物質文化，

they have become fonts of communal narrative,

它們變成共有敘事的泉源、

symbols of continuity.

延續的象徵。

And I'm pretty sure that those European intellectuals

我很確定，那些誹謗我們歷史的

who cast aspersions on our history,

歐洲知識份子，

they knew fundamentally about our traditions.

他們從根本上知道我們的傳統。

And today, as strident forces like Ansar Dine and Boko Haram

現今，當強硬的力量， 如伊斯蘭衛和博科聖地，

grow popular in West Africa,

在西非變得普遍時，

it's that spirit of truly indigenous, dynamic, intellectual defiance

是那真正本土的、動態的、 知性的反抗精神，

that holds ancient traditions in good stead.

在保護著、支撐著古老傳統。

When Mansa Musa made Timbuktu his capital,

當曼薩·穆薩把廷巴克圖設為首都時，

he looked upon the city as a Medici looked upon Florence:

他看待這個城市就像是 麥第奇家族看待佛羅倫斯：

as the center of an open, intellectual, entrepreneurial empire

視為是一個放發、知識、 企業家的帝國的中心，

that thrived on great ideas wherever they came from.

而這個帝國靠著來自各處的 偉大點子而興盛。

這個城市、這個文化、

The city, the culture,

the very intellectual DNA of this region

和這個區域以知識為本的基因，

remains so beautifully complex and diverse,

仍然以一種美麗的方式， 保持著複雜性和多樣性，

that it will always remain, in part,

而它有一部份將會永遠保留在

located in storytelling traditions that derive from indigenous,

來自本土的、伊斯蘭之前的 傳統所衍生出的

pre-Islamic traditions.

說故事傳統裡。

在馬里所發展出的極成功的 伊斯蘭形式變得很普遍，

The highly successful form of Islam that developed in Mali became popular

because it accepted those freedoms

因為它接受了那些自由，

and that inherent cultural diversity.

以及那固有的文化多樣性。

And the celebration of that complexity,

而去讚頌那複雜性、

that love of rigorously contested discourse,

那爭議辯論之愛、

that appreciation of narrative,

那對敘事之欣賞，

was and remains, in spite of everything,

不論如何，曾是，也仍然是

the very heart of West Africa.

西非的中心精神。

And today, as the shrines and the mosque vandalized by Ansar Dine

現今，被伊斯蘭衛士 任意破壞的聖壇和清真寺

have been rebuilt,

已經被重建，

many of the instigators of their destruction have been jailed.

許多煽動這些 破壞行為的人已經入獄。

And we are left with powerful lessons,

留給我們很有影響力的教訓，

reminded once again of how our history and narrative

再次提醒了我們，我們的歷史和敘事

have held communities together for millennia,

是如何讓社區團結了一千年；

how they remain vital in making sense of modern Africa.

在了解現代非洲方面，它們 如何持續扮演不可缺的角色。

And we're also reminded

這也提醒了我們，

of how the roots of this confident, intellectual, entrepreneurial,

這有自信、有智慧、企業家的、 面向外、具文化慘透性，

outward-facing, culturally porous, tariff-free Africa

且免關稅的非洲，它的根基也曾經是

was once the envy of the world.

世界所羨慕的對象。

But those roots, they remain.

而那些根基，它們仍然存在。

Thank you very much.

非常謝謝。

（掌聲）

(Applause)