Mourning the Dead: Connecting histories of people, places, and remains

Mourning the Dead Podcast

This podcast brings together different histories connected to the mortal remains of people and their violent dislocation during or in the aftermath of colonial rule; their meaning for the remembrance of slavery; their role in anticolonial and postcolonial struggles, memory politics, the undoing of scientific racism and the work of restitution. The podcast focuses on histories connected to the African continent. It is the intent of this collection of histories, to present them as part of the work of mourning – a mourning that can initiate and strengthen transformation in the present.

Episodes

  1. 05/16/2024

    The Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme: Taking the Ancestors home

    In this episode, we embark on a journey with the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme, which is situated at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme is as an indigenous-led and government-mandated authority who negotiates the return of ancestral remains from both public and private collections nationally and internationally. Since the programme was established in 2003, they have brought back more than 850 ancestors from different institutions across the world. This is the English version of this podcast. You can also listen to the version in French. CreditsAuthor: Te Herekiekie HerewiniScript editing: Sophie Schasiepen with support from Andri BurnettNarrators: Te Herekiekie Herewini and Mamello MakhethaProducer / editor: Andri BurnettExecutive Producer: Sophie Schasiepen Nguru (flute) melodies played by Te Herekiekie Herewini. Further Reading References included official communication of the Rouen Museum, communication of the Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme, a film by Philippe Tourancheau, the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the cultural diversity of cultural expressions, Te Herekiekie Herewini’s dissertation and published articles, and the history of the two brothers, Tāwhaki and Karihi. Please find the full references listed here. Funding The Mourning the Dead podcast was produced as part of the contribution by the University of the Western Cape to the research project “Reconnecting 'Objects': Epistemic Plurality and Transformative Practices in and beyond Museums”, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

    35 min
  2. 05/16/2024

    Tariha je Ɓingel Batibo je yaccaka: Ittugo koloninkeejum Jaaman nder lesdi Cameroon

    Taskaram ɗo wolwan dow soynde baawal yeccugo habaru ɓinngel diga Batibo, mo relli yonki mun wakkati koloninkeejum Jaaman haa Cameroon, ngel saalay duuɓi joweetati. Wolwan fahin dow wilugu yimɓe e haɓɓere, annde maɓɓe, aadi maɓɓe, diidaaɗi siyaasa maɓɓe e torra ka toonyaare ɓillata en hannde. Kaaɓdal waɗannde dow doggitki haandi fadda sakittu ɗuɗɗi ɗi toonyaare nde waddi, ɗum waɗata hoynugo e lortuki ba naane caɗɗum. Nder taskaram ka, Mikael Asssilkinga wolwi dow jahaangal janngirde maako ngal waɗi o yahi o laari buski yimɓe haa Cameroon, sigaaɗum e tiifre jami'a Jaaman. Ɗum wani podcast ɗemng ɗo je ɗemngal Fulfulde. Kadin a wawan nonude be ɗemnɗi Faransiire e Ingilishi. Ƴaamannde Binndowo: Mikael Assilkinga Wa'inowo taalol: Sophie Schasiepen e mballugo Andri Burnett Dokkowo habar: Tiggoɗo / wa'inowo: Andri Burnett Tiggoɗo Mawɗo: Sophie Schasiepen Yattore to Richard Tsogang Fossi, Holger Stoecker, Yann LeGall, Katharina Stötzel daw wo'ingo ɗarewal man je aranol. Mikael Assilkinga kadin yettini Christian Vogel e Jonatan Kurzwelly. Bandiraɓe makko kuwoɓe ha Kawral Anthropology. Suɓotiral Blumenbach, yahiroɓe matotiral man "kujeji cahiɗe" ha Jami'are Gottingam be Saare Tariha Ethnology je Hamburg. Ɓeydugo Jannde Podcast ɗo ɗum daliila andotiral ha resirdu ɗareji Jaman ferotirɗe nden hawti be kuugal je Eugen Zintgraff, Bongfen Chem-Langhee, Richard Tsogang Fossi, be anndotiral waɗugo Ɓeydotiral Famu ha Technical University of Berlin. Useni laaru hujjaji timmade ha ɗo. Yooɓugo Podcast je Foofa Mayde waɗama ngam mballagu ha Jami'are Hirna Cape ngam projit anditiral je "Matotiral "Kuujeji': Ɗuuɗal Epistamic be Kuuɗe Canjugi nder be yeeso Saare tariha", tiggol Mballirde Volkswagen.

