African historiography

**African historiography** be one branch of history work wey study how people dey write den interpret African history. Since chaw African societies no dey write things down early, dem use oral tradition (wey be storytelling, songs, proverbs, den memory) to keep record. Secof dat, African historians today dey use different modern methods, wey dey include oral stories, den things from oda areas like archaeology den linguistics, to build African history. Dis be why African historiography no dey exactly like oda continents dema own — e dey more multidisciplinary.

For de past, African oral history use different people for de community — like elders, chiefs, griots — to form one kind of community-agreed history. But de first people wey write about Africa be foreigners, wey na dem cam plus dema own bias. During colonial times, de kind history wey white people write be Eurocentric, wey na dem even bring racist theories like de Hamitic hypothesis, wey talk say only outsiders bring civilisation cam Africa.

Na dem start dey organize proper African historiography around de mid-20th century. At dat time, na African historians begin dey fight back those colonial lies, wey na dem write history wey go make Africans proud den support new nation states after independence. Dem begin take oral stories serious, den combine am plus things like archaeology den language studies. Later, as people begin feel more worried about Africa’s future, Marxist ideas enter de conversation. Dis one help historians study colonialism insyd a deeper den more critical way.

From 1981, UNESCO start publish de *General History of Africa*, plus African experts from different countries as editors.

## De Concept of Africa
Der be vast amounts of ecological, cultural, linguistical, den religious diversity insyd Africa. Valentin Mudimbe dey note say na de idea of Africa dem first make wey be used by non-Africans, particularly Europeans. Na de concept be appropriated by diasporic Africans during abolitionist movements insyd de 19th century as intellectuals sought an "African homeland", plus dema removal from de continent wey dey enable dem to view am as a whole. Na dis plant de roots of pan-Africanist thought, however for chaw na e be de shared experience of colonial rule den resistance to am wey foster a unified African identity.

## History

### Traditional oral historiography den early written history
Insyd Africa, na dem undertake historiography traditionally by oral historians, either specialists such as de griots of West Africa, "men of memory", anaa elders. In accordance plus African cosmology, na African historical consciousness view historical change den continuity, order den purpose within de framework of human den dema environment, de gods, den dema ancestors. Insyd African societies, de historical process be largely a communal one, plus eyewitness accounts, hearsay, reminiscences, den occasionally visions, dreams, den hallucinations dem craft into narrative oral traditions wich dem perform, sometimes e be accompanied by music, den transmitted thru generations. Insyd oral tradition, time be sometimes mythical den social, wey ancestors be considered historical actors. Origin myths serve multiple purposes, wey dey help to define a group ein identity den forge sociocultural alliances, den provide de  on wich a group ein religious ideology dey rest. Na traditions offer a socially consolidated version of de past, den often include de origins of institutions, wey dey embed political authority. Insyd stateless societies, clan histories be predominated.

Na dem develop sam African writing systems anaa dem adapt insyd ancient den recent history. One of de most notable ancient languages be de hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt, wich na dem attest dem be used for historical records from . Following de discovery of de Rosetta Stone insyd 1799, na historians be able to decipher hieroglyphs den access a new field of Ancient Egyptian history, however na dem untake dis field predominantly by European historians. Sam ancient external sources dey include *Periplus of the Erythraean Sea* () den Ptolemy ein *Geography* (). Insyd Abyssinia, na dem inscribe during de Aksumite period ( –  CE) histories insyd Geʽez on stelae, thrones, den obelisks, and recounted a ruler ein reign, recording various historical events such as military campaigns, diplomatic missions, den acts of philanthropy. From de 13th century, na written imperial chronicles predominate, such as de *Chronicles of the Wars of Amda Sion* (14th c.). Following de spread of Islam, der sanso be chaw of written records insyd Arabic from Islamic scholars such as al-Masudi, al-Idrisi, Leo Africanus, al-Bakri, Ibn Battuta, den Ibn Furtu. Na dem include observations of local societies, den sometimes utilised oral sources, wey dey embody bias towards Muslim rulers while dem dey denigrate non-believers. Insyd West Africa den de Swahili coast na Africans use Arabic anaa dem adapt de Arabic script into Ajami for dema languages, den works wey na dem wrep insyd Akan, Fula, Yoruba, Hausa, den Swahili. Na sam be chronicles wich literarily record oral tradition, such as de *Kilwa Chronicle* (16th c.), *Timbuktu Chronicles* (17th c.), *Kitab Gonja* (18th c.), *Funj Chronicle* (early 19th c.), den *Kano Chronicle* ().

## References


## Read further

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* Curtin, Philip D. *African history* (1964) 80pp; 
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### Regions

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