35000 Euros for James Island and relative sites in the Gambia

 

By Mohammed Legally-Cole

 

February 1st, 2009

 

The Gambia is to benefit a 35000 euros funding from the Prince Claus Fund for Cultural and Development through Cultural Emergency Response (CER) for the restoration of James Island and relative sites in The Gambia. CER will support the immediate restoration of James Island and the related CFAO Building (Compagnie Francaise d’Afrique Occidentale) at Albreda and the restoration of the Stone circle museum in Kerr Batch with an amount of 35000 euros.

 

It could be recalled that in 2008, The Gambia has experience unusually heavy rainfall, especially in August and September which was usually accompanied by gusts of wind. The effects have been particularly severe on the under-mentioned monuments.

 

Talking to the press, Deborah Stolk, CER Coordinator disclosed that with the support provides, the building on James Island will be restored and measure will be taken to prevent erosion of the Island in the future by reinforcing the foundation at the Island by working on the sea defense. The related CFAO building, which is situated on the bank of Albreda also suffered similar damaged will be completely restored and its foundation will also be reinforce and the strong winds also blown of the roof of the Stone circle Museum in Kerr Batch, exposing the interior and the collection to the elements, she said, noting that “with the help of CER, the roof will be restored immediately and damages on the interior of the museum will be repaired.”

 

Explaining about Cultural Emergency Response, Deborah Stolk said that CER is based in The Netherlands and is a program of the Prince Claus Fund also based in The Hague, The Netherlands. She said that the Prince Claus Fund is a platform for intercultural exchanged which stimulates and supports activities in the field of culture and development in cooperation with individuals and organizations mainly in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

 

She also explained that CER provides prompt and effective emergency relief for cultural heritage damage or destroyed by man-made or natural disasters, emphasizes that CER believes that “rescuing cultural heritage provides hope and consolation to affected communities and that cultural emergency relief should be an integral part of humanitarian aid, thus, CER is a first-aid to cultural heritage.”

 

She also emphasizes that CER usually providing financial support within six months of a disaster and noting that the organization aims to stabilize the situation, prevent further damage and implement basic repairs in order to create the conditions to enable further restoration. She said CER relies on local expertise and partnerships for both the identification of cultural emergency and the implementation of its emergency activities, noting that “CER limits contributions from its own resources to a maximum of 35000 euros per action. If required, CER seeks additional funding in cooperation with other partners,” Deborah said.

 

Deborah Stolk first visited The Gambia in 2004 as a student and finally derived the love and passion of the country’s cultural heritage after visited James Island and relative sited in the country. She is CER Coordinator of the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development. She has been in constant contact with Mr. Modou Joof, curator of the national museum, Mr. Baba Ceesay, Head of Culture at the national museum and Mr. Hassoum Ceesay, Head of National Council for Arts and Culture. Deborah will be closely working with these members of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) in order to facilitate the restoration project in The Gambia.

 

Chris Honeycutt, (Kawsu) as he is fondly called in most of the surrounding villages towards Albreda/Juffureh is a US PeaceCorp volunteer based with the natives of in the North Bank Division is also working hard for the restoration of James Island in the nature conservatory project. Chris Kawsu has mobilized staffs of the US PeaceCorp through the project to plant mangrove around James Island.

 

 

Historical Background of James Island and Relative Sites in The Gambia

 

In an brief historical background of James Island and Related Sites, it could be recalled that by1651 some servants of a company of Baltic Germans founded by the Duke of Courtland (now part of Latvia) acquired  St Andrews Island (a small island 20 miles up the River) from the King of Niumi and proceeded to build a fort. In 1661 the Fort was seized by the Royal Adventures of England, and the Island was renamed James Island after the Duke of York. This set in motion a trend which saw the Island change hands between the various European powers, including the French and the Dutch, as their fortunes waxed and waned in Europe. Between 1702 and 1778 when the Island was finally captured and bombarded by the French, the Fort passed into various hands including a band of Welsh pirates, who in 1719 captured the Island and dismantled the fortifications. This persistent fighting and take over is partly responsible for the present ruined state of the fort, one of the most fought over slave forts in West Africa.

 

Whoever had control over the Island, and therefore ruled over traffic on the River, automatically had the lion’s share of the slave trade in the area. The Island was finally abandoned around 1783 when it had outlived its usefulness because British merchants had turned their attention to elsewhere in The Gambia and appeals for funds to repair the fort were ignored by the British government.