    47 min
  3. 05/16/2024

    The untold story of a child from Batibo: Undoing German colonialism in Cameroon

    This episode is about the impossibility of telling the story of a child from Batibo, who died during the German colonial period in Cameroon at about eight years old. It is about the deliberate erasure of people, their knowledge, their culture, societal and political structures and the very real challenges with which this violence confronts us today. Current efforts towards restitution have to navigate the manifold effects of this violence, which often limit the possibilities of recovery and restoration. In this episode, Mikael Assilkinga talks about a part of his academic journey that brought him in contact with the physical remains of people from Cameroon, housed in a German university collection. This is the English version of this podcast. You can also listen to the versions in French and Fulfulde. CreditsAuthor: Mikael AssilkingaScript editing: Sophie Schasiepen with support from Andri BurnettNarrators: Tshiamo Moretlwe and Mamello MakhethaProducer / editor: Andri BurnettConcept and executive production: Sophie Schasiepen Acknowledgments Special thanks go to Richard Tsogang Fossi, Holger Stoecker, Yann LeGall, Katharina Stötzel for commenting on an earlier version of the script. Mikael Assilkinga also thanks Christian Vogel and Jonatan Kurzwelly. His colleagues working at the Anthropological Collection. The Blumenbach Collection,  participants of the project “Sensitive Provenances” at the University of Göttingen and the Ethnological Museum of Hamburg. Further Reading This podcast is based on research in different German archives and includes references to works by Eugen Zintgraff, Bongfen Chem-Langhee, Richard Tsogang Fossi, as well as research conducted by the project The Restitution of Knowledge at Technical University of Berlin. Please find the full references listed here. Funding The Mourning the Dead podcast was produced as part of the contribution by the University of the Western Cape to the research project “Reconnecting 'Objects': Epistemic Plurality and Transformative Practices in and beyond Museums”, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

    35 min
  4. 05/16/2024

    Teewaayu ay Gewel yi ci anam gu metti ci ab takkub xarala ci Dakar

    Ci pàcc bii, Ibrahima Thiaw ak Lamine Badji dañuy indi ay leeral ci anam yi nga xamantane dañuy faral di tàr lool ci sosum xam-xam ci Institut Français d'Afrique Noire. Institut bi, ñu gën ko xamee cii IFAN, dakar lañ ko ubbi woon ci atim 1936. Porogaraamam mo nekkoo jang nit yu bokkoom ci deuk bu Afrik Soowu Jant bu Farañsé yi Kolonisé woon - seen aada, seen cosaan ak seen diiwaan. Ibrahima Thiaw ak Lamine Badji dañuy waxtaane jamp gi am ci jamarloo ak ndono wu koloŋ bu ay kër yu mel ni IFAN ci ab Afrik bu moom boppam buy jéema jotaat ci niteem ak ci ngoram. Mu ngi aju ci istiwaaru desiti yaxi gewel yi, ñi bokk ci ndajaleem Laboratoire Njangum istuwaaru yaxi nit ñi bu IFAN Cheikh Anta Diop. ab istuwwaar bu xawa naxari la lool. Li ci gëna feeñ mooy ni amagu ñu ay saafara ba tey ci mbir mi. Lii mooy sumb poscast buñu def ci Wolof. Mën nga ko degglu itam ci sumbi Farañse ak Angale. Crédit yiBindkat yi : Ibrahima Thiaw, Lamine Badjimbindum script yi : Sophie Schasiepen, Andri BurnettNettalikat bi : Bity Gaye KébéTekki bi: B. G. & G. T. D., AfrolingoDefarkat bi / soppikat bi: Andri BurnettDefarkat bu mag bi: Sophie Schasiepen Beneen Njang Royuwaay yi am nañu liggéey Agbenyega Adedze, Julien Bondaz, Albert Charton, Sarah Croucher, Cameron Gokee, Deborah Mack, John Warne Monroe,  Raymond Mauny, Marie-Albane De Suremain, Ibrahima Thiaw, Guy Thilmans. Xoolal fii royuwaay yu mat yuñu lim fii. Financement Pocast Mourning the Dead dañ ko sosoon ci kaadaru li ci Iniwersité bu Western Cape def ci projet gëstu bi “Reconnecting 'Objects': Epistemic Plurality and Transformative Practices in and beyond Museums”, bu Volkswagen Foundation financé.

    26 min
  5. 05/16/2024

    The haunting presence of Griots in a scientific collection in Dakar

    In this episode, Ibrahima Thiaw and Lamine Badji shed light on the often brutal ways in which knowledge was created at the Institut Français d'Afrique Noire. The agenda of the institute, better known as IFAN, was to study the people of the French West African empire. Ibrahima Thiaw and Lamine Badji discuss the urgency of addressing the colonial legacy of institutions such as IFAN in a sovereign Africa seeking to recover its humanity and dignity. They focus on the history of the remains of griots, which are still part of the collections of the Archaeology Laboratory of IFAN Cheikh Anta Diop. It is a particularly painful history. Not least, because it remains unresolved. This is the English version of this podcast. You can also listen to the versions in French and Wolof. CreditsAuthors: Ibrahima Thiaw and Lamine BadjiScript editing: Sophie Schasiepen with support from Andri BurnettNarrators: Tshiamo Moretlwe and Mamello MakhetaProducer / editor: Andri BurnettExecutive Producer: Sophie Schasiepen Further Reading References included works by Agbenyega Adedze, Julien Bondaz, Albert Charton, Sarah Croucher, Cameron Gokee, Deborah Mack, John Warne Monroe,  Raymond Mauny, Marie-Albane De Suremain, Ibrahima Thiaw, Guy Thilmans. Please find the full references listed here. Funding The Mourning the Dead podcast was produced as part of the contribution by the University of the Western Cape to the research project “Reconnecting 'Objects': Epistemic Plurality and Transformative Practices in and beyond Museums”, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