 

Inspite of its strategic location, James Island’s limited size posed several difficulties for its occupiers during its heydays. The island had to be artificially extended to provide more space for its occupants Fresh water was also always in short supply because of the seasonality of the rains and limited capacity of the fort’s cistern. This situation increased the dependence of the occupiers on the goodwill of the inhabitants of the mainland, forcing them to acquire territory on the landward end. Infact, almost contemporaneous with James Island was San Domingo, a Portuguese settlement which is said to have had gardens, a cemetery, a church and a well. Today only the ruins of a storied house identified as the remains of the settlement can be found about a kilometer east of Albreda

Commercial outposts such as Fort James served as fulcrums of trade into the interior and along the coast. From Fort James, inland trading stations were supplied with goods by means of sloops. These commercial outposts were mostly simple rented native dwellings with mud walls and thatched roofs, and sometimes lightly fortified with cane palisades. Gradually the settlers introduced more permanent dwellings using more durable materials that were readily available in the vicinity such as boulders and lime; crafting their houses, shops and warehouses that have stood the test of time. Such structures can be found all along the River.

 

Across the River from James Island on the north bank are the villages of Albreda and Juffureh; the former a French-dominated slave trading post and the latter popularized by Alex Haley when he traced his ‘Roots’ back to this typical Mandinka settlement with a history of involvement in the slave trade.

 

Remains of the Portuguese Chapel at Albreda

 

Adjacent to Albreda is the present day village of Juffureh, Alex Haley’s ancestral home; and the site of the Maurel Freres Building, now housing a small museum on the Slave Trade in the Senegambia. The building was originally built by the British around 1840 and was last used by a Lebanese trader called Maurel, from whom it takes its name

 

Stone Circles of Senegambia, the latest addition to

the UNESCO World Heritage List

 

The World Heritage Committee sitting at its 30th session in Vilnius, Lithuania, has approved the inscription of the Stone Circles of the Senegambia in the World Heritage List. This is The Gambia’s second inscription in the prestigious list which constitutes cultural and natural sites of outstanding universal value which form the common heritage of humankind, and whose protection is the obligation of the international community as a whole. The Gambia obtained its first inscription under James Island and Related Sites in 2003.

 

In recognizing the universal significance of the Stone Circles, the World Heritage Committee cited the fulfillment of criteria I and III of the World Heritage Convention’s conditions for inscription in the World Heritage List, noting that:

 

 Criterion I.  The finely worked individual stones display precise and skilful stone working practices and contribute to the imposing order and grandeur of the overall stone circles complex.

 

Criterion III. The nominated stone circles, represent the wider megalithic zone, in which the survival of so many circles is a unique manifestation of construction and funerary practices which persisted for over a millennia across a sweep of landscape, and reflects a sophisticated and productive society.

 

 

It will be recalled that the stone circles complex is a trans-border phenomena which extends/radiates from the River Gambia north to the River Saloum in Senegal. In December 2004 the National Council for Arts and Culture spearheaded a workshop which brought together Gambian and Senegalese heritage officials with a view to harmonizing/synchronizing a World Heritage Nomination dossier and developing a management plan for the circles. From the workshop the most representative sites in Gambia (Wassu and Kerr Batch) and Senegal (Sine Ngayen and Wanar) were identified for nomination. These are the sites that have now been inscribed in the World Heritage List.

 

It is to be noted that megalithic phenomena is widespread in the world and is manifested in various configurations and sizes and served diverse functions over a long period of human history. Some studies have asserted that there are links between megalithic phenomena worldwide, but no functional relationship has been scientifically established between these cultures which are often separated by more than 5000Km.

 

Although the stone circles are smaller in dimension than their counterparts at Stonehenge in the UK, or Carnac in France, the presence of such a large number of stones in a delimited space is found nowhere else in the world. The Senegambian complex comprises 1053 stone circles with up to 52 circles on a single site, and not only a few isolated circles as found in Europe or other parts of the world.

 

Many questions continue to be asked about the significance of the circles, their purpose, or who built them. What is certain is that they are burial grounds. The burials are either single or multiple. Grave goods, as in the objects interred with the body, consist of body adornment limited to a bracelet on the wrist; and the individual is buried with a weapon, usually a spear. Some pottery is also found, usually upside down. The burials appear to be pre-Islamic in nature.  On the whole the stone circles testify to a highly sophisticated and organized society with an early knowledge of iron-working, and a belief in life after death. As the burial goods continue to be extant and in use in the vicinities in which they are found, there is no need to look elsewhere for the circle builders.  

 

The NCAC is taking this opportunity to thank all individuals and institutions that assisted in the nomination process, including the villagers around the sites who have for long realized the importance of this invaluable legacy and have done so much to conserve them. Special thanks is extended to the Africa 2009 Programme for the Conservation of Immovable Cultural Heritage in Sub-Saharan Africa for assisting in the process as well as providing training opportunities for the staff who have the day to day responsibility for the circles, both in The Gambia and Senegal. 

 

End