    23 min
  6. 05/16/2024

    Prestwichstraat-begrafplaas: Memory contestations innie Kaap

    In 2003, kommie construction vanne groot residential en retail complex in Greenpoint, een vannie mee welaf, trendy districts vannie Kaap, totte grinding halt. Construction wêkes ondek toe ooskot van mense onnerie grond. Unexpectedly, trigger dié find die mees symbolic struggles relating na political memories and neoliberal urban planning inne post-apartheid era in Suid Afrika. Dit issie Kaapse weergawe vannie podcast. Djy kano narie French en English versions. KreditsSkrywer : Robyn HumphreysSkrip editing: Sophie Schasiepen met support van Andri BurnettVetelles: Marlon SwaiVetaling: Gaireyah FredericksProducer / editor: Andri BurnettConcept en executive production: Sophie Schasiepen ErkenningsRobyn Humphreys bedank graagie Prestwich Place Komitee vi hul vebintenis tottie bevodering vannie nagedagtenis vannie slawe voo’oues en hul nalatenskap innie Kaap. Spesiale dankbetuigings gan an Bonita Bennet, Chrischené Julius, Tina Smith, Ayesha Price, Micheal Weeder, Lucien Le Grange, en amalie personel byrie Distrik Ses-museum. Hierie episode is een klein ytkoms van hul wêk. Vêre lieswêk References slyt in wêke van Bonita Bennet, Christian Ernsten, Louise J. Friedling, Gerard Ralphs, Nick Shepherd en Michael Weeder. Vind ‘n volle reference list hiersa. Befonsing The Mourning the Dead podcast was geproduce as pât vannie Varsity vannie Western Cape se contribution narie research project “Reconnecting 'Objects': Epistemic Plurality ennie Transformative Practices in en beyond Museums”, gefund deurie Volkswagen Foundation.

    47 min
  7. 05/16/2024

    Prestwich Street Burial Ground: Memory contestations in Cape Town

    In 2003, the construction of a major residential and retail complex in Green Point, one of the more affluent, trendy districts of Cape Town, came to a grinding halt. Construction workers found the remains of people beneath the ground. Unexpectedly, these findings triggered one of the most symbolic struggles relating to memory politics and neoliberal urban planning in the post-apartheid era in South Africa. This is the English version of this podcast. You can also listen to the versions in French and Afrikaans. Credits Author: Robyn HumphreysScript editing: Sophie Schasiepen with support from Andri BurnettNarrators: Tshiamo Moretlwe and Mamello MakhetaProducer / editor: Andri BurnettExecutive Producer: Sophie Schasiepen Acknowledgments  Robyn Humphreys would like to thank the Prestwich Place Committee for their commitment to fostering the memory of enslaved ancestors and their legacy in Cape Town. Special acknowledgments go to Bonita Bennet, Chrischené Julius, Tina Smith, Ayesha Price, Michael Weeder, Lucien Le Grange, and all the staff at the District Six Museum. This episode is one small outcome of their work. Further Reading References included works by Bonita Bennet, Christian Ernsten, Louise J. Friedling, Gerard Ralphs, Nick Shepherd and Michael Weeder. Please find the full references listed here. Funding The Mourning the Dead podcast was produced as part of the contribution by the University of the Western Cape to the research project Reconnecting 'Objects': Epistemic Plurality and Transformative Practices in and beyond Museums, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

    39 min
  8. 05/13/2024

    Mourning the Dead: Introducing the ideas behind the podcast

    Sophie Schasiepen introduces the histories discussed in the different episodes, gives some context to the choice of languages and talks about the reasons for creating the Mourning the Dead podcast.  'Mourning the Dead: Connecting histories of people, places, and remains' is a podcast about histories connected to the mortal remains of people. We talk about the violent dislocation of remains during or in the aftermath of colonial rule, the legacies of scientific racism, and the meaning of these histories for postcolonial struggles, memory politics and the work of restitution and redress. This is the English version of this podcast. You can also listen to the version in French.  Credits Author: Sophie SchasiepenNarrators: Sophie Schasiepen and Mamello MakhethaProducer / editor: Andri Burnett Acknowledgments  Many thanks to Professor Ciraj Rassool at the Department of Historical Studies for his unwavering support, as well as to Jane Smidt and the central administration of the University of the Western Cape for their administrative work. References Claudia Rankine, ‘The Condition of Black Life is One of Mourning’, in Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work of Grief, edited by Cindy Milstein (AK Press 2017). Funding The Mourning the Dead podcast was produced as part of the contribution by the University of the Western Cape to the research project Reconnecting 'Objects': Epistemic Plurality and Transformative Practices in and beyond Museums, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

    9 min

About

This podcast brings together different histories connected to the mortal remains of people and their violent dislocation during or in the aftermath of colonial rule; their meaning for the remembrance of slavery; their role in anticolonial and postcolonial struggles, memory politics, the undoing of scientific racism and the work of restitution. The podcast focuses on histories connected to the African continent. It is the intent of this collection of histories, to present them as part of the work of mourning – a mourning that can initiate and strengthen transformation in the present.